We have been treated to a festival of statistics of late. According to the Workplace Gender Equity Agency, there is a 24.7 per cent gender pay gap across all industries. For managers, this climbs to 28.9 per cent. And in some industries is as high as 45 per cent.

Women make up just 30.5 per cent of federal parliamentarians (don't get us started on cabinet) and 35 per cent of Commonwealth judges and magistrates. They hold 18.5 per cent of board positions on ASX100 companies.

One in three women over 15 has experienced some kind of physical violence. One in six has experienced physical or sexual violence from a current or former partner.

About one woman a week is killed by a current or former partner, although so far this year, it is about two a week.

Meanwhile, research released on Saturday by the Australia Institute found that 87 per cent of Australian women polled have experienced at least one form of verbal or physical street harassment. This includes everything from being honked at, being followed, having your path blocked, flashing, unwanted sexual touching and threats of rape.

It is 2015. And it is bloody depressing.

There has been plenty of the inevitable talk this week about what governments, police, courts, workplaces and businesses should be doing to improve the status and situation of women in Australia.

But what can we do ourselves? The issues seem too big sometimes. They overwhelm as much as they anger and frustrate.

On this Women's Day eve, surely the following improvements are possible at an individual level?

1. If women don't agree, it makes it a "debate", not a sisterhood implosion

Women are a diverse bunch. By saying "women" we are lumping together different ages, cultures, sexualities, politics and financial situations. So it (should) come as no great surprise that "women" don't always agree or want the same things.

This does not mean the "sisterhood" is in trouble if say, one woman calls herself a feminist and another does not. If they both agree that women should be treated equally, then isn't that the main point? Speaking of which:

2. Focus on the actual issues, not personal choices

The issue is not whether the term "feminist" is derogatory or not, or whether people choose to embrace it. It is what women are paid, how they are treated, how safe they are.

Just as the debate is not whether women should stay at home, look after the kids and make cupcakes all day or whether they should go back to work within two hours of giving birth so as not to muck up their careers and national productivity.

It is whether they are able to choose what they want to do and be respected and reasonably supported for doing that. And indeed, whether they have the same opportunities as men.

3. Sheryl Sandberg is on to something

The Facebook executive and Lean In author has come to worldwide prominence - and some controversy - since she started talking about the barriers preventing women from taking leadership roles some in 2010.

Some of them, Sandberg argues, are internal. Women have to stop telling themselves that they are frauds and underqualified and not up to big gigs. "Women need to shift from thinking 'I'm not ready to do that' to thinking 'I want to do that and I'll learn by doing it'," she says.

It is not the whole answer, but it is something that individual women can control for themselves, and actively support each other in achieving.

4. HeForShe is on to something

The UN Women HeForShe campaign aims to encourage men and boys to champion women's rights. It is based on the idea that gender inequality, surprisingly enough, affects us all. More than 10,300 Australian men have signed the UN pledge and this week, Tony Abbott and Bill Shorten did so too.

Not everyone is a fan (ie: this is just easy sloganeering), but surely having a conversation that makes gender issues a joint thing and not a women-only niche is a helpful, positive advancement. Funnily enough, young men seem to have less trouble calling themselves feminists these days than young women do ... not that labels matter.

5. Don't use stupid terminology

Exhibit A: "Throw/cry/drink/fight like a girl."

Exhibit B: "Post-baby body."

Exhibit C: "Leave pass."

6. Don't think there is ever any excuse for violence against women

And yes, this includes chicks wearing short skirts and drinking Tequila. Or a woman nagging her partner at the end of a stressful day at work.

7. Forget about "having it all"

Because nobody does. Not even men.

Judith Ireland is a Fairfax Media journalist