Ep. 342: Retrospective on International Women’s Day 2026 – What’s Actually Changed?

It's time for the annual Socially Democratic mic handover! This episode features the return of our favourite stand-in host, Rebecca Thistleton (Executive Director Victoria, The McKell Institute) along with special guests Melissa Donnelly (National Secretary of the Community and Public Sector Union), and Benita Kolovos (Victorian State Correspondent, Guardian Australia). Together they unpack:📢  The highs and lows of this year's International Women’s Day: a day which advances meaningful conversation, but also traffics in empty symbolism.🏛️ How the Federal Government and the Opposition are approaching women’s policy, and why structural challenges don’t get solved overnight.🧠 This Victorian State election, all the major party leaders are women. What will it mean for campaign commitments and messaging?👶 Plus, "just have more babies", the minefield of social media, and the year's best policy reforms.Socially Democratic is a Labor politics and campaigns podcast with expert guests and new episodes every Friday.Support the showSocially Democratic is an opinion-based political and campaign podcast that facilitates discussion on a range of topical issues. The opinions of guests are not an endorsement and do not necessarily reflect the views of the staff at Dunn Street and Socially Democratic.Access ad-free episodes and send in questions by joining our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SociallyDemocraticIf you like the show, rate and review us on your favourite podcast app.Follow Us on Socials:Facebook (https://tr.ee/9jGIOy)Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/sociallydemocratic)LinkedIn (https://tr.ee/YxyYJh)X (https://x.com/SocialDemPod)YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@DunnStreet)The presenting sponsor of the Socially Democratic podcast is Dunn Street. For more information on how Dunn Street can help you organise to build winning campaigns in your community, business or organisation, and make the world a better place, look us up at: dunnstreet.com.au