Saint Giles event honours women

WOMEN were honoured at Saint Giles’ Women’s Day function on 4 August.

Guest speaker at the event, Michelle de Fleuriot, a former teacher who gave up her career to empower herself and start afresh, spoke about what it means to be a woman, a leader and the many challenges women faced.

“We face a lot as women, including discrimination, violence, balancing work and family life, the pressure to be and look a certain way and often lack confidence and are filled with self doubt. Women need to change their way of thinking about themselves, be affirming and positive,” she said.

She gave tips on how women could make their lives easier by readdressing roles in the family, by empowering children as a working mother, by teaching girls to be assertive and boys to be better men.

“Each family can change the world by fostering gender equality in the home,” she said.

Michelle said women could balance home life and their careers by letting go of the guilt and finding childcare and education they could trust and value. She urged women to organise themselves and their busy lives and never to be afraid to ask for help. Family time is an important part of a woman’s life and she said creating special family time and time for partners was as necessary as setting aside time for themselves.

“Keep learning and interacting, don’t stagnate. Know what you want, be independent and take care of yourself,” she said.