To mark International Women’s Day, the CEO’s and Chairs of all 12 Women’s Health Services across Victoria have released a statement reinforcing the importance of the global and local themes for the day.

“The United Nation’s themes for International Women’s Day resonate so deeply for all the Women’s Health Services” said Tricia Currie, CEO of Women’s Health Loddon Mallee and Chair of the Women’s Health Services Network. “Every single day our staff see the negative impacts of women’s persistent economic exclusion from our society and economy because their social determinants are not being supported,” said Tricia Currie

The Victorian Women’s Health Services stand behind the United Nations’ assessment that gender equality is at a critical juncture. As International Women’s Day approaches, with its focus on the theme of Investing in Women to Accelerate Progress, the sector advocates for increased investment in gender equality initiatives. Despite overwhelming evidence of the substantial benefits for communities, businesses, and governments, more action is needed to ensure progress.

“As the statement says it is really important that we address the challenges where they lie – with the systems and structures of our economy and society – not continuously try to ‘fix women’” said Tricia Currie “The work of equality has become women’s work and as we know when work is predominantly undertaken by women it is devalued and under resourced. The release of the WGEA pay gap data just reinforces again decades of evidence about this fact” said Tricia Currie.

The Chairs and CEO’s of the Victorian Women’s Health sector are calling upon governments across Australia to rise to the moment and invest in women’s equality and economic inclusion.

The sector is calling upon the Victorian State Government to maintain and sustain the current levels of funding for all of the Women’s Health Services. The sector is also reiterating those calls for action that they have previously argued for over the past year including the 2023 State Budget. These include:

• Strengthen long-term policies for women’s health and well-being, addressing social determinants, and allocate resources to cater to diverse community needs.
• Expand gender-based budgeting policies and extend the Gender Equality Act to non-government organizations.
• Ensure that all public hospitals and publicly funded health institutions apply an intersectional lens to their programs and services with a particular focus on the gendered impacts to those programs and services. This includes all health services that are in receipt of public funds to provide full evidence based services and referral to women including sexual and reproductive health
• Invest in specialized infrastructure for women’s mental health to ensure access and promote healthy living for all women, regardless of their backgrounds.

Further contact:

Tricia Currie Chair, Women’s Health Services Network

Phone: 0428365929 Email: tricia.currie@whlm.org.au

Further Information

2024 International Women’s Day Statement from the leadership of the Victorian Women’s Health Services can be found here –  https://www.whsn.org.au/blog/whsn-statement-iwd-2024

About Women’s Health Services Network

The Women’s Health Services Network has been a driving force progressing and shaping Victoria’s women’s health and equality space for four decades. While our services were established and funded independently of one another, collaboration has been a strong part of our history. Today, the 12 women’s health services funded through the state government’s Victorian Women’s Health Program collaborate under the title the ‘Victorian Women’s Health Services Network’. This enables us to work as a coordinated, mutually-reinforcing statewide network comprising both place-based and specialist services.

www.whsn.org.au

A landmark report has shed light on the economic value of Women’s Health Services to Victoria, underscoring the critical need for sustained government funding beyond 2023-24.

Conducted by Impact Economics and Policy, the Return on Equity – Health and economic dividends from investing in Women’s Health Services [pdf] report reveals the long-term economic benefits of investing in women’s health, from reducing cost pressures on the healthcare system to improving workforce participation.

The report found that Women’s Health Services have directly and indirectly contributed to Victoria’s superior performance across a range of outcomes, with significant benefits to the economy and health system:

• Less women experiencing violence

Almost 22,000 fewer women experienced physical and/or sexual violence each year because of Victoria’s lower prevalence of violence against women than the national average. This has resulted in economic cost savings of $600 million a year. The cost savings over a lifetime are almost $8 billion.

• Fewer teenage pregnancies

There were over 500 fewer teenage mothers in Victoria in 2021 because of Victoria’s lower rates of teenage pregnancy than the national average.

• Healthcare cost savings

Healthcare costs of $1.4 million have been saved in 2022 because of Victoria’s lower rates of three sexually transmitted infections (chlamydia, gonorrhoea, and syphilis) among women. By promoting early detection and prevention, women’s health services reduce the financial burden on the healthcare system and mitigate the costs associated with treating advanced health conditions. This approach not only benefits women but also eases the strain on healthcare budgets.

