They came from different social and cultural backgrounds, but here they came with one main goal: to put an end to the silence on gender inequality.

On the eve of International Women's Day on March 8, a diverse range of speakers (with a speech interpreter from the We Are Union organisation) called for Australians to “stop the silence” at a rally outside State Library of Victoria. 

The speakers rallied against gender inequality, sexual harassment and unequal pay between men and women.

Director of the Trans Justice Project Jackie Turner, who spoke at the rally, said Australia should invest in all women.

"Transgender people are the most likely to be homeless, the most likely to face financial hardship, and the most likely to face discrimination in the workplace,” Turner said.

It's a view echoed by Victorian Trades Hall Council Assistant Secretary Wil Stracke.

“Trans women are women ... It's just women protesting and taking to the streets to demand change," the TikTok star explained in her video on International Women's Day.

Stracke urged the public to view the issue as far bigger than the issue of trans women in sport. 

After the speeches, the parade marched from the State Library to Parliament House. 

“I am marching for a world where we can all be free," a protester said. "The rising of the women means the rising of us all."

The rally ended with people singing the song "Bret Mo Roses" in front of Parliament House.

IWD protest signage featured the colour red, an emblem of revolution and indignation, with diverse banners asserting gender equality and advocating for women's empowerment not only in Melbourne but across the globe — just as they did during the inaugural IWD rally here in 1975.