IWD 2026 #GiveToGain: How Will We Actively Give Our Support to Gain Gender Equality?

At Murad, we believe that meaningful change doesn’t happen passively - it happens when we choose to give.

 

This year’s International Women’s Day theme, #GiveToGain, resonates deeply with us. Because gender equality isn’t something we wait for. It’s something we build - through our actions, our voices, our leadership, and the way we show up for one another every day.

 

To us, giving is not just about grand gestures. It’s about giving mentorship. Giving opportunity. Giving visibility. Giving education. Giving confidence. And sometimes, it’s about giving space - to listen, to learn, and to elevate others.

 

As a brand founded by a doctor who believed in the power of care and connection, we know that when we genuinely give - knowledge, support, advocacy, encouragement - we all gain. Stronger teams. Stronger communities. Stronger women. A stronger future.

 

This International Women’s Day 2026, we asked our team a simple but powerful question:

 

How will you actively give your support to help gain gender equality?

 

Here are our reflections - and our commitments.

 

Emma Hindmarsh Conan, General Manager Murad Australia

 

 

'We work in a female dominated industry where, ironically, the top rung is still overwhelmingly dominated by men.

 

So my commitment is 2-fold:

 

• First I will continue to back myself - to rise visibly, lead loudly and showcase my career so women and girls can see what's possible. If you can't see yourself, you can't be yourself.
• Second, I'm raising a girl and 2 boys. In our home we talk openly about the strength, capability and creative power of women - quite literally the creative power in our bodies as well as our strength to rise up when we've been kept low for so long. My job isn't just to empower my daughter, but also to educate my sons.

 

If we change the minds of a few young people, we shift a generation. And that's where equality really begins.'

 

Charlotte Clarke, National Sales and Education Manager

 

For me, supporting gender equality starts with how we treat each other as women. I’m passionate about creating spaces where we lift each other up, celebrate each other’s wins loudly, and choose collaboration over comparison. When women become each other’s cheerleaders instead of competitors, it creates a ripple effect. Confidence grows, ambition expands, and suddenly going for the promotion, opening the business, raising your prices or simply staying open feels possible.

 

Leading a female team and working closely with women through education and business planning sessions is something I’m incredibly proud of. I encourage them to charge their worth, trust their expertise, and be unapologetically themselves. That confidence is powerful and it’s contagious. 

 

I constantly think about my nieces and the example I’m setting for them. 

 

Through my professional platform, I’ll continue to use my voice to empower women to back themselves fully, because when one of us rises with confidence, it gives others permission to do the same.

 

Elise Gehle NSW State Sales and Education Manager 

 

For me, gender equality starts in the everyday moments — in how I show up, how I listen, and how I support the people around me.

 

In the workplace, I aim to create an environment where people feel safe, valued and encouraged. Rather than focusing on leading from the front, I focus on standing alongside my colleagues — offering patience, acceptance and space for people to be their true selves. When we remove judgement and lower barriers, we build confidence. And confidence is powerful, particularly for women stepping into their voice and potential.

 

I strongly believe in women building other women up. If someone’s crown is slipping, I want to be the woman who helps adjust it — not the one who tears it down. True equality grows when we champion each other’s strengths, celebrate wins openly, and provide support quietly when it’s needed most. Equality isn’t just about opportunity; it’s about creating cultures where everyone feels empowered to take up space and thrive.

 

At home, these values are deeply personal. I raised my son as a solo parent, and watching him grow into a strong, emotionally intelligent and well-rounded young man has reinforced my belief that equality begins in how we model respect, empathy and accountability. He approaches life with perspective and mindfulness, and carries those qualities into everything he does.

 

I am also raising a strong-willed 2.5-year-old daughter, and I cannot wait to see where her determination takes her. My role is to nurture her voice — not quiet it. To teach her that strength and kindness can coexist. To show her that leadership is not defined by gender, but by integrity, courage and compassion.

 

Every day, everywhere, I will continue to support gender equality by championing women, modelling respect for all genders, raising emotionally intelligent children, and creating spaces — both at work and at home — where people feel confident to step fully into who they are.