• Mental health benefits

While rates of mental ill-health are influenced by a wide range of factors, actions that prevent long-term mental ill-health would have annual benefits of about $100,000 per person. Even a 0.5% reduction in the number of women suffering long-term mental ill-health would have economic benefits of $178 million.

Since 1987, Victoria has benefited from the work of Women’s Health Services. This network of 12 locally based and state-wide community health organisations delivers globally recognised best-practice women’s health models to address gender inequality, providing better health and wellbeing for women and girls across the state.

Prior to the 2022-23 Victorian Budget, the Women’s Health Services had not received a real increase in their core funding in almost 35 years. This meant that funding steadily declined from $4.35 per woman to just $2.07 per woman.

In 2022-23, their collective funding almost doubled to just over $20 million a year, which opened new opportunities to respond to local needs, support targeted interventions to vulnerable groups, strengthen partnerships and implement state-wide policies.

This funding is set to expire at the end of 2023-24. Without ongoing investment, the gains made will be at risk.

The Call to Action

To safeguard the progress and benefits generated by Women’s Health Services, it is imperative to maintain funding in the 2024-25 Victorian Budget. The 2024-25 Victorian Budget could lock in the current level of Women’s Health Service funding and make it permanent.

The work of Women’s Health Services does not just benefit women. It delivers significant benefits for all Victorians, through fostering more inclusive communities, reducing cost pressures on the health care system, and improving workforce participation. The solution is clear: invest in the future and continue the fight against gender inequality.

Quotes: 

“We have demonstrated and calculated the benefits of investing in health equity and prevention through the work of the women’s health services. With the recent uplift in investment at Women’s Health Loddon Mallee we have reached more women, engaged in more partnerships, listened to diverse experiences, delivered more activities, enabled women to rise above the impact of flood , heard their stories, broken the silence on women’s health and grown the workforce. An ongoing investment in the Women’s Health services is an investment with significant returns for the women in our region.”

Tricia Currie, Chief Executive Officer, Womens Health Loddon Mallee

“Women’s Health Goulburn North East works with and for women across a large chunk of regional Victoria. Our communities are as diverse as the needs and hopes of each woman. From those running agricultural businesses, to office-workers and fruit-pickers, women in rural towns of 20 people to those in cities of over 25,000 our communities need their voices heard. We have been able to extend our reach over the past 18 months and bring more women’s voices to the attention of the media and our policymakers. This is critical for ensuring women in our region are able to live their best lives.” 

 Amanda Kelly, Chief Executive Officer, Women’s Health Goulburn North East 

“Women in the south-east of Melbourne can only be supported through an equitable health system and that does not happen alone. It requires expertise and close knowledge of the region that centres the lived experience of women. We have been able to do so much already with the boosted funding in 2022 – employ women, deliver more services, generate outcomes – let’s not go backwards now.” 

Kit McMahon, Chief Executive Officer, Women’s Health in the South East

“The need to invest in an equitable health system that responds to the needs of women in both urban and rural areas is greater than ever. The immediate and long-term value of the 2022 funding boost is clear. It has enabled the women’s health sector to achieve real change for women and, with continued investment, we can continue this vital work.”  

Sarah Wood, Acting Regional Manager, Women’s Health & Wellbeing Barwon South West

“Advancing women’s health and gender equality demands sustained investment and persistent action to bring about meaningful change in Melbourne’s east and across our state. The Women’s Health Sector offers a cost-effective solution for preventing poor health outcomes in women and girls.”  

Elly Taylor, Chief Executive Officer, Women’s Health East

“The ability to extend the reach and depth of our programs and activities across the Grampians has been welcomed by women in communities all across the region especially in remote rural parts where women feel most isolated and unsupported by services. Most importantly, the funding uplift has enabled us to genuinely strengthen our intersectional lens, bringing marginalised voices and issues to the fore in a meaningful, respectful way.”  

