Whitsunday feast honours women's fight for equality

A special breakfast which pays tribute to a group of passionate women who fought for equality for their sisterhood some 100 years ago will take place at the Coral Sea Resort on Sunday March 11.

The Zonta Club of the Whitsundays invites you to join with them in celebrating women in general and hearing about the struggles and achievements of two down-to-earth local women, Serena Drummond and Maria Conroy, at the their International Women’s Day Brunch in just over two weeks time.

Zonta Club’s Kerry Kenyon says by thoroughly enjoying yourself eating a scrumptious brunch prepared by Coral Sea Resort chefs, drinking champagne to the accompaniment of musician Peter Bek, you will be contributing towards the improvement of the lives of local women through the Whitsunday Women’s Crisis and Counselling Service.

"Many of us know Serena Sanders-Drummond, our own Proserpine "Pearl Girl". Not so many of us know the story behind the woman and her business. In her own words Serena has "done everything, from being a biologist to a pearl diver." Although women weren’t allowed on the pearling boats because they went out overnight, Serena managed to stow away and came back ten days later. After that the men used to joke about it saying, "Women who work here aren’t allowed on the fishing boats – oh, except Serena!" No doubt she’ll have more salty tales to tell of the difficulties of a woman creating a business in a man’s world," Ms Kenyon said.

International Women’s Day (IWD) is celebrated across the world in early March paying tribute to the economic, political and social achievements of women. So how did it all begin?

One hundred years ago our grandmothers couldn’t have a say in who governed them and found it difficult to live independent self-supporting lives as few had a career and income of their own. It was in 1910, at the second Conference of Working Women held in Copenhagen, that the idea of holding an International Women’s Day was put forward and received unanimous agreement from over one hundred women representing 17 countries. The following year the first IWD was held with meetings and protests across Europe with the largest street demonstration attracting 30,000 women!

Now, it has become an occasion for looking back on past struggles and accomplishments, and more importantly, looking ahead to the untapped potential and opportunities that await future generations of women.

Why does Zonta hold an IWD Brunch each year? For 90 years Zonta has been working to advance the status of women through an international fellowship of business and professional women who share a common commitment to promoting and protecting women’s rights. This involves supporting Zonta programs which help expand women’s access to skills training and income generating activities that lead to economic independence. It means helping women overcome gender barriers to careers, access to affordable health care and addressing the unique health issues of women, helping young women develop leadership skills and to follow their unique paths in life.

The brunch starts at 9am with complimentary bubbles on arrival. Tickets are $39 and are available from Colour Me Crazy, Century 21 Real Estate Airlie Beach and Rockmans at Centro.