 

Because equality isn’t a single action — it’s a daily practice.

 

Jaime Payne, Business and Education Consultant

 

Every day, I support equality for women in the way I live, parent, and work.

 

As a single mum to my 12-year-old son, it’s incredibly important to me that he grows up seeing everyone as equals and treating people with fairness and respect. I lead by example — in how I speak about others, how I show up in public, and in the conversations we have at home. I want him to understand that strength, leadership, kindness and success are not defined by gender.

 

In the workplace, my support goes beyond my role as a BDM. I don’t just offer business and product guidance — I hold space for honest conversations, whether they’re personal or professional. I believe creating a safe, supportive environment allows people, especially women, to feel seen, heard and empowered.

 

Cheering women on, celebrating their wins, and backing them in business is one of the ways I actively work to challenge stereotypes and reduce gender discrimination. When women are supported, visible and successful, it helps reshape what leadership and success look like for the next generation — including my son.

 

For me, gender equality isn’t just a belief — it’s something I practice daily, in both my home and my career.

 

Jessie Metcalfe, NSW South and Pro Support

 

Every day, both at home and at work, I support gender equality through the way I raise my children and how I show up professionally.

 

As a mum to a young boy and girl, I’m intentional about teaching them that opportunities, responsibilities, emotions, and ambitions aren’t defined by gender. I encourage both of them to be confident, kind, capable, and respectful, showing my son the importance of equality and emotional intelligence, and my daughter that her voice, independence, and leadership matter just as much.

 

In my work, where I’m surrounded by women, I actively support and empower them by creating space for their growth, encouraging confidence, and promoting equal opportunity. I challenge limiting beliefs, advocate for fairness, and model respectful, inclusive behaviour in every interaction.

 

For me, gender equality isn’t just a concept,  it’s something I live daily through how I parent, how I lead, and how I support the women around me.

 

Pia Wahrendorf, Head of Marketing, Digital and Communications

 

For me, #GiveToGain starts with visibility and responsibility. 

 

As Head of Marketing, I recognise that I help shape not only how our brand shows up - but who gets seen, heard, and represented. Marketing holds power. It influences perception, confidence, ambition and belonging. And with that power comes responsibility.

 

To actively give my support toward gender equality, I commit to using our platforms to amplify diverse female voices across age, background, career stage and lived experience. Particularly as we continue to speak more to women 40+, I see it as essential that we challenge outdated narratives around ageing and ambition. Women do not become less relevant with time, they become more powerful, more experienced, more certain of who they are.

 

I also believe giving means creating opportunity internally. Sponsoring female talent. Encouraging women to take space at the table. Mentoring with honesty about leadership, ambition and boundaries. And advocating for flexibility and environments where women don’t have to choose between career progression and personal priorities.

 

On a personal level, it means being conscious of how I show up supporting other women openly, celebrating their success loudly, and choosing collaboration over competition.

 

Because when women support women when we give credit, give confidence, give opportunity, we don’t lose anything.

 

We have also had the pleasure to feature some of our valued Clinic Partners. Please read their features here: Lisa Oakman from The Glow Co. Aesthetics and Hayley Dwyer from The Muse Skin Clinic

 

We are immensely proud of what we achieve at Murad. 

 

Gender equality is not achieved in a single campaign, a single conversation, or a single day in March.

 

It is built in the everyday decisions who we promote, who we mentor, who we credit, who we listen to, who we invest in, and how we speak about women at every stage of life.

 

At Murad, #GiveToGain is more than a theme for International Women’s Day 2026. It is a commitment. A reminder that progress requires participation. That empowerment requires action. That equality requires intention.

 

When we give our support through advocacy, opportunity, education, representation and encouragement we don’t diminish ourselves.

 

We expand what is possible.

 

For our teams.
For our customers.
For our Clinic Partners.
For the next generation of women watching.

 

Because when women rise, communities strengthen. When we create space, others step forward. And when we give with purpose, we gain a future that is more equal than the one we inherited.

 

This International Women’s Day, and every day after, we choose to actively give so that together, we can gain gender equality.

 

We thank all contributing women to this article.