#SUBOOJOURNAL International Women's Day w/ Tanja Gacic

March 04, 2021By Info Suboo

International Women’s Day was created with the aim of becoming a global movement to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements by all women. It also highlights the efforts being made toward gender equality. As a company with 100% of our team comprised of women, we celebrate women and champion women in leadership every single day, and stand to support this years IWD messaging of:

This year at SUBOO we want to utilise our platform as an opportunity to educate and inspire you, our community, to join us in moving forward in efforts to achieve equality. With this in mind we couldn't help but shine the light on four women within our community who inspire us in all facets of life from business to family.

To start the series we virtually sat down with the ever-so inspiring Tanja Gacic. Tanja Gacic is a Sydney based blogger, writer, stylist, photographer, creative director and online contributor at myempiricallife.com and Vogue. Not only has Tanja worked across the fashion industry for 20 years as a leader in her field, she also has partnered with several charities close to her heart, including Plan For Girls.

In this Q&A we dive deep with Tanja and discuss a range of topics from inequality in society, to what words of advice would she give our SUBOO community when it comes to all things business and family.

SUBOO is a company run by Women and IWD is a day close to our hearts. What does this day mean to you and do you think enough has been done to make the changes needed to call out gender bias and inequality?

I think so much has been happening on this front but then again, we have so much further to go. Equal pay is still a goal and women still contribute a lion’s share of housework and childcare, despite helming jobs as well. So, whilst we are now equal to men as far as being able to earn a living, we are running ourselves in the ground by trying to oversee everything else as well. The burden of invisible labour is huge on females, and I wish men took more of an interest in learning how to share it. I grew up in a socialist/communist country where women worked and had equal rights, but they also had free childcare so they didn’t need to think about packing lunches or stressing about paying expensive childcare bills. I am not a fan of communism but I am a big advocate for free childcare - there is no way that women can thrive and prosper unless we have cheap, nourishing Kindergartens. On one side women are being lambasted with dropping birth rates but I don't see the government in any way incentivising women to have children. Instead, it is acting as if Australians still live in a 1950s model of a man as a bread winner and the woman staying home, even though our wages haven’t increased for so long that it is rarely possible to feed a family on one income. Homelessness is on the rise for ageing women too - a whole generation of women didn’t get superannuation for being homemakers and are often leaving abusive relationships with nothing to their name, ending up in shelters or on the street. Physical and coercive abuse against women is a silent pandemic and I believe not nearly enough is happening to resolve these issues. We need to change laws and start education programs in schools and businesses - everyone should know how to spot red flags, the signs of abuse as well as how to communicate fairly and productively. There is not nearly enough being done to provide trauma counselling to victims of abuse and their families either, which is basically an invitation to repeat the entire cycle in the next generation. We need change on this front and we need it bad - other countries that did implement new laws saw a huge drop in domestic abuse.

You are a Mumma to the beautiful Coco (and Tiger) what is a life lesson you have passed on to your daughter and would share with the next generation?

Always stay curious and reject binary thinking - the world is not black or white, it is shades of grey.

You've had such a successful career what are the moments you look back on think - wow that actually happened?!

Pretty much the entire 90s when the fashion budgets were so huge that we did weeks long trips overseas for only a couple editorials and fashion was super rock n’ roll and exciting. No #metoo or the internet back then either. Obviously it’s bad Me Too didn’t exist because all sorts of things were happening that shouldn’t’ve been - I am so glad that these days models are being taken seriously on exploitation charges because bad behaviour was rife back then and lots of models are just teenage kids. Kinda happy internet didn’t exist though - there were a few newspaper pictures of me leaving parties as a teen that I’m happy my kid won’t get to see!

In such an uncertain time for travel, what have you enjoyed the most about staying put?

I have really delved into inner work and understanding myself through all sorts of therapy modalities. I’ve also had the time to learn so much more about issues that I only understood on a surface level before, which has made me more open minded and inviting of debate and less likely to view the world in a rigid and bias way. I’ve also really gotten into Hermeticism, quantum physics, meditation and kundalini awakening practice. I am a big believer of shedding beliefs that no longer serve me, so uncovering babushkas inside the babushka that I think I am at any current moment is a huge lifetime goal for me. Wilful ignorance is something I dislike more than anything else, so my entire attitude in life is to be completely opposite to that.

A quote you live by…

“The aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware, joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware " - Henry Miller

To end our discussion we want to leave you with some inspiring words from Tanja, overall summarising International Women's Day and reminding us to reflect on how far women have come for the rights we have today...

"International Women's Day to me means creating a safe space, at least for a day, in which women’s issues are prioritised and discussed on an international stage. It’s so important we reflect on the history of the women’s rights movement so we can collectively understand how far we have come since the 19th century and what else needs to be fixed. Feminism has been attacked and vilified throughout history, women who spoke up dismissed and derided as clueless and divisive. Standing up for the rights of women has never been easy but it’s still necessary because we haven’t reached equality. I hope men can understand that this is not a fight against them , it’s never been a fight against anyone, but a deep need to be seen, acknowledged, respected and accepted for our unique needs and position in society."

Here are SUBOO we deeply thank Tanja for allowing us to showcase her voice and help us spread the message of International Women's Day and standing with us to #ChooseToChallenge.

Our Gesture To Our Community

1. 14% OF PROFITS DONATED

In efforts to raise awareness we have rounded up the gender pay gap to extend 14% of all profits from the 4th March until 8th March (IWD) to 100women.org - an organisation aimed at creating a world where all women and girls can live safely with access to health, education and economic freedom.

2. 14% OFF STOREWIDE

In efforts to raise awareness we have rounded up the gender pay gap to extend 14% OFF Storewide to our community from the 4th March until 8th March (IWD), in efforts to start conversation and raise awareness of this pay gap in our society.

Please apply code: WOMEN14 at checkout to redeem.

Support our fundraising efforts and Shop Tanja's looks from our latest Odyssey Collection:

Saga One Shoulder Dress

Cecile Linen Shirt & Cecile Linen Shorts

Adele Stripe Wrap Midi Dress