Balance the Scales: Why Gender Equity Strengthens Our Profession

When women and girls stand equal, families are stronger, workplaces are fairer, communities thrive, and society becomes safer for everyone. This International Women’s Day (8 March), the call to ‘Balance the Scales’ invites us to pause – not just to reflect, but to take responsibility for the future we are shaping together.

As chiropractors, we understand balance deeply. We work daily with the nervous system, biomechanics, and the fine art of equilibrium in the human body. When one system is overloaded or under-supported, dysfunction follows. The same principle applies to our profession.

Chiropractic in Australia is now moving towards becoming a predominantly female profession at the entry level. Yet leadership, ownership, visibility, and decision-making power do not yet reflect this reality. The scales remain uneven – not through lack of talent, commitment, or capability, but through structures, expectations, and systems that were not designed with today’s workforce in mind.

Balancing the scales is not about taking something away from one group to give to another. It is about ensuring that opportunity, recognition, safety, and leadership pathways are accessible to all – regardless of gender, life stage, or circumstance. When the profession functions in balance, everyone benefits.

For many women in chiropractic, the challenge is not ambition; it is sustainability. We see extraordinary clinicians navigating motherhood, caregiving, part-time work, pregnancy, return-to-work transitions, and invisible labour, all while striving for clinical excellence. Too often, these realities are framed as limitations rather than assets. Yet the skills developed through these experiences – adaptability, emotional intelligence, leadership under pressure, and long-term thinking – are precisely what our profession needs more of.

Balancing the scales means acknowledging that the traditional model of ‘success’ in chiropractic does not suit everyone, and that diversity of practice models, career trajectories, and leadership styles strengthens us. It means valuing contribution in all its forms: clinical care, mentorship, education, research, advocacy, and community leadership.

It also means addressing the less comfortable conversations. Gender pay gaps, unequal access to mentorship, underrepresentation in leadership, workplace safety, and the experience of bias – conscious or unconscious, are realities across healthcare, and chiropractic is not immune. Avoiding these conversations does not preserve harmony; it preserves imbalance.

When women are supported to lead, innovate, and remain in the profession long-term, patient care improves. Teams become more resilient. Practices become more adaptable. The profession becomes more reflective of the communities it serves. This is why the WIC committee are committed to our leadership scholarship innovation.

Importantly, balancing the scales is not a woman’s issue; it is a professional responsibility. Equity benefits men as well – creating workplaces that allow for shared caregiving, flexible career paths, psychological safety, and leadership models that do not rely on burnout as a badge of honour.

The Women In Chiropractic Committee exists not to divide, but to advocate – to ensure that as our profession evolves, it does so consciously, inclusively, and sustainably. Our work is grounded in collaboration with the broader Australian Chiropractors Association, recognising that meaningful change happens when we move forward together.

This International Women’s Day, Balance the Scales asks us to look at our practices, policies, committees, and culture. Whose voices are being heard? Whose expertise is being recognised? Who is being supported to step forward – and who is quietly stepping back?

Small shifts matter. Mentorship conversations. Flexible leadership structures. Representation at decision-making tables. Language that acknowledges lived experience. These are not radical ideas – they are practical, achievable steps toward a stronger profession.

As chiropractors, we are caretakers of health, adaptability, and human potential. Let us apply that same care inward; to our colleagues, our systems, and our future leaders.

When we balance the scales, we do not weaken the profession – we fortify it.

This International Women’s Day, let’s balance the scales together.