On Wednesday 7 March 2018, another enlightening International Women’s Day Breakfast was held at the spectacular Mornington Racecourse with over 300 attending. Once again the weather was perfect, the breakfast delicious and the speakers inspirational. The project is a collaborative effort by Frankston North Rotary and the Frankston, Peninsula 2.0 and Mount Eliza Rotary clubs. The MC was Georgia Symmons.
One clear message delivered by both speakers was the importance of encouraging women to reach their full economic potential, now and in generations to come.
The first speaker, Kristen Hilton, grew up as one of five girls in country Victoria before moving to Melbourne to complete a Law/Arts degree at Melbourne University. She worked in corporate law as an industrial relations lawyer before pursuing a career in social justice and human rights. Kristen is a Churchill Fellow and in 2007 spent time in Geneva, South Africa and the USA investigating the right to adequate housing.
In 2016 Kristen was appointed as Victoria’s Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commissioner. Her role is to promote and protect human rights and equality across the state and lead the Commission’s work in creating a rights respecting culture within organisations, governments and communities. Kristen is the Chair of the expert panel in both the Fire Services review and Victoria Police review.
The second speaker, Sally Hines, is the Chief Operating Officer of The Big Issue and Homes for Homes. The Big Issue is an independent, not-for-profit organisation dedicated to supporting and creating work opportunities for homeless, marginalised and disadvantaged people. It well-known for The Big Issue magazine: a fortnightly, independent publication sold on the streets by vendors, who buy copies for $3.50 and sell them for $7, keeping the difference. Homes for Homes is a new initiative of The Big Issue that will help raise an ongoing supply of new funding for social and affordable houses.
Sally started her career in employment services, community development, youth mental health and health. She has held various strategic, service delivery and operational management positions, including experience in establishing new not-for-profit businesses across Australia in diverse communities.