Sunday March 8 is International Women's Day 2026, and its theme 'Balance the Scales' is a promise that every woman and girl - regardless of background or identity - should be safe, heard, and free to shape their own lives.
We're a proudly female-founded business and this year for IWD, we are passing our microphone to a handful of inspiring women in our orbit. These fabulous women have forged their own path to lead businesses + entities, that put equality, ethics + the planet at their centre.
The Beautiful Bunch is a florist with a difference. A registered social enterprise, they create joy through flowers and support young women from refugee backgrounds to secure their first job in Australia.
The team provides an 8-month paid training program, enabling newly-arrived young women to build the skills, self-confidence, and social and professional networks they need to succeed. Being young, female, and from a refugee background means that this group faces some of the most significant challenges to entering the Australian workforce.
The Beautiful Bunch provides a safe, welcoming, supportive, and gender-informed work and training environment for young women from refugee backgrounds to work, learn, and make lifelong friendships – achieving financial autonomy and building their dreams.
Being a woman in business is hard. I’m fifteen years in and still feel like the level of perfection that is demanded of us is impossible to meet. I am, however, fortunate in that I have the opportunity to work each day to make the world a better place for women who are often told they aren’t good enough for a job.
The young women we support face much tougher barriers than I have done. So, despite the various pressures and challenges I experience, I feel the work I do is a privilege. I hope it continues to create change that opens doors for the next generation of young women seeking a life of independence, dignity, and financial freedom."
- Jane Marx, Founder + CEO The Beautiful Bunch
MEK is an impact-led design studio for brands shaping the future of environment, culture, and technology. They turn vision into reality through strategy, branding, and design to help progressive founders and teams build what’s next.
As a woman in business challenging conventions and the systems that prioritise profit over people, animals, and the planet, I’m not interested in playing by rules that were never designed for me. Just like the matriarchy, my business centres care, with Mother Earth as our primary stakeholder."
- Mirella Arapian, Executive Creative Director MEK
Moxie is a proudly Australian-owned and female-founded period care brand on a mission to make cycles easier and conversations around menstruation more open and informed.
What began with solving the everyday frustration of tampons rolling loose in bags has grown into a community-led movement championing progressive period care - from organic cotton tampons and pads to reusable cups and thoughtful self-care essentials. At our core, we believe in comfort, dignity and honest dialogue, creating products and spaces that support women through every phase of their cycle.
To me, being a woman in business means helping shape the kind of world I wish I’d grown up in. One where our bodies aren’t taboo, our pain isn’t dismissed, and our ambition isn’t questioned.
Progress doesn’t always look loud. Sometimes, it’s starting conversations where silence has previously been the norm and making what was once whispered about feel entirely ordinary.”
- Mia Klitsas, Founder + Director Moxie
Curatorial+Co. is a contemporary gallery and art consultancy dedicated to cultivating meaningful connections between artists and collectors, fostering mutual growth, understanding, and appreciation.
Through dynamic exhibitions, local and international art fair participation, bespoke art consultancy services, and the curation of site-specific works for public and commercial spaces, Curatorial+Co. extends beyond the traditional white-wall model to enrich environments while championing the creative vision of both its artists and clients.
As a female founder leading an all-women team, and representing a stable comprising 80% women artists, supporting women in the arts isn’t a strategy, it’s a responsibility. Investing in women in the arts is about amplifying voices that have always deserved to be heard.
When women back women, we don’t just participate in culture, we redefine it. Championing women creatives strengthens the entire ecosystem – building equity, expanding narratives, and carving out space for a richer, more representative future.”
- Sophie Vander, Founder, Curatorial+Co.
Les Plantes is a new Australian fashion label redefining women’s workwear through minimalism, ethics, and plant-based innovation. Focused on comfort and circular design, the brand crafts tailored garments using exclusively plant-based materials and fibres.
Founded by Dr Rachel Lamarche-Beauchesne, whose academic research explores veganism, animal rights, and fashion consumption, Les Plantes extends its mission beyond aesthetics. The label embodies a design philosophy grounded in sustainability, integrity, and fearless advocacy. Les Plantes creates timeless, intentional garments that empower leaders and changemakers.
My journey as a woman building a purpose‑led business has unfolded over many years of thought and research. Now that the business is finally stepping into the world, I am energised by the possibility of empowering others to align what they wear with their values."- Dr Rachel Lamarche, MA PhD, Founder and Creative Director Les Plantes
Emma Håkansson is the founding director of Collective Fashion Justice, creating a total ethics fashion system that prioritises people, our fellow animals and the planet ahead of profit.
She is also an award-winning film maker and the author of three books about total ethics fashion, speciesism, social justice and sustainability. In 2025, Vogue Business called her a ‘moral compass for the fashion industry’.
Women’s rights matter because patriarchy lies under so much of the violent and domination-driven systems impacting geopolitics, people, animals and the planet. Countries with women for leaders typically have better social outcomes, more peace, less violence. That’s not something to ignore."
- Emma Håkansson, Collective Fashion Justice