The Suite Life - March 2024
There’s a famous photo from 1967 that I highly recommend you look up if you want to reflect on how far women have come. It shows Kathrine Switzer, the first woman to officially run the Boston Marathon, being assaulted by a race official as he tries to stop her from competing. It’s a shocking visual reminder of how extraordinarily difficult it was for women to compete in sports up until relatively recently.
This year, the UN’s theme for International Women’s Day (IWD) is Count Her in. Invest in Women. Accelerate Progress. And naturally we at TLS are right behind this message. As most of you know, we are vocal advocates for investing in women in all professional spaces, whether it be sport, science, health or trades. As we gear up for IWD on 8th March, we’re thrilled that so many of our talent have great opportunities lined up for this year, however if you’re still looking for a last-minute speaker or MC, we’ve got you covered so please feel free to reach out to the team.
This month we’re also focusing on workplaces and the wellbeing opportunities that exist in the places where we often spend the most amount our of time. We have some exciting announcements coming up in this space so stay tuned over the coming months to hear more.
If you’re starting to plan out key dates and activities for your organisation then we’re here to help. We remain passionate about building health literacy in Australia and want to support you to do that for your teams and clients too. To help, we’ve outlined some key dates for March and some of our talent that we think best align.
It’s also the perfect time for us to update you on some of the exciting things that our talent are up to so keep reading to learn more about what’s coming up.
Til next month,
It’s life in the fast lane (literally) for rally driver Molly Taylor who just this week has announced her return to the Australian Rally Championship (ARC) for 2024. Molly, together with her Molly Taylor Motorsport team, will be back in action chasing the Production Cup with Round 1 kicking off early April.
It follows quickly after Molly’s success last month in the first and second rounds of the Extreme E championship at the Desert X Prix in Saudi. Molly and teammate Kevin Hansen kicked off the year with back to back podiums, cementing Veloce Racing’s reputation as a force to be reckoned with as they chase glory in the 2024 championship.
Also kicking goals in the desert recently is Tilly Kearns, who together with her team the Stingers finished in sixth place at the World Aquatics Championships in Doha. If you’re looking for something fascinating to binge, we highly recommend the new docu-series Lights Up featuring Tilly in her very own mini series, highlighting the water polo champ’s exhilarating journey to the top. It’s a captivating watch and perfect viewing in an Olympic year, and you can see it for free here.
Are you as obsessed with cooking shows as we are? We can’t get enough of Good Chef Bad Chef, and we’re delighted that our very own Dr Joanna McMillan is joining the show as one of the ‘Good Chefs’ this year. It’s a new format and a new team in the kitchen, and we can’t wait to see what delicious meals Jo cooks up! It all starts on Monday 18th March @ 3pm on Channel 10. Get your aprons ready.
Finally, we’re happy to announce that Bardie Somerville – a carpenter, builder and advocate for women in trades and mental health in trades – has just renewed her partnership with Bisley Workwear, a fantastic alignment for both Bardie and this well-known brand.
Bisley marketing manager Abbie Bursa said, “We are looking forward to another year of partnership with Bardie and will continue to support the incredible work she does in the industry.”
Looking to get ahead of things this month? March has a wealth of opportunities to connect with your team and build community engagement around healthy living. Here’s your essential list of events and campaigns (and some talent ideas) to get you through March.
March is Endometriosis Awareness Month
Here’s an alarming statistic: on average, it takes seven years for Aussie women to be diagnosed with endometriosis – which means seven years of living with debilitating pain, fatigue and anxiety. Our TLS experts, GPs Dr Michela Sorensen and Dr Preeya Alexander, are on hand to provide comments or support on any campaigns designed to bring awareness to this important cause, and help women living with severe pelvic pain access the help they need.
March 3 – Melanoma March
Melanoma Institute Australia (MIA) is calling on us all to stop glamorising tanning – and with one Australian being diagnosed with melanoma every 30 minutes, that’s a very important message. This month MIA is hosting marches all over the country to fundraise for melanoma research.
March 3 – Clean Up Australia Day
Looking to get involved in Clean Up Australia Day this year? Sustainability advocate Simon Toohey has a wealth of expert tips on protecting your local environment.
March 8 – International Women’s Day
Our suite of incredible women have insights and stories to help your organisation celebrate the achievements of women everywhere. Get in touch now if you’re still looking to book a speaker or MC for your event.
March 11-17 – Brain Awareness Week
Dr Joanna McMillan (author of Mindfull) and Dr Ginni Mansberg (author of Save your Brain) are bona fide experts in the area of brain health, and their advice can help you and your people protect their grey matter.
March 15 – World Sleep Day
Good sleep starts with good sleep habits, and author and habit scientist Dr Gina Cleo has compelling tips and tricks to improve your shut-eye time.
March 20 – International Day of Happiness
Let Dr Happy himself (Dr Tim Sharp) guide your organisation on realistic approaches to expanding feelings of happiness.