Zadie Smith, Jacinda Ardern and Antoinette Lattouf: The 2026 All About Women Line-Up Is Here

Photo: Courtesy of Sydney Opera House / Jami Joy

Is being straight even worth it? How do you raise boys who won’t turn into monsters? Is keeping the spark alive worth the bother? Nothing’s off the table at All About Women.

Words by Lucy Bell Bird · Updated on 13 Jan 2026 · Published on 13 Jan 2026

Sydney Opera House’s annual festival is back for another blockbuster year. On March 8, authors, activists, creatives, commentators and more will take to the stage to unpack the constantly evolving landscape of gender, culture and equality.

With wit, intellect and irreverence, literary legend Zadie Smith will invite us to get reacquainted with the idea of nuance. Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will chat power and progress with Laura Tingle. Journalist Emily Maitlis, whose 2019 interview with then-Prince Andrew created shockwaves that are still being felt in the royal family (and in the US Department of Justice), will speak to the importance of journalism. Laila Lalami, author of the eerily prescient book The Dream Hotel, will discuss what happens when the truth is scarier than fiction.

Chanté Joseph, whose “Is Having a Boyfriend Embarrassing?” article for British Vogue provoked opinions from seemingly every person with a phone, is speaking on heterofatalism and the growing disillusionment women have with straight men. The much-loved Feminist Roast returns for a third year with Gina Chick, Yumi Stynes and Steph Tisdell.

Sex and relationships therapist Aleks Trkulja, alongside journalist Stynes, investigates whether the admin and mental load involved with keeping the spark alive in a sex life is worth it. Pain and Prejudice author Gabrielle Jackson and doctor Zoe Wainer unpack medical misogyny. Walkley winner Jess Hill and clinical psychologist Zac Seidler are dissecting parenting in the world of Andrew Tate in Raising Boys.

Other panels unpack perinatal mental health for new mothers; the high demand at Australian fertility clinics, leaving some people trawling Facebook groups for sperm; the income gap and financial safety nets; aging boldly and loudly; stories of immigration and cultural legacy in a panel moderated by Antoinette Lattouf; and more.

The full program is online. Tickets are available for presale now and available to the general public on Thursday January 15. Prices start at $35.

www.sydneyoperahouse.com/all-about-women

@sydneyoperahouse

About the author

Lucy Bell Bird is Broadsheet's national assistant editor.

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