In 2025, the theme for International Women’s Day (IWD) is Accelerate Action. This is a worldwide call to acknowledge strategies that positively impact women’s advancement. Many organisations across the world provide a range of programs, resources and approaches that help Accelerate Action in different ways.
Connect are always striving to work towards a more diverse, equitable and inclusive world. We value all the wonderful women in our community and aim to support and empower them.
Throughout the month of March – we are Empowering Connection! This theme is highlighted throughout our events and activities and shows how we want to create a supportive, strong community for women to thrive.
The women in our community extend to our fantastic facilitators and guest speakers as well. One of whom was Taryn Brumfitt, former Australian of the year, who delivered a keynote in the lead up to IWD. Taryn is an extraordinary embodiment of Accelerating Action and Empowering Connection.
Taryn’s work has succeeded in creating rapid, tangible change in how women and girls perceive themselves and are perceived by society. What started with her own personal journey to embrace herself, her work grew to challenge the societal norms that perpetuate unrealistic beauty standards. It pushed women to not be reduced to and defined by their physical appearance. Taryn’s global movement encourages countless women to create the changes they want in their own lives.
Taryn shared her inspiring story and what led her to become an author, filmmaker and fierce advocate. Her actionable advice and emphasis on appreciating your body for what it does for you daily, how it keeps you alive and allows you to do the things you love, was remarkable. “My body is not an ornament, it’s a vehicle in life,” says Taryn.
One of the four principles The Embrace Collective, the not-for-profit Taryn co-founded, works by is a focus on functionality. Looking beyond the appearance of your body and seeing how the body serves you from being able to run a marathon to letting you hug your loved ones.
Taryn acknowledges that the road to body appreciation is not linear. There will be good days and bad, highs and lows, but being kind to yourself is key. Comparing yourself to other people is one of the harder habits to let go off, especially in the age of social media. However, refocusing your perspective to understand that social media rarely shows the bad times and when you choose to follow someone who inspires you, whether that be someone well-known or just well-known to you, look beyond appearance and focus on who they are as a person, their hobbies, their craft and their qualities.
Body appreciation is a continuum. We don’t always have to adore our bodies but finding a place of neutrality where we can accept them is great. Like our theme for this month, Taryn says finding ways to connect and empower each other can be helpful. Consuming supportive body image content together, sparking conversations about bodies or even having a laugh can help us all move further along the continuum in a positive way.
Body appreciation starts with you and acknowledging what you admire about yourself is a great place to start. We asked our community about what unique qualities they value in themselves and how they empower them.
“I'm like a rock, rough on the outside but when you break that rock and it opens there's beautiful crystals inside. This empowers me to be strong and kind without being misunderstood and judged as I know who I truly am.” Jodie said.
Although the act of embracing your body may seem simple, this small step can lead to so much more. After all, “you look after something you value and appreciate,” says Taryn. As we can see through Taryn’s own story of body acceptance, what starts with a small action, can grow to something greater.
We hope that Taryn’s story encourages you to Accelerate Action and Empower Connection as you begin to Embrace Your Body to Embrace Your Life. Hear more from our chat with Taryn below.