Every year on 8 March, communities around the world celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD) which recognises women’s significant contributions and achievements, and rallies to accelerate gender equity in a range of social, cultural, political, and economic arenas. This year the #IWD theme was #ChooseToChallenge, which shines a light on the responsibility we have to ‘call out’ gender bias and inequality in everyday situations, so we hit the streets of Sydney to see who would stand with us.   Let’s just say the streets lit up when we explained the campaign and each person in these photos had a story of their own to share about how they had fallen victim to gender bias or suffered the wrath of inequality.   We started the conversation… So, hand up to show you’re in! “And why shouldn’t I be seen as equal to a man? Because I am, I am more powerful than any man I know.” Uma – 20 

“We’re just out there trying to save the planet, and we’re pretty sure if this planet was run by women we wouldn’t be here today campaigning for people to wake up and realise we are killing our only home. Earth.” The Junkyard Parts Tribe

“We love the women in our lives and let’s be honest, where would we be without them?” Bob the Builders (their name choice, not ours – but it’s a vibe)  I am unstoppable. I will not let the opinions of small-minded people take away from my journey and I will challenge anyone who gets in my way. Rashidah – 22 “A challenged world is an alert world. We stand together as a family and as women to challenge anyone who tries to hold us down or tell us we aren’t enough.” The McLeods “It’s about being empathetic towards the way people choose to live their lives, and it is their birthright to do so!” Caleb Morice – 17

“Gender equality means everything to me. We’re not asking for more, we’re asking for equal.” Ozge 

“My granddaughter is a feminist, she loves all this sort of thing. I must say it’s better than in my days, but we still have a long, long way to go.” Barbara – 88 “In the words of Rupi Kaur, ‘You want to keep the blood and the milk hidden as if the blood and breasts never fed you’. I won’t stop until my goddaughters and one day my own children have the same equal rights as the men that rule this world.” Lisa – 35