Our Folk: A Reflection for International Women’s Day

For International Women’s Day this year, we wanted to take a moment to recognise the small, unseen gestures that shape our lives as women. The early mornings, the steady resilience, the quiet work that often goes unspoken.

We reached out to a small group of women we admire and asked them a simple question:

What is one quiet, unseen moment that has shaped your experience of womanhood?

Simple and steady, these are the moments that hold us. The ones that demonstrate the strength of community, and remind us that womanhood is not defined by singular milestones, but by the many small, quiet moments that shape us.

In those early days, when it was just my baby and me at 2am, it felt like I was going through a quiet rite of passage. I remember feeling completely different in my body and my mind, but life kept moving.

The shift from maiden to mother was huge. I came out the other side feeling like a different person, even though from the outside it probably just looked like I was just getting on with life.

And I was sitting there, realising how much of womanhood and motherhood is actually invisible. There is so much happening internally that no one really sees. Physical changes, emotional shifts, and a different way of thinking and prioritising.

The “How are you feeling?”, “How did that tough conversation go?”, “This is how I can help…”

For the most part, this remains unseen - occurring over a few lines of text, a voice note in a stolen moment, a quick phone call, or (luxury!) over coffee.

The women in my life are wonderful at checking in, serving as a daily reminder of one of my favourite lines: “a problem shared is a problem halved.”

And of course, the power of unity and womanhood.