ERIN Osborne knows better than anyone what it means to be a bold woman.
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The 27-year-old made the meteoric rise from one of just two young girls playing in the Tamworth cricket competition to bagging the green and gold years later as an Australian off-spin bowler.
As we celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD), Ms Osborne reflects on the sport that she says has changed for the better.
The theme for the 2017 IWD – #BeBoldForChange – calls on communities to help forge a better working world through being more gender-inclusive.
Ms Osborne believed cricket was leading the way in breaking down gender hurdles, and welcomed greater coverage of female sports to inspire younger generations.
“Now there is a choice for girls, with the introduction of a girls-only cricket competition in Tamworth and all over the country,” she said.
“There is a lot more coverage and having T20 televised for the first time, they can have other girls to look up to.”
Helen Tickle was the first female president of the Tamworth Business Chamber and is Tamworth Regional Council’s first female deputy mayor.
Cr Tickle is one of just two female elected officials, and is encouraging more women to get involved in the community this IWD.
“It’s good to have women involved, they bring a different perspective,” she said.
“I encourage more women to be involved on council.”
Cr Tickle, who was in Sydney accepting her nomination for the 2017 Minister’s Award Women in Local Government on Tuesday, urged more local women to give back to their community on IWD.
Fiona Burns, Slater and Gordon managing lawyer and Tamworth Business Chamber secretary, believes her successes have come not in spite of being a woman, but because of it.
“In my legal work representing injured people, every day my tendency toward compassion and empathy is called upon; traits which I believe come easier to me as a woman, than to my male counterparts,” Ms Burns said.
“I acknowledge the courageous and dedicated women who have come before me and pioneered women’s rights so that my career path has been made easier to navigate. I call upon women to encourage their female colleagues to pursue professional growth together, rather than compete with one another, up to and beyond a time when we have true workplace equality.”
Tamworth Zonta Club will host an IWD event with guest speaker Jane Caro on Friday.
Savvy Birds will also host an IWD evening on Friday, featuring Sunrise journalist Edwina Bartholomew, Downtown Magazine’s Anna Davis, Sally Dickinson, of Women in Cotton, and Tamworth Deputy Mayor Helen Tickle.