Marianne Hendron, Chief Executive Officer, Women’s Health Grampians 

“Our demonstrated value is immense- both economically and socially. Without ongoing sustained funding, Women’s Health Services will be forced to operate on the funding levels of 36 years ago. Society – and public health needs – are vastly different now. 1988 population levels are incomparable to current growth and community need. Victoria’s hard-fought gains in gender equity progress must continue with an investment that delivers exceptional return on investment.” 

Dale Wakefield, Chief Executive Officer, GenWest 

“As migrant and refugee women, we represent 1 in 3 women in Australia. Yet, our experiences of accessing healthcare are far from equal. Structural and systemic barriers mean that we continue to witness lower levels of access to health services which leads to poorer health outcomes for migrant and refugee women than the general Victorian population. 

A sustained investment into prevention and early intervention will ensure that migrant and refugee women and gender diverse people are empowered to take early action on their health, their wellbeing and their safety, rather than being pushed to the point of crisis. Prevention and early intervention alleviate the stress on Victoria’s health system, and crucially, makes the health system equitable for migrant and refugee women and gender diverse people at the same time.”

Dr Adele Murdolo, Executive Director of Multicultural Centre of Women’s Health

Available for interview upon request:

• Dr Angela Jackson, Lead Economist, Impact Economics and Policy
• Tricia Currie, Chair, Women’s Health Services Network and CEO, Women’s Health Loddon Mallee

About Women’s Health Services Network

The Women’s Health Services Network has been a driving force progressing and shaping Victoria’s women’s health and equality space for four decades. While our services were established and funded independently of one another, collaboration has been a strong part of our history. Today, the 12 women’s health services funded through the state government’s Victorian Women’s Health Program collaborate under the title the ‘Victorian Women’s Health Services Network’. This enables us to work as a coordinated, mutually-reinforcing statewide network comprising both place-based and specialist services.

Key facts:

The report found that Women’s Health Services have directly and indirectly contributed to Victoria’s superior performance across a range of outcomes, with significant benefits to the economy and health system:

LESS WOMEN EXPERIENCING VIOLENCE

Almost 22,000 fewer women experienced physical and/or sexual violence each year because of Victoria’s lower prevalence of violence against women than the national average. This has resulted in economic cost savings of $600 million a year. The cost savings over a lifetime are almost $8 billion.

FEWER TEENAGE PREGNANCIES

There were over 500 fewer teenage mothers in Victoria in 2021 because of Victoria’s lower rates of teenage pregnancy than the national average.

HEALTHCARE COST SAVINGS

Healthcare costs of $1.4 million have been saved in 2022 because of Victoria’s lower rates of three sexually transmitted infections (chlamydia, gonorrhoea, and syphilis) among women. By promoting early detection and prevention, women’s health services reduce the financial burden on the healthcare system and mitigate the costs associated with treating advanced health conditions. This approach not only benefits women but also eases the strain on healthcare budgets.

MENTAL HEALTH BENEFITS

While rates of mental ill-health are influenced by a wide range of factors, actions that prevent long-term mental ill-health would have annual benefits of about $100,000 per person. Even a 0.5% reduction in the number of women suffering long-term mental ill-health would have economic benefits of $178 million.

Media contact:

Dos Hetherington
Communications Lead, Women’s Health in the South East
E: dhetherington@whise.org.au
M: 0412 317 334

At Women’s Health East, we proudly serve as the women’s health promotion agency for Melbourne’s eastern region. We are privileged to work on the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people.

Women’s Health East is dedicated to closing the gap in health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women by advancing gender equality, preventing violence against women, and improving women’s sexual and reproductive health.

We aspire for our inaugural Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) to strengthen and cultivate respectful and trusting relationships with Aboriginal organisations, women, and their communities, and we are fully committed to listening to and amplifying their voices.

Through the RAP, we will integrate culturally safe practices within our workplace and the health promotion programs we deliver to Aboriginal women, aiming to advance their health, wellbeing, and self-determination.

We will be a steadfast ally to ensure that the rights of First Nations peoples are acknowledged, respected, and upheld through truth telling, Treaty, and a Voice to Parliament.

A Message from Elly Taylor, Chief Executive Officer, Women’s Health East:

I’m delighted to share Women’s Health East’s inaugural Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan, which has been endorsed by Reconciliation Australia.

