About the festival
All About Women is the Sydney Opera House’s festival of ideas about gender, culture and equality, held annually in the week of International Women’s Day. Enormously successful and celebrated, it fills our venues with buzzy, inspiring and agenda-setting conversations.
Now in its 14th year, the festival brings international and Australian artists, thinkers and storytellers together to explore the big ideas important to women, gender diverse people and their allies.
This year’s festival is curated by Head of Talks and Ideas Chip Rolley, Director of Programming Brenna Hobson and Senior Producer Fleur Mitchell.
Values
Each year All About Women welcomes an outstanding line-up of international and Australian artists, thinkers and storytellers, exploring the ever-evolving big ideas important to women and their allies.
Since it opened in 1973, the Sydney Opera House has promoted creativity, diversity, environmental sustainability, cultural rights and respect for heritage, both on and off its stages.
For thousands of years, Tubowgule, the land on which the Opera House stands, has been a place of gathering and belonging for the Gadigal people. The Opera House carries on this legacy by embracing and celebrating the culture of Australia’s First Peoples.
As part of our Everyone’s House strategy, we’re integrating sustainability across the organisation, creating a stage for diverse voices and inspiring others to take action while preserving this World Heritage-listed masterpiece. Together, we’re engaging more people in creativity and breaking down barriers to participation.
Accessibility is a core commitment for All About Women, as the festival recognises the vital importance of inclusion. To ensure accessibility, the festival has consistently featured speakers and artists with lived experience of disability since its inception. Key provisions include sessions with Auslan interpretation and captioning, as well as a low-sensory quiet space. Find out more information about accessibility at the Sydney Opera House.
All About Women embodies these values, both within the program and through a number of accessibility and inclusion initiatives.
Sustainability
When it comes to tackling the big issues of our time, there’s never been a more urgent need for the kind of bold, creative thinking that brought the Opera House itself to life. In 2019, we became the first major Australian arts institution to adopt the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, better known as the Global Goals. In 2025, we built on that commitment by joining the UN Global Compact, strengthening our resolve to inspire transformative, collective action.
We’re on track to become climate positive by 2030, by powering the site with 100% renewable electricity and reducing our reliance on fossil fuels. We’re also on a mission to divert up to 90% of our operational waste from landfill – a big goal that takes all of us to achieve.
All About Women supports our commitment to the Global Goals by keeping printed materials to a minimum, recycling signage and using sustainable materials where possible.
Equity and inclusion
Consistent with our ambition to be Everyone’s House, we want who we are and everything we do to reflect and respect the diversity of our community. Our definition of diversity encompasses people of all abilities, cultural backgrounds, intersectional identities and lived experiences.
Since opening in 1973, the Opera House has celebrated and supported the diversity of our communities, including presenting brilliant work featuring many artists and their stories. All About Women is proud to continue this tradition.
Reflecting our mission to inspire and strengthen the community through everything we do, the Opera House is also a frequent participant in the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade.
As in previous years, All About Women will provide all-gender bathrooms for staff and patrons.
Dive deeper into All About Women
All About Women 2025
In 2025, its 13th year, the festival brought international and Australian artists, thinkers and storytellers together to explore the big ideas important to women, gender diverse people and their allies.
10 Years of All About Women
Since the first All About Women was presented in 2013, more than 72,000 people have attended the festival and millions more have watched the talks... online. Just as the community has evolved, so too has the program.
Ideas at the House
Talks and conversations from the Sydney Opera House featuring the world’s greatest minds and culture creators.
