Why do we need Showgirls? Isn’t that a bit antiquated? Why do we need women’s groups? Why do we need International Women’s Day? I wish we didn’t. The fact is that, unfortunately, we do. We need to encourage women to be confident, to be spokespeople for their communities, to educate themselves, to step up as leaders, to not be afraid to step into the spotlight, to achieve and to be recognised. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to celebrate not needing to encourage and support women to be all they can be? Why is it that we need to in the first place? Why is it that we need to do this the world over?
International Women’s Day will soon be upon us. What will you celebrate? Pay equity, equal opportunities for promotion, parental leave, women in leadership positions. In terms of a scorecard, there have been many successes and in some areas we score quite well, however the facts are there that there is an awful lot of work left to be done, particularly in rural, regional and remote areas. There are a few failing scores. As an example, I note with interest that only 1 out of 12 panel chairs at a rural based Australian conference is a woman. Really? Only one woman stood out enough across 12 topics to lead a panel discussion?
Perhaps quotas will work? The argument is there that quotas will lead to women being promoted to positions where they don’t have the skills or experience needed to do the job. However, maybe this is the chance women need. Create the opportunity and also provide the support for women to develop the skills needed and find them mentors who do have the experience and who can guide their thinking.
Back to showgirls… why am I investing time and dollars into promoting the Longreach Miss Showgirl quest again? I really don’t have the spare time and my drought affected small business could really benefit from more attention from me. I am doing it because the more times we can encourage our young women to step up into the spotlight, for their community and for themselves, the more confident they will feel and the further along the path to a better scorecard we will be. The journey our Showgirl quest takes its entrants on is one that encourages self-development, fosters community spirit, teaches confidence in public speaking, creates supportive networks of positive thinkers and helps these young women confidently converse with others from senators and senior journalists to stud breeders and stewards. And that is all before a Showgirl winner’s sash and tiara are placed!
I strongly recommend that you find a young rural, regional or remote woman and nominate her as a Miss Showgirl entrant for her local show. Explain to her, that it is not a beauty contest but an opportunity to develop skills, promote the community through the show, and above all, recognise and improve that scorecard that measures the status of women.
- Alison Mobbs, President Queensland Rural, Regional and Remote Women’s Network, Longreach