WOMEN and men in Stawell - and across the world - will advocate for gender balance as part of International Women's Day's 2019 theme, #BalanceforBetter.
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The theme is designed to highlight a world where the absence of balance is noticed, and the presence of it is celebrated.
Advocates - including those at the annual International Women's Day dinner in Stawell on Friday - will aim to show how gender balance is essential for communities to thrive.
Stawell's Meg Blake is a strong believer in "sticking to what you believe in".
"You get your knockbacks and have to jump through hoops and over hurdles," she said.
"You just have to bounce back."
Mrs Blake joined the Stawell hospital board when she was just 30.
"It was around 1975, two years before I joined the board, I called a public meeting to form what is now known as the group, Y-Zetts," she said.
"That was a formidable, clever and brave thing to do at that time.
"After considerable thought, I met some members of the board and the ladies auxiliary, who were very encouraging.
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"Within two years, the board was recruiting and they invited me to join."
Mrs Blake said there were only two other women on the board at that time.
"There are young people on the board these days," she said.
"Way back then, how presumptuous of me to think that I could sit among people of stature within the town.
"It was tough. A member of the community questioned what would I know about hospital administration.
"It was quite overwhelming in the beginning."
Mrs Blake said her mother always encouraged her to learn new things and contribute.
"My nervousness was overcome by the passion I wanted to see a better health service," she said.
"I served 28 years on the hospital board - and ascended as high as vice-president.
"Over the years other women joined the board - now there is a much more even balance among the members."
Mrs Blake said she lived by the motto to never to do anything to get anything.
"I'm not a person afraid to stick my head out," she said.
"Sometimes I might have come up with the best concept or idea for something and it never goes any further.
"I would pass the idea through my up line and would be told we need to think about this and give it some consideration.
"I get to the next meeting and these 'cracker-jack' blokes have thought of the idea.
"Sometimes you have to laugh - you have to laugh or it will get you down."
Stawell's second International Women's Day event hosted at the Stawell Neighbourhood house has been well received.
"We've sold out of tickets," organiser Dianne Stewart said.
"It's going to be a fantastic night and a great celebration."
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