A message from the Salvation Army Mandurah on International Women's Day

I am proud to be a part of The Salvation Army, which aims to empower women and has done so since the movement began.

General William Booth, founder of The Salvation Army, is known to have said, "Some of my best men are women!"

Since 1865 The Salvation Army has had three female generals (world leaders) and currently at the Mandurah Salvos, two of our three corps officers are women; captain Leah Ellery and captain Erica Cossington. Many of our programs are led by women and 70 per cent of our volunteers are female. 

Since the initial IWD, women across the world have made significant progress. In 2018 alone, women in Saudi Arabia were given the right to drive, the prime minister of Spain appointed a majority-female government and US midterms saw records break as women were voted into the House of Representatives.

However, before we start celebrating, we must take a critical look at the state of gender equality in Australia.

According to the Australian Human Rights Commission there continues to be a pay gap in Australia with on average women earning 15.3 per cent less than men. In the political sphere, Australia has a rank of 49 out of 149 for political empowerment.

The most alarming fact, however, is that in Australia the most dangerous place for a woman is in her home. Reports of domestic violence are increasing and Mandurah is a hot spot of abuse, with statistics showing police attend five incidents a day. 

Women experience injustice in Australia and this is something that we should be ashamed of.

But there is hope – we are all invited to participate in seeking justice and equality for women.

Gender equality cannot be achieved by women alone and calls people of all ages, genders, ethnicity, political and religious representations to unite and walk alongside them.

Scott Ellery is Salvation Army Mandurah corps officer.