We are excited to be formally commencing our reconciliation journey of listening, learning and growth, as we work towards achieving a shared sense of fairness, justice and equity.

To foster a culture of learning and growth within our organisation, Women’s Health East will support our Board and staff to deepen their understanding of Aboriginal histories, cultures, and customs.

Alanna Sandy, a Tuangurung artist who works for Oonah Belonging Place, created the artwork in our RAP. The artwork showcases vibrant imagery and cultural symbols that promote a better understanding of the importance of Aboriginal women’s health.

Read the full Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan. 

Quick links 

To apply fill out this form: https://forms.gle/j9c2N8qfAc5PfJ7C9 by 11pm June 30th 2023

To read a short summary of this info:Young Experts Group: Key Details

Project info

We are recruiting up to 12 Disabled young people aged 18 to 25 to be part of a Young Experts Group for the Get the Go-Ahead: Voices for Affirmative Consent Project. 

About the Get the Go-Ahead: Voices for Affirmative Consent Project
Get the Go-Ahead is an affirmative consent project for Disabled young people. It aims to give Disabled young people more access to information about affirmative consent, to empower Disabled young people to make choices about their lives and bodies, and to address ableist and gendered drivers of sexual assault and other forms of gendered violence.

We will be working together to create resources about affirmative consent aimed at Disabled young people. 

What it involves 

• You will take part in 6 capacity-building workshops and 6 codesign workshops. These will run online over Zoom. 
• The capacity building workshops are  designed to give you more skills and knowledge. Some of the workshop topics have already been planned, and some will be decided by you as a group of Disabled young people.
• In the codesign workshops we will decide as a group 
  • what kind of resources we want to create
  • what specific topics they should include 
  • How best to support Disabled young people to learn more about consent, sexual health, and our rights

You can see a timeline with more info on what the workshops will cover below under the heading Capacity-Building and Codesign Workshop Timeline. 

Payment
Each workshop will be two hours, and you will be paid $150 for each workshop you participate in. 

Who can apply
This project is open to Disabled young people aged 18 to 25 years old with a connection to Melbourne’s eastern region
We’re hoping to recruit a group of diverse Disabled young people. It’s open to people of all genders and we particularly encourage queer and trans Disabled people, Disabled people of colour, and young people with a diverse range of lived experiences to apply. 

Disabled
This is a broad category, and we know people might use different language to describe themselves. In this project we recognise a broad definition of disability, including physical disability, intellectual disability, neurodivergence, mental illness, chronic illness, cognitive disability, and sensory disability. 

Age
This project is focused on young adults, which are people aged between 18 and 25 years old. You can apply for this if you will be between 18 and 25, as of the 1st of August 2023. 

Connection to the eastern region
Melbourne’s eastern region includes Yarra Ranges, Knox, Maroondah, Manningham, Monash, Whitehorse and Boroondara. Having a connection to this region might mean that you live here, study here, work here, grew up here, or have family or community here. 

Capacity-Building and Codesign Workshop Timeline 

We’ll start with three capacity building workshops on the core topics for Get the Go-Ahead.

August
Capacity-Building Workshop 1
Intro and Intersectional Codesign

• An intro to codesign and decision-making processes 
  • Aiming for consensus, finding compromises 
  • Types of voting (priority & approval) 
  • The difference between codesign and an advisory group
• Understanding the project budget 
• Cultural safety and anti-racism 
• Intersectionality
• Disability justice 
• Queer and trans liberation 
• Respectful language
• Making a group agreement 

September
Capacity-Building Workshop 2
Affirmative Consent and Sex 

• What is affirmative consent? 
• Overview of the new legislation- what it says now and what’s changed 
• Looking at existing sexual health and sex ed resources for Disabled people 
• Disabled people and sexuality/access to sexual health info
• How sexism and ableism contribute to the violence Disabled young people face
• Other topics as requested by the Young Experts Group (we’ll send you a survey once the group has been recruited) 

