Women Of Steel Film Screening and Discussion

Women of Steel – Film Screening & Discussion
Join us in recognising May Day for a powerful documentary screening and discussion on women’s liberation, union power, and the fight for workplace equality.

Women of Steel follows a group of determined working-class and migrant women in their 14-year fight for the right to work in Wollongong’s steel industry.

Led by Robynne Murphy, a key figure in the 1980–1994 Jobs for Women Campaign, these women took on Australia’s most powerful company—BHP—in a groundbreaking battle for equality. When the 1983 steel slump devastated the city’s economy, their struggle moved from the streets to the factory floor to the courtroom, proving that persistence and solidarity can overcome even the biggest obstacles.

Set against the backdrop of the women’s liberation movement, anti-discrimination laws, and shifting roles in the workforce, this documentary is a story of perseverance, resistance, and camaraderie, told with emotion and humour. It remains an inspiration for all who fight for justice, women's liberation and workers’ rights today.

Event Details

When: Saturday, 3rd May 2025
Where: Kathleen Syme Library and Community Centre, Multipurpose Room 1
251 Faraday Street, Carlton VIC 3053

Film Screening at 5.00 pm 

Discussion with Robynne Murphy, Pipin Jamson and Lana Woolf at 6.15pm

Cost - Free
Tickets via Humanitix 
Come celebrate May Day with Red Spark and be inspired by the story of working-class women who changed Australian history.

 Robynne Murphy is one of the original women of Steel and the filmmaker

Pipin Jameson is an Indonesian Activist and co-founder of the Indonesian Academics Union.