Flamingo Project talks equity ahead of International Women’s Day – Ethnic Council of Shepparton and District

The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day is ‘embracing equity’, and Flamingo Project founder Neha Samar will be running a social media campaign locally to raise awareness of the theme.

Women across the region will be posing in front of the camera, hands wrapped around their shoulders, in the lead-up to International Women’s Day in March.

Mrs Samar said embracing equity was different to embracing equality, with equity recognising people had different circumstances and needed different resources to help reach an equal outcome.

“We might talk about equality but we don’t talk about what that means and how it’s different to equity,” she said.

“It means accepting everybody how they are, it’s the step before equality. Understand someone by accepting them.”

Mrs Samar said equity was a prerequisite for achieving equality, as giving different people the same resources wouldn’t help overcome disadvantage.

Together: Fatima Naseem, Neha Samar and Melissa Mitchell doing the ‘embracing equity’ pose of International Women’s Day. Photo by Megan Fisher

“Someone coming from another country, if you speak to them and understand them, you don’t expect them to suddenly assimilate and sit on a board of directors, you need to understand where they’re coming from,” she said.

“Once we understand that then we can help people become equal by giving them more help.”

The Flamingo Project was started by Mrs Samar in 2021 to bring women from all walks of life together and to help people grow through a mentorship program.

Now, the project will be helping spread the message, with posts featuring locals embracing equity — doing the pose of the International Women’s Day theme — in the lead-up to the event.

Mrs Samar said while International Women’s Day was growing, she wanted it to get to the same level as the Biggest Blokes’ Lunch.

“With that, they’ll have it on a Friday and everyone will take the day off work,” she said.

“With International Women’s Day it’s on a Saturday night and it’s a big difference.”

She said women were less likely to be able to take a Friday off work or get away from other responsibilities.

Those who want to take part in the day are encouraged to get in touch with the Flamingo Project on Facebook or through hello@theflamingoproject.com.au

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	The Ethnic Council of Shepparton and District acknowledges the Yorta Yorta People of the land which comprises the Goulburn Valley. We pay respect to tribal Elders, past, present and emerging and we celebrate their continuing culture and acknowledge the memory of their ancestors.
	The Ethnic Council of Shepparton and District is a peak body whose mission is to promote and represent the social, cultural and economic well-being of ethnic communities in the Goulburn Valley Region through the provision of quality and innovative settlement, refugee support, community development, and information and advocacy services.