October
Capacity-Building Workshop 3:
Accessibility

• Disability Justice
• The Young Experts will decide what aspects of accessibility you’d all like to learn more about. For example the group might want: 
  • To learn more about accessible resources, graphic design, writing Easy English, etc., 
  • To have an overview of different types of access needs
  • To focus on peer learning and sharing your knowledge and experience of accessibility 
  • To know more about accessibility and ableism in a health context
  • Any other areas of accessibility you think of 

November 2023-January 2024 

November 2023: Codesign Workshop 1
December 2023: Codesign Workshop 2
January 2024: Codesign Workshop 3
For three months we’ll have monthly codesign workshops to design resources on affirmative consent, sex ed, and your rights aimed at Disabled young people. Using your own knowledge and what you’ve learnt together in the first three capacity-building workshops you’ll decide as a group: 

• What format the resources should be in (e.g., text, video, podcast, graphics, etc.) 
• What topics are most important to cover
• Other details about the resources

There are some requirements for the project that we can’t change 

• The resources must be focused on affirmative consent & sex ed
• The main audience is Disabled young people aged 18 to 25 years old 
  • We can have secondary or additional audiences who are connected to the main audience, like Disabled people in other age groups, parents, carers, teachers, medical professionals, support workers, or other people who interact with Disabled young adults
• The resources must aim to support Disabled young people to understand affirmative consent 
• The resources must aim to support Disabled young people to make their own choices about 
  • what kinds of relationships they want 
  • their safety 
  • what respect means to them and what makes them feel respected  
• We will have a budget and whatever we plan we have to be able to pay for out of our funding 
• The project ends at the end of 2024 and we have to finish everything by then, including promoting and sharing the resources. Our last codesign workshop will be in July 2024. 

February 2024-April 2024
February 2024: Capacity-building workshop 4
March 2024: Capacity-building workshop 5
April 2024: Capacity-building workshop 6 

We’ll have another three monthly capacity-building workshops. These three will be on the topics the Young Experts decide would be most useful. For example

• if in the codesign workshops you all decide you’d like some resources aimed at teachers with Disabled students you might want a workshop on education
• If you decide to make a podcast you might want to learn more about audio production, editing, and accessibility
• You might have specific areas in Disability sexual health you want to learn more about 
• Or you might choose something else that’s part of the project 

May 2024-July 2024
May 2024: codesign workshop 4
June 2024: codesign workshop 5
July 2024: codesign workshop 6
We’ll have another three monthly codesign workshops. In these workshops you’ll look at the resources in more detail, review or contribute to drafts, and generally contribute to the final resources and help plan how they should be shared and promoted, as well as discussing a launch event. 

Codesign principles
These are the codesign principles that will guide how we work on this project. 

Codesign is about sharing decision-making power 

• A codesign group is not an advisory group where suggestions, knowledge, and ideas are shared and then decisions are made elsewhere 
• By definition a codesign group must have decision-making power 
• Major decisions including what topics the resources focus on and what formats they’re in will be made by the Young Experts Group 
• The resources will not be published without the approval of the Young Experts Group 

Codesign must centre those most impacted 

• Codesign brings together people from the communities that will be impacted by the work being codesigned. 
• We must recognise lived experience as an important form of knowledge and respect those with lived experience as experts. 
• We will never assume that someone who connects with a project on the basis of their lived experience can only share their personal story. Disabled young people have expertise as Disabled young people, and equally can have knowledge from their academic, community, or professional backgrounds
• When thinking about who is most impacted we must include a broad range of people, looking at who is often left out of these processes and how intersecting forms of oppression create unique experiences that must be represented 

Codesign must be paid 

Contributing to a codesign process is work, and should always be fairly compensated 

Codesign must be accessible 

• Options to contribute in different formats, e.g., audio, text
• Flexibility and understanding that people’s capacity may vary throughout the year 
• Actively asking about access needs and providing enough information about the process to make it easier to identify potential access needs upfront 
• Checking in regularly about how codesign is going 

Codesign must be transparent

• We will be clear and honest about the limits around what we can do 
• We will share frequent updates with the codesign group about what we’ve done, how we’re following their decisions, and any ways we aren’t 
• If anything changes in the project we will tell you promptly 

You can apply by filling out this form: https://forms.gle/j9c2N8qfAc5PfJ7C9 

If you have any questions you can email Kochava Lilit, klilit@gmail.com

Public spaces play a significant role in community life. They provide a space for people to foster social connections, engage in sport and physical activity and access green spaces. Being able to occupy public space can positively impact on social, mental and physical health and wellbeing.

