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Welcome to our Christmas and end of year 2021 wrap up!
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Message from our President, Jane Madden
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Like 2020, 2021 has been a very challenging year for not only NFAW, but all our members, and the general community. I am happy to report that while travel was impaired due to border closures, NFAW has had a very busy and productive year on multiple fronts, including four meetings of the Board Directors, AGM, Annual Dinner and a Strategy Session.
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And what a year! In the 32nd year of NFAW, rarely has there been a greater focus in Australia on gender equity. There was overwhelming national demand for equality and for cultivating a greater culture of respect, evident in the Women’s Marches 4 Justice on 15 March 2021, in 40 locations across the country, which many of us joined. The Morrison Government created a Cabinet Women’s Taskforce but nevertheless failed to deliver a strong government response to the Respect@Work report and other initiatives. NFAW, along with many others, had written to the government to highlight the need to implement the 55 recommendations in full but in the end, only a handful were legislated.
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Jane Madden
President | National Foundation for Australian Women (NFAW)
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A Women’s Safety Summit was convened in September to discuss the subject further but at time of writing, we are yet to see meaningful changes from that. A Women’s Economic Security agenda is being progressed but with only 0.14 per cent of the 2021-22 Budget allocated to it, expectations are not high. These are absolutely missed opportunities.
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In Australia, as elsewhere, the outbreak of Covid-19 has exposed and deepened pre-existing inequalities, including gender inequities. In 2021, we have seen women as primary carers and home schoolers, forced to withdraw from the labour force; women as exposed and underpaid deliverers of health, aged, child and disability care services; women as insecure casualised workers who are ineligible for sick leave and for Covid support; women as exposed multiple job holders moving between care sites; women as victims of violence trapped at home.
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In this context, the Social Policy Committee led by Professor Helen Hodgson, has had a very busy year. As in other years, a major focus was the Gender Lens on the budget, which received an excellent external response. NFAW was active in the media, with editorials and national radio and television interviews. There was also a number of letters and submissions that we endorsed through ERA or other Alliance partners, and there were numerous meetings where SPC members have represented NFAW.
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To mark the twentieth first anniversary of the Australian Women’s Register, the premier online archival resource for discovering, promoting and preserving the diverse stories of Australian women, an AWAP celebration was organised for October, but deferred to 2022 due to the pandemic. Arrangements of the hosting of AWAP progressed in 2021 and funding secured to redevelop the Australian Women’s Register and migrate it to the open source Wordpress platform. Stay tuned for further news.
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The NFAW Women’s prize in the National History Challenge was again awarded and a very successful Pamela Denoon Lecture in March 2021 featured Libby Lyons, Director of the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, who told us that gender equality is at a crossroads in Australia’s workplaces. After seven years of data collections by the Gender equality Agency, the findings indicate that progress towards gender equality is stalling.
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It is important to reflect that these findings were pre-COVID-19 so there will be an even greater challenge as we emerge from the pandemic. The stresses of Covid have exposed the fact that the Australia’s social infrastructure is wanting – failing those who receive care and those who deliver caring services, and failing those pushed into social welfare by chronic job insecurity, skewed superannuation, the costs of childcare and violence. As I write this, NFAW is finalising our submission to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet’s targeted review of the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012.
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While we can be proud of what we have achieved in 2021, we reaffirm our commitment to advancing gender equality as our communities emerge from lockdowns to a new “normal”. 2022 will bring a federal election and no doubt many other new challenges to NFAW and us all.
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May I take this opportunity to wish you and your friends and families a peaceful holiday and festive season.
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2021 NFAW Annual Dinner Highlights
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The 2021 NFAW Annual Dinner was a truly historic occasion with a capacity crowd at the National Press Club Canberra to hear a remarkable address by Dr Janine Mohamed, CEO Lowitja Institute.
