INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY 2026
IN HER WORDS: THE NEW GENERATION OF WOMEN SHAPING CULTURE AND CONVERSATION
As a female-founded and led business, supporting and amplifying the voices of women is something deeply important to us.
For International Women’s Day 2026, we're highlighting a group of the visionary and creative young Australian women shaping what comes next.
Spanning fields from media and fashion to healthcare, each is contributing something meaningful, real and inspiring to the world.
We spoke with each on what feels important to them right now, and the advice that drives them forward.
Grace Toombs
Grace is the founder of June Health, building a system of accessible and shame-free sexual healthcare for women. She created Australia’s first at-home STI and cervical screening tests and was recognised on Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2025.
What are you working toward right now?
I’m working toward shifting the conversation we’re having about women’s health, and who gets to lead it.
June isn’t just a product or a convenient service. It’s infrastructure. A refusal to accept that shame, dismissal, or long waiting rooms are a normal rite of passage for women. It’s about giving women the tools to understand their bodies without asking permission, without feeling small, without being told to “wait and see” or that their “dramatic”
What feels like it’s shifting in your industry at the moment?
There’s a reckoning happening in women’s health.
For decades, our pain was minimised, underfunded, or quietly tolerated. Now women are speaking publicly, and they’re not being polite about it.
What’s shifting is ownership. Women are no longer waiting for institutions to fix it. They’re founding companies. They’re demanding funding. They’re building alternatives.
This year’s IWD theme is “Give to Gain.” What’s one mindset we need to let go of - to create real progress?
We need to let go of the scarcity mindset among women.
There’s still this quiet narrative that there’s only room for one of us at the table. That if she wins, I lose. That success is a limited resource.
Real progress happens when we share power, information, contacts, funding, opportunity. When we recommend each other in rooms we’re not in. When we build ecosystems instead of empires.
What keeps you feeling steady?
I run.
I run because it trains the part of me that doesn’t quit.
Founding is volatile. Healthcare is political. Progress is slow. Running is simple: one foot in front of the other.
It’s a daily reminder that resilience isn’t loud, it’s repetitive.
"Protect your energy. Not every opportunity deserves your time. Not every room deserves your presence. Alignment is more powerful than access."— Grace Toombs, founder of June Health
Maggie Zhou
Maggie is a Melbourne-based writer, Broadsheet's Fashion Editor-At-Large and co-host of the podcast Culture Club. She is known for her thoughtful voice on sustainable fashion, culture and ethical consumption.
What are you working toward right now?
I’m working towards building a fulfilling and well-rounded life where I’m kept curious and challenge. To me, that’s where contentment stems from; not fancy accolades, awards or milestones, but everyday rituals that align with my values.
What feels like it’s shifting in your industry at the moment?
In the world of digital media, it never feels like it stops changing! AI is the biggest push and pull we’re witnessing in real life. A lot of my peers are doubling down on ‘human-made’ art and media in response to this.
What’s one mindset we need to let go of - or shift - to create real progress?
That there’s not enough room for everybody. Australia’s tall poppy syndrome creates a scarcity mindset. We all thrive better when we make space for everybody.
What keeps you inspired and steady?
I really prioritise small, simple pleasures. A walk outside, a mug of tea, a phone call to Mum, debriefing with my partner, Tom. My joy exists in the quiet moments, and they keep me grounded.
"We all thrive better when we make space for everybody."— Maggie Zhou, @yemaz
Kasia Frankowicz
Kasia is a Melbourne-based artist and founder of Rebirth, an art collective showcasing diverse work from under-represented creatives. Her practice is playful and unapologetic, capturing the vibrancy of life while exploring deeper emotional themes shaped by her multicultural upbringing and strong sense of social justice.
What are you working toward right now?
I’m trying to make more room for the kind of work that feels honest and a bit braver – bigger paintings, looser ideas, and projects where I can tell fuller stories without overthinking them to death. I’m focusing on showing my work internationally this year, including my first time exhibiting at Affordable Art Fair New York this March.
This year’s theme is “Give to Gain.” What’s one mindset or system we need to let go of - or shift - to create real progress?
Giving to gain only works if the giving is real and not about emptying yourself out. Especially for women, generosity is often framed as endless emotional labour and under-valued work. Real giving looks like proper investment in women’s time, skills, education and leadership... opportunities being shared, doors actually opening.
What’s one mindset that has guided you when taking risks?
If it scares you, that’s usually a good sign.
I unironically live by YOLO, cringe and all, because it’s true. This is it. This is your one life. You don’t want to reach the end of it wondering who you could have been if you’d just tried.
What advice would you give to young women in a similar position to you?
Let yourself want things. Let yourself reach for them. Back yourself even when you feel ridiculous, even when you feel small, even when you feel terrified. Sometimes being better means being braver, and bravery can feel like your insides are on fire. But that heat is often the beginning of something real.
Aim too high, fail loudly, and back yourself anyway. Dreams aren’t made quietly.
"If it scares you, that’s usually a good sign. If it feels like you’re about to vomit stars, like your body might disintegrate at the thought of stepping into the thing you want, you’re probably standing at the edge of something that actually matters to you."— Kasia Frankowicz
Remy Tucker
Remy is the founder and CEO of On The House, delivering a world-first innovation that provides free period products in bathrooms, funded by ad space.