Women’s experiences and perceptions of public spaces differs to men and it is important to take these differences into account when planning and designing spaces for the community.  The evidence shows that women are more likely than men to feel unsafe in public spaces and can also feel as though a space is not designed with them in mind.

Women’s Health East saw an opportunity to pilot a project which elevated the voices and expertise of local women to create safe and inclusive public spaces. By engaging with local women to ‘walk’ their local areas, the Gender Equity Walk project facilitated a space for women to provide their perspective and experience on public spaces in their local area, and collaborate with council in a meaningful way, on an issue that impacts on their day to day lives

Download the reports to read more about the walks and key findings.

• Monash Gender Equity Walk Final Report
• Croydon Women’s Safety Walk Final Report

The Gender Equality Act 2020 came into effect on 31st March 2021. There are several actions that defined entities will need to undertake to fulfil their obligations under the Act, including Workplace Gender Audits, Gender Equality Action Plans (GEAPs), and Gender Impact Assessments (GIAs). For many organisations, this means heading into uncharted waters. Following are some tips to maximise your chances of smooth sailing.

1: Contextualise

Staff members across your organisation need to understand why you are doing this work. Emphasise that this not ‘just another compliance requirement’. Rather, this is about making our workplaces, programs, and services fairer and more accessible, and improving the lives of women and girls across Victoria. Highlight how this work aligns with your organisational values. (If words like fairness, equality, respect, learning, diversity, experience, innovation, quality, collaboration, or leadership appear in any of your organisational statements, you’re off to a great start!) Knowing the context for why this work is important can help get staff members on board.

2: Create a plan 

Familiarise yourself with the requirements of the Gender Equality Act and create a plan for managing your organisation’s obligations.  

Construct a timeline of key dates. Some of these dates are fixed – for example, your Workplace Gender Audit takes place on 30th June and your initial Gender Equality Action Plan (GEAP) is due for submission on 31st October this year. You will then need to submit your first progress report by 31st October 2023. Keeping these dates in mind, plan out a manageable review cycle for your policies, programs, and services. It’s probably unwise to have all reviews due at the same time, as this will mean having to undertake many Gender Impact Assessments at once – a huge task! How many GIAs do you anticipate having capacity to undertake in any given year/semester/quarter? What other key dates do you need to plan around (e.g. EOFY, semester dates, public holidays, other dates specific to your sector)? 

Consider also your priority areas for this first year of implementation. While the first round of gender audits and GEAPs must be completed this year, there is some discretion with Gender Impact Assessments. GIAs need to be conducted on all policies, programs, and services that are new or up for review, and which have a ‘direct and significant’ impact on the public. What does ‘direct and significant’ impact mean for your organisation? If you have new programs or services on offer this year, how will you embed Gender Impact Assessments in the planning process? Of your existing policies, programs, and services, which would you like to review this year? Which ones might be better scheduled for review once you have a couple of GIAs under your belt? Perhaps, for example, you might consider prioritising smaller policies or programs this year – dip your toes in the water to start with, rather than diving in head first and finding yourself overwhelmed by the process. 

3: Consider your strengths and needs

What strengths, knowledge, and experience already exist in your organisation? How can you harness this expertise for your gender equality work? Who in your organisation needs upskilling? 

Who is supportive of gender equality? Who else needs to be brought on board?

What gaps are there in your current information? How will you fill these?

Whose voices are missing from the conversation?

4: Collaborate across teams/departments

This is not just a job for Gender Equity Officers or Diversity and Inclusion teams! While these folks will have expertise in the area of gender equality, they may not have specific knowledge of all the day-to-day work of other teams. They may not know about revenue and rates, or water infrastructure, or IT, or forensic services, or curriculum planning, or medical procedures. Staff members from other teams within the organisation are the ones with this type of specialist expertise – so everyone will need to work together to meet your organisation’s obligations under the Gender Equality Act. 