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“Even as we rallied together --- the pandemic has cut us off from each other – both individually and in our everyday lives. The pandemic has also exacerbated social divisions between us. It’s polarised us. In the face of this division--- we need to re-assert our ability to share what unites us.” Janine spoke of her “Australia Dreaming” - a strong message of hope regarding a future world without bias and prejudice. Chair of Lowitja Institute, Pat Anderson AO later addressed
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us, including a powerful reading of the Uluru Statement – of which she is a leading architect. After months of lockdowns, this gathering on 9 November 2021 will be long remembered and the words spoken will inspire us. The video is available on the NFAW website. Thanks go to our guests and event sponsor, DDCS Lawyers.
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Policy Committee Monitoring Economic Security
for Women
The focus of the work of NFAW is currently on Economic Security for Women, which is the overarching lens through which we review policies. Over the past year this has been viewed through the effect of coronavirus. We are currently working on an election strategy, in which we set out our position on a range of issues relevant to women’s economic security. Listen to Prof Helen Hodgson
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The Government has announced a targeted review of the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA). We are particularly concerned with the direction this is taking, which is a significant backtrack, and we shall raise this in our submission.
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Since October 2020 our work has included:
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- The annual Gender Lens on the Budget in October 20 and May 21
- Policy Workshops on ECEC and Aged Care - March 21
- 6 Submissions to Parliamentary and Government Inquiries
- 3 Invitations to give Evidence to Parliamentary Committees
- 6 short articles based on the work of SPC ( Link to short articles >)
The review of the Women’s Alliances has been completed. The Equality Rights Alliance has had its funding renewed. Economic Security for Women was defunded, and that work is being folded largely into the work of ERA. We will continue to engage with the other Alliances as our work program needs in 2022. There is a new Alliance representing the Family Violence sector, and a new Disability focused Alliance. Currently our focus is on the 2022 Election and the Gender Lens road to the election.
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NFAW Honours the Pamela Denoon Legacy:
Diary date for 2022!
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This year through a perpetual gift from the late Pamela Denoon, we held the annual NFAW lecture at Canberra University delivered by Libby Lyons, Director at Workplace Gender Equality Agency. This was made possible by funds left in perpetuity from the Pamela Denoon Estate.
The title of the lecture was - Gender Equality in Australia’s Workplaces: are employers agents for change? Gender equality is at a crossroads in Australia’s workplaces. After seven years of data collection, the findings indicates progress towards gender equality is in danger of stalling. The Agency’s Director Libby Lyons has overseen the Agency’s data collection and work with Australian private sector employers for the last five and a half years. Listen to the talk here >>
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The Pamela Denoon Story: NFAW celebrates a Remarkable Story as told by her Husband Donald Denoon.
The Pamela Denoon Lecture was inaugurated in 1989 as a tribute to the memory of Pamela Denoon and as a reminder that the gains that have been made by women over the years have only been possible because of the enormous dedication of women like Pamela. Pamela Denoon worked tirelessly to promote equality for women and was the National Coordinator of Women’s Electoral Lobby from 1982-84. She actively lobbied for women’s rights in Canberra during the 1980s and her bequest helped establish the National Foundation for Australian Women and the Pamela Denoon Trust. The Lecture aims to inspire and motivate women to find out more about issues for women in Australia and encourage some of them to get involved in a local organisation that works to promote women’s rights and other major women’s issues.
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Welcome to our New Board Directors
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At our Annual General Meeting we thanked our outcoming directors Liz Rowell and Macgregor Owen for their continued support and tireless work over the last three years in Fundraising and Marketing. The NFAW Board also congratulated the following directors on their appointment: Kirsten Tapine, Jennifer Bushell and Jawoon Kim.
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Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins has launched Set the Standard, the Australian Human Rights Commission’s Report on the Independent Review into Commonwealth Parliamentary Workplaces.
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Sponsorship of the GENDER LENS 2022
In 2022, NFAW are expanding the work of the Gender Lens to encompass:
- The 2022 Gender Lens Podcast series 6 episodes ( seeking sponsorship )
- The Gender Lens 2022 Election Reports May/June 2022 ( seeking sponsorship)
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Yes I am interested to know more about the NFAW 2022 Sponsorship Programs>
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