What are you working toward right now?
I'm trying to end period inequity in Australia by 2035. 3 in 5 Australian women get caught without period products in public. Not occasionally. Consistently. And we've just accepted that as normal. I refuse to!
What feels like it's shifting in your industry right now?
Brands are waking up to the fact that reach isn’t the same as attention and trust. You can buy eyeballs all day — it doesn't mean anyone cares. The shift I'm seeing is a real hunger for environments where people want to engage with you. That's what we built. When a woman gets a free product she needed, the brand that funded it doesn't feel like an advertiser — it feels like an ally. That's not a nice-to-have anymore. It's where the smart marketing money is going.
What mindset do we need to let go of - to allow real progress?
The idea that impact and profit are in tension. The most persistent thing holding women-led, mission-driven businesses back is this unspoken belief that if you're making money, you must be compromising your values somewhere. It's nonsense. People who do good things should get paid. The for-profit structure is why we can scale.
What advice would you give to young women in a similar position to you?
Stop waiting until you feel ready. I knew (pretty much) nothing about running a business when I started this. What I had was a problem I couldn't stop thinking about and the audacity to keep going. That's it. Get in the room, ask the dumb questions, take the meeting before you think you're qualified for it. The gap between where you are and where you want to be closes faster when you're moving than when you're prepared to move.
"People who do good things should get paid. The for-profit structure is why we can scale. It's why we can get bank funding, bring on investors, and build something that outlasts a grant cycle. Let go of the guilt and build the thing properly."— Remy Tucker, founder & CEO of On the House
Sophie Hood
Sophie is the founder of Seoul Tonic, a global functional beverage brand - rethinking how a new generation approaches drinking, recovery and wellness.
What are you working toward right now?
I’m very much in the build phase. I’m expanding Seoul Tonic internationally, quietly launching a brand in the beauty space, and I’ve just relocated to New York. It feels like a season of betting on myself and building tolerance for risk, pressure and scale.
What’s one mindset, habit or system we need to let go of — or shift — to create real progress?
Stop saying "I’m trying.” I caught myself constantly softening things, “I’m trying to expand,” “I’m trying to launch,”... I've shifted to saying: “I’m doing it.” Or “I get to.” It sounds small, but it changes how you carry yourself. This small shift has impacted how I view myself and how others view me.
What advice would you give to young women in a similar position to you?
If the worst case scenario is that you fail, and learn, that’s not a bad result. Failure teaches you faster than success ever will. Most people aren’t actually scared of failing, they’re scared of being seen failing. However, if you move past that and realise that failure is COOL, then you can literally do anything!
What keeps you inspired?
I genuinely believe consistency wins. When things feel messy or uncertain, I zoom out and remind myself: keep going because success comes from consistency compounding. Showing up when it’s boring, hard, unclear or slow. Especially when there’s no obvious breakthrough in sight.
"Most people aren’t actually scared of failing, they’re scared of being seen failing. However, if you move past that and realise that failure is COOL, then you can literally do anything."— Sophie Hood, founder of Seoul Tonic
Daisy-Rose Cooper
Daisy-Rose Cooper is the founder of Sleight of Hand (SOH), a sustainable fashion label blending urban minimalism with the textures of the Australian bush through experimental dyeing and dead-stock fabrics. Her work has been featured in Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue Australia’s Vanguard Issue.
What are you working toward right now?
I’m aiming to strike a balance between wanting to refine existing skillsets and ideas vs learning and expanding into new ones.
Since moving back to my home town (Blue Mountains) I am currently exploring the creation of smaller accessories that incorporate my love for natural fibres and organic dye processes - reminiscent of my home.
What’s one mindset, habit or system we need to let go of — or shift — to create real progress?
There should be a more conscious effort to challenge our apathy in order to make better informed, deliberate decisions. This is something we can do within ourselves that directly applies to everything we interact with. I think this awareness is important when considering the knock on effects of how and what we consume.
What advice would you give to young women in a similar position to you?
My advice would be to stay in tune with your environment, and you’ll be more receptive to the answers you’re looking for.
I find comfort and resolution in the realisation that so there is so much to learn about yourself and your values reflected in the people and places you surround yourself with.
What keeps you inspired?
I’ve found that variation is what keeps me inspired and steady — every day feels different, so my approach is never the same.
The realisation that I have no concrete ‘way’ of approaching my work is what keeps me open to new ideas/ influences.
The challenge lies in piecing these things together deliberately and concisely so that I can continue to evolve my practice — I always look forward to this part of my creative process.
"I’ve found that variation is what keeps me inspired and steady. The realisation that I have no concrete ‘way’ of approaching my work is what keeps me open to new ideas and influences."— Daisy-Rose Cooper
Thank you to the women who contributed to this feature - and to all the women creating something powerful, real and inspiring for our world.
Grace Toombs - June Health
Maggie Zhou - @yemagz
Kasia Frankowicz - Kasia Studio
Sophie Hood - Seoul Tonic
Remy Tucker - On The House
Daisy-Rose - @daiisy.rose
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