The Matildas, Discrimination in the Music Industry and the Impacts of Skincare Routines: All About Women's 2025 Program Is Here
Whether you're heading along in-person at Sydney Opera House or joining in online, this stacked two-day lineup features more than 50 speakers.
After initially revealing parts of its 2025 lineup in late 2024, Sydney Opera House's annual All About Women festival has unveiled the full program of events that'll focus on gender, equality and justice in March. Across two days, more than 50 speakers, including artists, thinkers and storytellers from both Australia and overseas, will participate in sessions that span women in sport and the influence of the Matildas, racism and sexism in the music industry, the impacts of skincare routines, and plenty more.
For 13 years, marking International Women's Day with talks, panels, workshops and performances has been as easy as attending this highlight of the cultural calendar — a must-attend event not only in Sydney, but also nationally in recent years, thanks to the streaming of sessions online (which continues in 2025). For this year, Kate Berlant and Gina Chick joined the All About Women bill first, as did the return of the Feminist Roast. Kara Swisher, Rachel House, Jaguar Jonze and Grace Tame are now among the folks joining them come Saturday, March 8–Sunday, March 9.
As revealed last year, Berlant is making her first trip Down Under, with the comedian and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Don't Worry Darling and A League of Their Own actor set to debut a new stand-up show. Alone Australia's first-season winner Chick is on the bill fresh from releasing her memoir We Are the Stars in October, and will chat about following your own path, grief and resourcefulness.
Among the latest additions on a lineup overseen by the Sydney Opera House Talks & Ideas team — as led by Chip Rolley, alongside 10 News First's Narelda Jacobs and actor and writer Michelle Law — journalist and Burn Book: A Tech Love Story author Swisher will dig into the social-media platform formerly known as Twitter, while Heartbreak High star and The Mountain director House will chat through the importance of community and her Māori culture in her career. Jonze is on the panel discussing the present state of the music industry, as is Barkaa. And Tame is part of the Feminist Roast alongside Michelle Brasier, Nakkiah Lui, Lucinda 'Froomes' Price and Steph Tisdell.
The Tillies join the roster via former Matildas goalkeeper Lydia Williams, plus Football Australia, the Matildas and the ParaMatildas Media Manager Ann Odong, with their session exploring the current situation for women in sport. Elsewhere, Dr Michelle Wong, Jessica DeFino and Yumi Stynes — plus Price again — will examine the impacts of beauty standards, especially upon younger generations.
All About Women's 2025 program also spans sessions on the women who gave testimony at the Ghislaine Maxwell trial, the rise of domestic violence-related deaths in Australia, systems that are meant to protect First Nations children, perimenopause and how women's health is being commercialised, tradwives, grief, motherhood, the nation's declining birth rate, bodily autonomy and abortion, and being friends for life.
"There is so much power in women and non-binary folks coming together to talk about the issues we are facing, whether that's in our workplaces and homes, throughout our country or the world," said Jacobs back in 2024, when the lineup's first details were announced.
"The events I've co-curated are inspired by hot topics that dominate conversations with the women in my life — from the transformations women undergo at pivotal points in their lives, to the ways modern culture rejigs and repeats old stereotypes. We'll be having some cracker discussions that I'm sure will continue beyond the steps of the Opera House!" added Law.
All About Women 2025 takes place on Saturday, March 8–Sunday, March 9 at the Sydney Opera House, and streams online, with pre-sale tickets for the full program available from 9am on Tuesday, January 14 and general sales from 9am on Thursday, January 16. Head to the event's website for more details.
All About Women images: Jaimi Joy, Jacquie Manning and Prudence Upton.
