On International Women's Day 2026 we're celebrating 50 years of women's participation in the Australian Antarctic Program.
Three trailblazers smashed the 'Antarctic ice ceiling' in January 1976, travelling on the Thala Dan to Casey station as part of Australia's Antarctic Program for the first time.
While many women had travelled to Macquarie Island previously, women had been excluded from Australian Antarctic expeditions until then.
The official line was that there were no facilities for women and the climate was too hostile.
The International Women's Year in 1975 aimed to end discrimination against women and helped catalyse equal access for women to Antarctica.
While it has not been a smooth road for the inclusion of women in the Australian Antarctic Program, women's contributions have become integral to every aspect of Australian Antarctic science, operations and international relations.
Learn more about the challenges and rewards they experienced in the video above, and our feature 'Icebreakers – 50 years of women in Antarctica'.