Some organisations have asked their HR department to take the lead on the internal obligations of the Gender Equality Act (gender audit/GEAP) and their Diversity and Inclusion teams (or equivalent) to take the lead on the external obligations (GIAs). However, all teams/departments that provide programs or services to the public will need to be involved in this work. For some organisations, this may well mean every single team! This fits well with what we know about effective cultural change – that is, a whole-of-organisation approach works best. 

So make sure you get gender on the agenda, right across your organisation!

5: Collect information 

Capture data. If you’ve not already been doing this, start as soon as possible! Consider collecting not only data on gender, but also other characteristics that may compound experiences of disadvantage or discrimination, such as race, Aboriginality, religion, disability, age, and sexual orientation. 

Consult the people affected by your policies, programs, and services – your staff members, program/service users, community members.

Collate, deidentify, and disaggregate results. These will be used to complete the key actions required by the Gender Equality Act – Workplace Gender Audits, Gender Equality Action Plans, and Gender Impact Assessments – as well as for reporting purposes. These results can (and should!) also be used to inform continuous improvement processes within your organisation.  

The more information you have, the easier you will find it to fulfil your obligations under the Gender Equality Act, and the better you will be able to understand the needs of the people you work with and for. 

6: Connect with Women’s Health East

Women’s Health East is here to support organisations with implementation of the Gender Equality Act, so please reach out and connect with us! 

We are in the process of developing a series of training sessions around the Gender Equality Act, and will publicise details once finalised. Watch this space!

We can also offer tailored packages, so please contact us if you would like to discuss your organisation’s specific training and support needs.

7: Communicate

Good communication is key to the success of any change initiative. It can assist in building trust with stakeholders, and maximising their engagement in the process. 

Explain to your staff members why you are undertaking this work, how it aligns with your organisation’s values, and what their role in the process will be. Convey to your Board members the fantastic opportunity this work provides to strengthen your organisation’s gender equality credentials and add value for your clients/service users. Let your clients/service users know that you are listening: that you will use what you learn to improve your programs and services so that they do not contribute to gender inequality, and so they better meet the needs of women and girls. Reassure all of your stakeholders that data will be deidentified and you will maintain their privacy. 

Communicate the wins too! Let people know what gains you’ve made, however small they might seem. Track and celebrate your progress with members of your workplace and your community! 

In summary, to ensure the process of implementing the Gender Equality Act is as smooth as possible, plan early; collect as much information as possible; keep good records of actions you have taken; and communicate with all key internal and external stakeholders so they know what is happening, when, and why. The Gender Equality Act represents a fantastic opportunity for organisations to show some genuine leadership in the workplace and the community, and for all of us to make substantial progress towards gender equality. 

You definitely do not want that ship to sail without you. 

-by Kirsty Kain, WHE Training Coordinator

Thanks to everyone who attended WHE’s Women and COVID forum back in September! The presentations and panel discussion unpacked the gendered impacts of the global pandemic for women and the way forward for a gender equal recovery. We were joined by experts Tanja Kovac, CEO of Gender Equity Victoria (GENVIC),  Jane Fisher, Finkel Professor of Global & Women’s Health at Monash University and Richard Denniss, Chief Economist at The Australia Institute, all of whom presented some staggering data on the impacts of COVID on women and women’s mental health, and the economic implications of the pandemic for women.

Whether you have a role in defining funding guidelines, developing local government plans, or delivering programs or services, or if you are a member of the public, the call to action is the same.

We all need to speak up about the gendered impacts of COVID, and to use our influence to help build a fairer, safer and more equal society as we continue to deal with this pandemic, and as we begin to move towards recovery. You can be sure that Women’s Health East will take every opportunity to continue advocating for women, and support gender equitable action within the Eastern Metropolitan Region and beyond.

You can watch the forum back below.

My gym temporarily closed in March this year. The playgrounds that I regularly visited with my toddler also closed. Like many other Victorians, I had to re-think ways to use public spaces to maintain my fitness and entertain my very energetic 3-year old. I soon realised that, despite restricted access to areas I used to frequent, I was actually interacting with public spaces more often overall and in so many different ways than I could have ever expected. And I wasn’t the only one.

