Two of Australia’s most influential advocates for equality and justice, Kate Jenkins AO and Professor Nareen Young, will take the stage for UN Women Australia’s International Women’s Day (IWD) 2026 event in Brisbane.
Under the theme ‘Balance the Scales’, the 2026 events arrive at a critical moment. In NSW alone, conviction rates for sexual assault cases sit at just 7 per cent, and across Australia, the justice system routinely fails to protect the most vulnerable. Meanwhile, globally, 3.9 billion women and girls live in countries with at least one law restricting their economic opportunities and access to justice.
Kate Jenkins AO is one of Australia’s most respected leaders in law, human rights and workplace reform. A lawyer by training and a cultural reformer by reputation, Kate has dedicated her career to building safer, fairer and more inclusive workplaces across Australia – from boardrooms and sporting fields to Parliament House.
Currently the Chair of the Australian Sports Commission, President of the Australian Red Cross and Chair of the Creative Workplaces Council, Kate continues to shape national conversations about equity, leadership and the power of culture to drive performance.
As Australia’s Sex Discrimination Commissioner from 2016 to 2023, she led two landmark national reviews – the Respect@Work report into workplace sexual harassment and the Set the Standard Review into Commonwealth Parliament. These trailblazing inquiries transformed how Australia understands and addresses sexual harassment, influencing the introduction of new positive duty laws and setting the benchmark for accountability in leadership.
She will be joined by Professor Nareen Young, Associate Dean of Indigenous Engagement and Leadership at the University of Technology, Sydney. A national thought leader on workplace diversity, Professor Young brings her First Nations and culturally diverse heritage to every sphere she influences – from policy and governance to corporate leadership – sparking new approaches to inclusion and equity across Australia.
Together, Jenkins and Young will share reflections on how leadership, respect and lived experience can translate reform into real-world change.
UN Women Australia’s IWD events are among the largest in Australia and provide a vital opportunity to raise funds to support and empower women and girls. The national IWD speaker line-up joins the ranks of previous speakers including Dr Jane Goodall, Mellody Hobson and Celeste Barber, among others.
Tickets for the 4 March 2026 events are now available at iwd.net.au.
Media enquiries:
Jessica Lewington
External Engagement Manager
UN Women Australia
[email protected]
+61 2 5112 2060
About UN Women Australia
UN Women Australia is a non-profit organisation committed to achieving gender equality for all women, empowering them to contribute their unique knowledge and skills to help create a better world for themselves, their families and their communities. Working in over 100 countries across the globe, UN Women runs vital programs that provide women and girls access to technology, training programs and safe spaces, empowering women and girls to obtain an education, become leaders in their community and build a brighter, more equal future for us all.
About Balance the Scales
Balance the Scales is a promise that every woman and girl – regardless of background or identity – should be safe, heard, and free to shape her own future. Yet in 2026, millions of women and girls across Australia and the world are still denied that fair go. Discriminatory laws, harmful practices, and gender-based violence remain widespread, while structural barriers continue to block access to justice. These barriers are not inevitable. They are built – and they can be dismantled. When women and girls stand equal, families are stronger, workplaces are fairer, communities thrive, and society becomes safer for everyone.
