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Annual Report 2009–20010 » Part 2 » Chapter 11: Outcome 6 - Women

Chapter 11
Outcome 6 - Women

Outcome 6 at a glance

Informed government decisions on improved gender equality through coordinated whole-of-government advice and support for women’s economic security, safety and leadership

Outcome and programs

Figure 11.1 shows the Outcome 6 program structure.

Figure 11.1 Outcome 6 programs

Description of Figure 11.1

Highlights

• A key part of the Government’s efforts to improve women’s economic security was the review of the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Act 1999 (EOWW Act). The Government initiated the review to examine the effectiveness and efficiency of the EOWW Act, to ensure that it is well targeted and cost efficient and that pay equity and leadership opportunities for women progress.
• In March 2010, a new model of National Women’s Alliances was established. Work in 2010–11 will continue to support the six new alliances as the primary advocacy and consultation mechanism between the Government, women’s groups and individual women across Australia.
• Recognising that a range of work across government has an effect on outcomes for women and men and on progress towards equality, the Office for Women is developing a panel of experts to provide advice across government. The office will continue to support this work to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of policy and programming.
• The Office for Women continued to work in partnership with the Attorney‑General’s Department, the Australian Federal Police, the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions and the Department of Immigration and Citizenship to deliver the Government’s Anti‑People Trafficking Strategy. The Support for Victims of People Trafficking Program is an element of the strategy. The majority of people who are supported through the program are women.
• Under the guidance of the Ministerial Forum for the Development of a National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children, the Department worked with state and territory officials on the development of the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children.

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Program 6.1: Gender Equality for Women

The objective of Program 6.1, Gender Equality for Women, is to implement strategies in priority areas to achieve gender equality for women. These priority areas include:

• reducing violence against women
• demonstrating Australian Government leadership on gender equality
• increasing opportunities for women to contribute to Australian Government decisions
• increasing opportunities for women to undertake valued leadership roles
• creating business and workplace cultures that deliver better economic choices and outcomes for women.

The program has the following components:

• Gender Equality for Women
• Other Services—Services for other Government and Non‑Government Bodies (Special Account).

Gender Equality for Women

The objective of the Gender Equality for Women component is to implement strategies in priority areas to achieve gender equality for women.

Reducing violence

In April 2009, COAG agreed to develop the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010–22. This was in response to the report of the independent National Council to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children, Time for action: The National Council’s plan for Australia to reduce violence against women and their children 2009–2021.

In July 2009, the then Prime Minister established a ministerial forum, co‑chaired by the Minister for the Status of Women and the Attorney‑General, to oversee the development of the National Plan. In recognition of the complexity and wide-ranging nature of issues relating to violence against women, the ministerial forum includes ministers from a range of different portfolios across all states and territories. The ministerial forum is supported by a senior officials group, which has progressed development of the plan.

Under the ministerial forum’s guidance, the plan will include a comprehensive range of outcomes to deliver tangible improvements to the lives of women and children affected by violence. It will also identify specific actions through a series of four three‑year action plans. There has been substantial agreement on the goals, strategies and outcomes for the plan and it is on target to be released in the second half of 2010.

In response to the Time for action report, the Government committed $17 million over four years for a social marketing campaign. The Line campaign, launched on 20 June 2010, targets young people, their families and schools. It is aimed at changing violence‑supportive attitudes in an effort to reduce the incidence and impact of violence in Australia. A significant focus of the campaign is online (The Line website and associated Facebook page), as well as traditional media such as magazine advertisements, editorials and radio.

Immediate funding was also allocated as part of the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010–2022 to develop a service model to deliver a professional national online and telephone counselling service for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.

Respectful Relationships is a primary prevention strategy that seeks to prevent sexual assault and domestic and family violence through education. An amount of $9.1 million over five years was committed to Respectful Relationships, including:

• seven Round 1 projects costing $2.1 million, which began in 2009, to reach around 3,000 young people across Australia
• ten Round 2 projects costing $2.37 million, which began in 2010, to reach an estimated 10,000 young people across Australia.

National Women’s Alliances

Six National Women’s Alliances will act as the primary conduit between the Government and women’s organisations.

The alliances will play a key role in progressing the Government’s agenda on gender equality by:

• ensuring that the interests and priorities of women are brought to, and heard by, government
• broadening women’s networks to better represent the views of all women
• improving the representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, women from rural and regional areas, and women who have not been well represented in the past.

The new alliances consist of the following:

• three issues‑based alliances: Economic Security for Women; Equality Rights Alliance; and National Violence Against Women Alliance
• three sector‑based alliances: Australian Immigrant and Refugee Women’s Alliance; National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women’s Alliance; and National Rural Women’s Coalition and Network.

Case Study 14

Support for victims of people trafficking

The Support for Victims of People Trafficking Program provides individualised case management and includes income assistance, access to accommodation, medical treatment, basic legal advice, counselling, training and social support. In 2009–10, 65 clients were assisted by the Support for Victims of People Trafficking Program.

Changes introduced from 1 July 2009 provided a more flexible and accessible support framework to victims and their families. By simplifying the visa framework, a wider range of victims and their immediate families were able to access support and improved services. The reforms were in line with international best practice and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights’ Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Trafficking.