Public spaces foster social connections, encourage physical activity and recreational pursuits, and play a significant role in community life. Being able to occupy public space can positively impact on social, mental and physical health. Experiencing public spaces in new ways also really highlighted the importance of ensuring all public spaces are designed to be enjoyed by everyone within the community. Good design is crucial to creating spaces that are safe and inclusive for everyone – particularly for women and girls.

My area of work is health promotion, at a women’s health organisation, where we work with our partner organisations to ensure they consider the unique needs of women and girls when making program planning decisions. Putting a ‘gender lens’ on everything is what we do, which means we support state-wide and local bodies to consider how gender inequality impacts on women’s experiences. This approach can be applied across all disciplines – including urban planning and design.

The evidence shows that women are more likely than men to feel unsafe in public spaces, and are also more likely to feel as though a space is not designed with them in mind. This is particularly true for women who experience other intersecting forms of marginalisation, such as those who identify as LGBTIQ, women from migrant backgrounds, older women, Aboriginal women and women with a disability. Only 61% of Australian women reported feeling safe when walking alone at night, compared to 77% of men (Safety – Australia, OECD Better Life Index 2020). These perceptions of a lack of safety in public spaces can make women feel anxious and make them less likely to occupy these spaces, which means they are also missing out on the many benefits that public spaces bring. What is it about public spaces that can make women feel as though they are not made for them, and how can this be addressed through design?

Use and perception unique to lived experience

Women use and perceive public spaces in ways that are unique and specific to their lived experience, and much of this is influenced by the roles that they have historically taken on within our society. For example, women are more likely to take on care taker roles, and specific design considerations to make spaces useable and safe for young children and the elderly can make them more engaging for women. This could include designing walking paths with wide footpaths for prams, wheelchairs and walkers and accessible toilets with baby change facilities. Playgrounds are another key public space used by women, and thoughtful design can hugely impact on whether these are utilised. Ensuring that playgrounds have clear lines of sight to, that toilets and change facilities are within the vicinity and the provision of adequate seating are basic, yet key design aspects to ensure playgrounds are regarded as safe and accessible.

Other physical infrastructure, such as easy to read signs and directions, adequate lighting and well-maintained paths can influence women’s decision to engage with spaces. Additionally, mixed use areas where people can walk, play, eat and exercise at different times of the day ensure that the area is used at all times, encouraging community members to linger, which has the flow on effect of increasing women’s perceptions of safety and time spent there (Safe Public Places: Rethinking Design for Women Safety, Soraganvi, AS, 2017).

Subjective elements of the environment can also impact on women’s willingness to engage with spaces. A predominance of male named businesses, statues and artwork by men, and sexist and provocative ads can make women and girls feel excluded (Research project highlights the varied ways a woman can feel unsafe in a city, Kalms, N, Matthewson, G and Salen, The Sydney Morning Herald, 2017). It’s therefore key that, along with addressing physical safety, planners consider how women are represented and recognised in public spaces. An example from Spain is the conscious effort of naming streets after women (in Barcelona, the number of streets named after women went from 7% in 1996 to 27% in 2010) and encouraging public art to remember the contribution that women have made to Spain (Designing cities for women: lessons from Barcelona’s ‘Feminist City’, Abbey Seitz, streets.mn, May 22 2020).

In order to create safe and inclusive public spaces for all women, their voices and expertise must be front and centre in every stage of planning through a co-design approach. Firstly, it is about ensuring that women are working in urban design leadership positions so that they are able to bring their perspectives and experiences to the table. It is also about listening to the voices of women within a community in order to gather rich, real world data that can be used to guide the design and development of useable, inclusive and accessible public spaces.

By placing that ‘gender lens’ over public spaces, and by considering the unique needs of the whole community, planners have the opportunity to create spaces that are attractive, active, healthy, safe and inclusive – for everyone.

Read WHE’s updated Creating Safe and Inclusive Public Spaces for Women Report V2 September 2021.

By Vanessa Czerniawski, Health Promotion Officer

This article was first published in the July 2020 edition of the Planning Institute of Australia’s Planning News.