International Women's Day 2020

Sunday 8th March is International Women’s Day. The 2020 message for IWD is Each for Equal:

“An equal world is an enabled world.
Individually, we're all responsible for our own thoughts and actions - all day, every day.
We can actively choose to challenge stereotypes, fight bias, broaden perceptions, improve situations and celebrate women's achievements.
Collectively, each one of us can help create a gender equal world.
Let's all be #EachforEqual.”

Uppma recently reflected on this:

"For many of us who come from migrant backgrounds, we often have a number of layers to deal with, experience and then peel back. With every new layer comes a new circumstance or issue. As women we have an added layer due to how society, our families, our employers and employees and, at times, even our own selves, believe we are expected to behave in the world.”

At Chai Walli, we are proud of the fact that we are a strong female-run business. We are also very proud of both the women and men that are a part of our business, and a part of our spicy chai world! 

So how are we going to celebrate this International Women’s Day on Sunday March 8th? With a multi-tasked collection of events, thoughts and actions of course! 

At 9am on Sunday morning in Sydney, Uppma will be serving chai to 100+ individuals who have just been treated to a free yoga class held by a local council - what bliss! Celebrating the theme of equality, people of all genders are invited to start the day with strength, community and a little spice. At Chai Walli HQ we’ve always found yoga to be an amazingly empowering and strengthening activity, and couldn’t think of a better way to kick off International Women’s Day - Namas-tea!

After the event, Uppma will spend some time with her husband and mother in law (who is visiting from Canberra) and reflect on what it means to live a balanced life in our current world. Uppma is proud that her partner is passionate about gender parity and ensures, in his personal and professional life, that no gender stereotypes come in to play. After spending some time with her family, Uppma will then head to a small IWD gathering in Glebe at the Bed Bar to perform some spoken word poetry. She has written a poem about the beauty of womanhood and her journey being brought up in a world of spices in Australia. Starting the day with chai, and ending it with poetry, sounds just heavenly to us!

In Melbourne, our chai crusader Kayla will be waking up in a campground surrounded by some pretty awesome females! Alongside her partner, who is a boss-lady naturopath, there will be her partners’ older sister and her 4 young nieces! Kayla is promising to be mindful of the significance of the day and spend some time with the little girls that morning, empowering them to be independent, stand up for their beliefs, and tackle life’s challenges head on! She also has two gorgeous nephews in Canberra who are being raised with beliefs that embody the IWD message of Each for Equal. #proud

Kurtis, our warehouse extraordinaire, says Sunday is the day that he calls his mum, and this weekend will be no exception. In fact, this weekend he will make sure he says an extra thanks to the woman that raised him. Here’s to all the mums in the world! 

Keeping the female-empowerment rolling into March, on the 12th of March, in Melbourne, Uppma will be holding a networking event as a part of the Young Indian Australian Business Network - an organisation that she founded last year. The theme for the event is following the IWD theme: Each for Equal. If you would like to attend the Melbourne event, click here. For Sydney-siders, watch this space for an upcoming date! If you are in Melbourne and would love to learn the Art of Chai from Uppma, she is also holding a workshop in Carlton on Saturday 14th March. You can purchase tickets here.  

Around the time of International Women’s Day, there will be many global & local discussions that will occur around gender equality and women’s rights. It’s at times like this that we like to think of the quote: Think Global, Act Local. What new measures can you put in place at your workplace or in your family that support equality & each individual? Should you take a moment to simply reflect on the type of language you use? 

Another beautiful thing to do on IWD is to simply take a moment to say thank you to the women in your life. Those that have helped you grow, shown you support, made you chai, made you giggle, lifted you up and helped you out. It’s also a reminder to take a moment to check in with those that may be doing it tough or may need some help and support. AND it’s also a perfect day to give yourself a pat on the back. You’re doing the best you can - you got this! 

So…with that all said, it’s definitely time for a chai, right? 

We raise our glasses to you all!