09 March 2021
Celebrating ADAVB women on International Women's Day - Margaret Tran
This International Women’s Day we introduce our committee members and emerging leaders on our Recent Graduates and Students Committee (RGSC).
Margaret Tran - committee member and final year dentistry student at La Trobe University
Tell us about a woman who has inspired you in your work, life or studies.
My grandmother (Kim) has been such an inspiration to me over the past few years as I have gotten to learn more about her life and challenges that she has faced. She is such a strong and independent woman who stands up for her own rights and also other women around her. Despite growing up in a poor family in Vietnam and raising her children there, she ensured that her daughters both had a good education just like herself. Some of her friends disagreed with this yet she stayed strong and made sure that their family’s earnings went towards all her children equally. She constantly tells me about the importance of knowing oneself and having your own independence as a woman in finances and education because you need to be able to stand on your own two feet. She has shown so much strength in the past in taking care of her four children by herself in a third-world country during a time of war when her husband was forced into a 'concentration camp' for so many years. I am the woman I am today because of my grandma.
The theme of IWD is ‘Choose to challenge’. What does this mean to you?
'Choose to challenge' means finding comfort within discomfort. Stepping out of your comfort zone to be in an environment that you are not familiar with or are worried about. It means pushing past fear or anxiety you might hold about situations and making it known that you have a place there. To me this means standing up to misogynistic behaviour or people and making it known that those actions aren’t right. It means educating others about equality and letting people know when they are overstepping boundaries. It means speaking up instead of hiding behind others.
Find out more about the new RGSC in the upcoming April Victorian Dentist! Applications open for all other ADAVB committees in April. Visit adavb.org/about/our-people/committees to find out more and apply.
More information about IWD 2021: internationalwomensday.com/About
