The Western Bulldogs have celebrated International Women’s Day by holding a More Powerful Together event at VU Whitten Oval on Thursday night.

The event, which was put together by the Western Bulldogs Community Foundation, in collaboration with Victoria University and Maribyrnong City Council, aimed to explore how everyone can work together to realise the vision of a world where regardless of gender, everyone has equal opportunity to participate and thrive.

Cross-cultural leader and change-maker, Tasneem Chopra, delivered the keynote speech, with the event also featuring a panel discussion with Bulldogs’ General Manager Women’s Football, Debbie Lee, founder of NIROAH, Paul Zappa, and Director of the VU Moondani Balluk Indigenous Academic Unit, Karen Jackson.

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Bulldogs CEO Ameet Bains said the Club has an important role to play in embracing gender equity.

“As a Club, the pursuit of social inclusion is at the heart of who we are and what we do. It is as an intrinsic quality of the Western Bulldogs as much as playing football is,” he said.

“Within this, gender equality is a key pillar of what we proudly embrace and pursue. We all have a role to play in gender equality and the recognition that it is not just a ‘women’s issue’ is central in driving the change required.

“Our Community Foundation programs, such as our women’s health program Daughters of the West, and our Leaders of the Pack program for girls from culturally diverse backgrounds, are instrumental in promoting women’s participation, leadership and social inclusion in the community.

“We know we cannot continue to improve on our efforts without help and support, and we remain committed to working together across our Club and with our partners and community to continue striving towards a gender equal future.”

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