Womens’ leadership is the topic on the table this week at the annual Celebrating Women in Conservation Breakfast hosted by environmental not-for-profits Trust for Nature and Bush Heritage Australia, back for its 11th consecutive year.

The event coincides with International Women’s Day on March 8 and has become a favourite for the conservation sector, with in-person tickets selling out months ago.

Two guests Victoria McKenzie-McHarg and Linh Do will share stories from their decades of experience in climate action and advocacy to champion how women are effective, powerful changemakers in conservation.

Victoria is the Strategic Director of Women’s Environmental Leadership Australia (WELA). She has led climate strategy and campaigns for over fifteen years and is dedicated to empowering, supporting, funding and diversifying women’s leadership to respond to environmental crises.

Linh is the Director of Leaders for Global Sustainability at the University of Melbourne and Director of National Partnerships at Climate Catalyst. She is passionate about climate justice and social inequality and was part of a global team to localise and humanise stories from the UN climate change negotiations.

Together, they will join MC Tanya Ha and hundreds of women and men from across the conservation sector in recognition of the United Nations International Women’s Day and this year’s apt theme Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow.

It has been a tumultuous period globally with the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with an increase in extreme weather events, and the time is nigh to discuss what gender equality means in the context of ongoing climate change and environmental natural disasters.

“Australians are realising how diverse women’s leadership can help provide the answers we need as we face the challenges of 2022 and beyond,” Victoria says.

“By supporting diverse leadership, specifically diverse women’s leadership, organisations will see changes across the board. International evidence is clear that having women at the decision-making table improves environmental outcomes.”