International Women’s Day 2026 — Evolving Together

International Women’s Day always invites a moment of reflection for me.

When I look around my life, personally and professionally, I realise how incredibly lucky I am to be surrounded by a community of remarkable women. Women who show up on the good days and the difficult ones. Women who quietly cheer from the sidelines when I’m pushing myself outside my comfort zone, and who gently remind me why I started when I find myself wondering, as many small business owners do, why am I doing this?

Their encouragement matters more than they probably realise.

Today I had the privilege of hearing Leigh Sales speak at the Committee for Geelong International Women’s Day event. One thought she shared landed deeply with me, the role luck plays in our lives. We often tell stories of hard work, determination and resilience, and those things absolutely matter. But luck also appears.

Sometimes quietly,

Sometimes dramatically,

Shaping the opportunities we encounter and the direction our lives take.

The truth is, we rarely know when our luck will appear, or when life will take an unexpected turn.

Perhaps that is why I have come to believe that evolving is far better than revolving. Staying curious, stepping forward even when something feels uncomfortable, and being willing to grow beyond the familiar often places us exactly where opportunity can find us.

For me, connection sits at the heart of that evolution.

Most years around this time I celebrate the women in my life in a very different way, making passata together with friends. It’s a day of hard work, deep conversation, laughter and storytelling. And at the end of the day we gather with our families around a big bowl of pasta to celebrate the simple joy of being together.

Passata Day

Those moments remind me that success is rarely a solo journey.

This International Women’s Day, I’m also reflecting on the men in my life who have encouraged me to follow my dreams. Their support, belief and sometimes gentle permission to take a risk have shaped my path in ways they may not even fully realise.

Without them, my career journey may have looked very different.

And yet, knowing how life works, I suspect luck would still have appeared somewhere along the way — just as it has many times before, often when I least expected it.

So today I’m celebrating the power of connection. The women who stand beside us, the men who support us, and the courage it takes to keep evolving.

Because you never quite know when luck might be waiting around the corner.

Celebrating friendship and family