In 2017, the first Women's March assembled on January 21, the day after the inauguration of Donald Trump. It was a global protest - 5,000,000 estimated to have marched worldwide - and the largest single-day protest in US history. The 2018 Women's March comes in at second.

The defining mission of the march was to fight for gender inequality by advocating for equal pay, LGBTIQA+ rights, women in poverty and an end to violence against women. These goals remain the same for this year's #WomensWave theme, with the latter being the focus.

Despite recent controversy surrounding the US Women's March, the Canberra march, along with marches in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne, are full steam ahead.

The march is a movement to change the culture, to spell out that women's rights are human rights. Here's more from the activists, business-owners, artists and diversity champions involved in the Canberra Women's March, and what they're fighting for this Sunday and every other day.

Co-host of Canberra Women's March, member of Young Women Speak Out

"I was a speaker at last year's march, so being asked this year was exciting because I've had a chance to see how empowering it was in 2018.

There are many issues prevalent in Australia, one being sexual harassment in university, in workplaces and general life, as we've seen with the #MeToo movement. I was part of the change of the positive consent definition this year. It's important for young women's perspectives to be heard.

Often we get a similar kind of people attending these marches, there's a stereotype of what a feminist is. White. And everyone certainly has a right to have a say, but it's important that more faces come to the forefront, and that everyone's heard. Being Indian Australian women I feel I can help represent a portion of the community.

We've tried to bring a range of people to the march, be that non-binary, trans individuals, people of queer identity. It's not about ticking a box, but understanding that all these people are part of our community and their voices should be heard. Not to be the token person of colour, but I have things I want to say.

At the march we want to highlight people who are really doing good work in our Canberra community."

CEO of Women with Disabilities ACT, member of the organising team for the Canberra Women's March

"I'm marching as a non-binary person with a disability. It's about visibility and representing people who aren't often represented in mainstream feminism. Women with disability face some pretty extraordinary violence, the statistics are shocking there. As a non-binary person, sometimes people don't include us in the dialogue around gender rights and equality.

I'm the CEO of Women with Disabilities ACT, a systemic advocacy organisation. We inform the government what women with disabilities want and need to be equal parts of the Canberra community. This involves submission writing, enquiries, events and projects.

For the Canberra Women's March, I've acted as a consultant for accessibility. Garema Place is pretty good in terms of accessibility. There will also be chairs so people don't have to stand, we'll have Auslan interpreters, and whether we have the funds, we'll be live-streaming the event on Facebook for those who aren't able to attend.

Singer/songwriter

"This is my first march, and I'm excited to walk with people who share the same passion, and to perform. I am marching because I want to improve gender disparity education in the workforce.

I'm in university currently and in a course last year my eyes were opened to how gendered expectations truly make women feel like they can't achieve their goals and work in certain areas. And this begins when you're raised a child and if you choose to go onto university. These social constructs make a difference in a person's life.

In maths and science, teachers might give a certain level of attention to male students that they don't give to us. Early on there's a certain expectation that you'll choose electives like cooking instead of design technology. And we fall for these expectations."

Canberra Women in Business Champion of the Year, founder of Eco Styles

"Fundamentally, I'm marching because I believe women will change the world. I strive to empower women, whether it's in Australia, in other Western countries and developing countries.

When women are empowered, when their voices are heard, society becomes better. That's when things change. Even groups who are not women are raised up when women are. It's the key to developing society.

I've been organising events in Canberra for about three years now, around female empowerment and sustainable fashion, which is also a feminist issue. I also run a sustainable fashion business, Eco Styles.

80% of garment workers in the world are women in developing countries. These women are in a cycle of poverty, with low wages and experiencing an abuse of human rights. And most fashion consumers are women. We need to be conscious of who makes our clothes.

Also, the beauty and fashion industry constantly makes us feel as though we're not enough. I'd like to encourage women to ignore what they're told to look like, and look within themselves."

ACT Woman of the Year 2018, organiser of the Canberra Women's March

"I march because I think we need a better standard, I think we need a better world for all women. We have a fair way to go, particularly around violence against women, which is the topic of this year's march. We've already seen women killed this year, in Australia, and we know this problem is worse for women of colour, women with a disability and women from marginalised backgrounds.

I'm fortunate to come from a background of privilege, but the way I see it, is that I have a responsibility to stand with these women and use my platform and my voice to call for a better standard for all women.

My mother was an active feminist, and I was raised to understand privilege and inequality. It's a lifelong perspective I've always had. I worked with World Vision, in youth campaigning for four years, but that helped me realise that everywhere in the world, women are behind. Whether it be two steps, whether it be 100 steps; there is nowhere in the world where women are equal. So I got particularly in this space.

I'm looking forward to the energy of this year's march. The energy of the 2018 march was fantastic. There was so much pride in seeing all of these women, who I didn't know, they weren't friends are family, they were the wider Canberra community. It was men and women, coming together and they were so keen for positive change. We hope to keep these sorts of movements going outside of the marches."

The Canberra Women's March will be held on Sunday from 10am to 1pm, starting in Garema Place, Civic. Women-identifying, queer-identifying and non-binary people, plus anyone who believes in equality, safety, and respect is welcome to attend. More details on the Facebook page.