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We are on our sixth day here in Sydney, Australia. So far, the trip has been incredibly eye-opening. We have observed many cultural differences and similarities between the US and Australia. One concept in particular that has stood out to me over and over is the effort Australia makes to empower and honor women here. While the United States has certainly made progress in this area, there is still a long way to go. Just from exploring and observing around Sydney, one can see the efforts made here are further along than in the US. This photograph represents an effort to name a public space after Louisa Lawson, who was an early proponent of women’s rights in Australia.

This effort to honor Louisa Lawson is one of the many examples I have seen around Sydney to honor and expand women’s rights in Australia. I have also seen women are honored here on the Australian currency. While the United States has many places that are named after important women, they have yet to honor any on US currency. There have been recent efforts in the past few years to place important women on US currency, but so far those efforts have not led to any tangible results. Hopefully, the US will follow Australia in this manner soon.

While not observing this directly, I had a conversation in which I learned Australian women are more included in powerful positions in government compared to the United States, on both a local and national level. I am hoping to learn more about this as the trip continues, and see if it includes other positions of power such as CEOs.


One of the last things I’ve observed in Sydney is the signs placed outside public bathrooms. Like in the photograph above, people are told when entering a public restroom to use whichever one “suits their needs." Compared to the United States, this is incredibly progressive. We do have “gender neutral” restrooms in place in the US, but they are not common. There is still a lot of controversy surrounding the use of these restrooms and others depending on your gender identity. It has been refreshing to see signs such as these that foster a more accepting environment regarding bathroom issues. I cannot imagine signs being in place in the United States like this without a terrible amount of resistance.

Although all of these observations were made on the surface level, they demonstrate Australians are further ahead than the United States regarding gender issues in their culture. They have clear efforts around the city and in their government to show they honor and respect the women who live here. Although there are these efforts as well in the United States, we are not as far along as Australians. Women are not well represented in positions of power in the US, especially in government positions. They are also not represented on any type of US currency. Potentially, this could be because the Australian population is so much smaller than the US population, they have been able to make more progress with less resistance. 

Besides women’s rights and issues, Australians have also made more progress in their culture regarding gender identity issues, especially regarding the choice of which bathroom to use. This has been an incredibly controversial topic in the United States for many years, with large and loud voices from each side of the argument. The Australians have demonstrated by putting up signs such as these that they have taken more of a progressive stance on the issue. They value each individual’s sense of comfort and right to use the bathroom of their choosing based on what they identify with.

In order to have a fuller sense of the issues regarding women and gender in Australia, further research should be conducted. It would also be helpful to talk about these concepts with someone who lives here. Although nowhere is equal regarding women’s rights and gender issues, on the surface the Australians seem to have made more progress than Americans. Hopefully, the US will take after their example, and the example of other developed nations in honoring women and respecting individual’s rights and comfort.

 CH

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