It is International Women’s Day on Sunday March 8 and hopefully this gives women working in the Australian printing industry an opportunity to pause, consider their roles and the good work and smart thinking they bring every day and to set their sights on where they want to go next.

One voluntary organisation that is always striving to help amplify the voices of women in the industry is Women in Print.

There are patrons in each state and each year this group of women plan a calendar of events to give women working in the industry a chance to come together, discuss what is going on in their lives and workplaces and offer support and guidance to each other.

Late last year Sprinter tagged along to a Women in Print breakfast which featured guest speaker Anneli Blundell who discussed the importance of speaking confidently while also giving away some useful tips on how to actually do this, especially when you may not exactly feel totally confident in the space you happen to be in at that time. You can check out the story here.

The 2020 events calendar has not yet been released but Women in Print’s Victorian patron Kirsten Taylor has told Sprinter the patrons are on the job of finalising the details.

The events are designed for all comers, not just senior leaders in the business. It is a great opportunity to bring along staff from all aspects of the business to gain knowledge and have the chance to reflect on how they could do things differently to work smarter, not harder.

“The patrons are doing a lot of planning about how we can make it more fulfilling and how we can increase the frequency of gatherings. The women have been expressing that they want more events and opportunities to network and the patrons are putting their heads together at the moment to work out how we can make that happen,” Taylor, who owns Melbourne bespoke print business Taylor’d Press told Sprinter.

“We all want the same thing for the industry so let’s be united and get together.”

South Australia’s Women in Print patron Marisa Smyrneos of Graphic Print Group, who shares the role with Sandy Aspinall, says all women in the industry should be proud of the dedication they show each and every day.

“International Women’s Day celebrates the achievements and success of all women in their different chapters of life. Women within the print and media industry should be proud of the passion, dedication and new opportunities they bring to this industry not only on this day, but every day,” Smyrneos told Sprinter.

Aspinall said key issues that continue to effect women are equal pay and recognition of women and breaking down the barriers of stereotypical careers.

“The women forging careers in the print industry can be compared to what we create, sometimes bright and vibrant, informative and persuasive, interesting and diverse and even classy and embellished. But ultimately striving to be accepted and encouraged,” Aspinall said.

NSW patron Natalie Taylor says ultimately International Women’s Day is a day of celebration.

“We celebrate those who came before us, those who stand beside us now, and those who will come after,” Taylor said.

“From my perspective why it’s so important to Women in Print in Australia and the ladies who are part of our collective network – it is time to promote and encourage change for more female leadership roles at all business levels in our industry. It’s about pushing forward that next chapter for our industry.  I would love to see more sales leaders, more GM’s, CEO’s, Directors, management representation as I think the balance and diversity is incredibly needed for our industry to evolve in the next phase.”

The Printer Media Group is proud to have a very happy group of women working together on the Australian Printer and ProPrint magazines, plus the printing news hub Sprinter.com.au. Everyday these three women (L-R) Carmen Ciappara, Sheree Young and Hafizah Osman do their bit to help this industry and be its voice.

American printing advisor Deborah Corn, Principal and Intergalactic Ambassador to The Printerverse, is another strong voice for women in the industry and the industry itself. To celebrate the month of March she is promoting the #PrintHERstoryMonth hashtag and is encouraging women all over the world to get onboard with their stories, tips, struggles. Don’t forget to tag your post though.

“Women’s Print HERstory Month is about women in print refusing to be drowned out by the male voices that dominate the narrative of our industry, and taking power for themselves by standing up and shouting, ‘This is what I do!’ Everyone can show their support by following the hashtag stream and engaging with the content. A ‘like’ or a reshare or a retweet is an acknowledgement that the achievements of women in print matter,” Corn wrote in a Girls Who Print column.

PrintHerstory Month also coincides with Women’s History Month.

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