Participation in government decisions

The Office for Women is the central source of advice for government agencies on the impact of government policies and programs on Australian women. This includes the provision of advice on the gender dimensions of policy submissions to Cabinet, to ensure that gender equality is considered in the early stages of policy development.

In 2009–10, the office established a high‑level Women’s Interdepartmental Committee, chaired by a FaHCSIA deputy secretary, to achieve whole‑of‑government engagement in advancing gender equality across Australian Government policies and programs. The committee has been a pivotal forum to provide advice and collaboration on progressing economic security for women and developing the Women’s Budget Statement, as well as strengthening capacity across government to deliver improved equality between women or men.

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Women leaders in local government

Women are under‑represented in local government, both at the unelected management levels and in elected positions. Key challenges facing the local government sector over the 10 years to 2020 are an ageing workforce and a lack of sustainable skills in the sector.

Research conducted in 2008 by Local Government Managers Australia indicates that 51 per cent of local government employees are women, yet women constitute only 20 per cent of senior managers and only 7 per cent of chief executives or general managers. Thirty per cent of elected representatives in local government are women.

The Australian local government sector has designated 2010 as the Year of Women in Local Government, to celebrate and promote the advancement of talented women into leadership positions. The Australian Government, through the Office for Women and the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government (the Department of Infrastructure), is supporting this initiative, promoted by all levels of government and professional peak bodies.

In 2009–10, the Government provided almost half a million dollars for data collection, programs and activities to support women in local government:

• $250,000 for the Australian Local Government Women’s Association 50:50 Vision: Councils for Gender Equity program (jointly funded by the Department of Infrastructure and the Office for Women)
• $100,000 in scholarship funding for senior women in local government (funded by the Department of Infrastructure)
• $100,000 to improve the collection of data and reporting on the status of women in the local government sector (funded by the Department of Infrastructure)
• $40,000 for Local Government Managers Australia to support its Management Challenge (funded by the Office for Women)
• $15,000 for sponsorship of the Women in Local Government Category of the National Awards for Local Government, administered by the Department of Infrastructure.

Case Study 15

Young women’s leadership through support for the Girl Guides

In 2009, the Australian Government designated 2010 the Year of the Girl Guide, acknowledging the invaluable contribution of the Guiding movement to Australia over the past 100 years, through a package of symbolic and practical support. The Government, through the Office for Women, provided almost $600,000 to Girl Guides Australia to support the organisation in its centenary year. This funding allowed the Guides to produce a series of activities packs to support Guides leaders and Guides in a range of activities and events, focusing on issues that the Guides identified as being of local, national and global importance.

The funding supported the centenary launch in Brisbane in September 2009 and enabled almost 200 financially disadvantaged girls to attend that celebration. The funding also enabled 14 Guides who had been adversely affected by the Victorian bushfires to attend the Australian Centenary Camp in Geelong in January 2010. Other government‑funded activities included Power Up— leadership and advocacy training for Guides aged between 18 and 30 years and a series of year‑long challenges that focus on people with disabilities, education for girls in Papua New Guinea and personal development. Government‑funded activities will continue until November 2010.

The Government’s support for the Guides also included:

• a $1 coin, produced by the Royal Australian Mint, to commemorate the Guides and their centenary year
• an Australia Post stamp issue of one domestic and two international stamps.

Women’s leadership in the not‑for‑profit sector

Fifteen national women’s non‑government organisations received $1.246 million in June 2009 through the 2008–09 Women’s Leadership and Development Program, to deliver 16 projects to benefit women not engaged in current policy debates, including marginalised women.

The projects, which began in June 2009 and are scheduled for completion by December 2010, include national forums on women and climate change, a project raising the voice of migrant women workers in precarious employment, and a project to improve sports media coverage for women.

Women’s leadership in sport

The Sports Leadership Grants and Scholarships for Women Program, a joint initiative of the Office for Women and the Australian Sports Commission, continued to provide small grants and scholarships to support women’s leadership across all aspects of sport.

The grants assist women to undertake accredited training in coaching, sports governance, media, communications and sports management. The scholarships were introduced in the 2009–10 funding round and aim to support women in upper sports management to gain qualifications to progress to senior executive roles across all aspects of sport.

Women’s leadership in the boardroom

The Government wants to see greater gender balance in boardrooms and in the senior ranks of the private and public sectors to ensure Australia’s continued economic success. Across the public sector, measures are in place to increase the number of women in government leadership positions.

In the 2008–09 financial year, women held 33.4 per cent of positions on 529 boards in 19 Australian Government portfolios. Each year, the Office for Women produces a report on the gender composition of Australian Government boards and bodies, the Women on Australian Government boards and bodies report. The 2008–09 report, unlike previous reports, was made available to the public, to show accountability and transparency in government board appointments.

This whole‑of‑government report was produced using data captured through the Government Boards Reporting System, managed by the Office for Women and used by portfolios to record all board and appointment related information. The Office for Women also operates AppointWomen, an online register at AppointWomen website that matches talented board‑ready women with Australian Government agencies seeking candidates for board positions.

In 2008, women held only 8.3 per cent of board directorships in Australian Stock Exchange 200 listed companies, 10.7 per cent of executive managerial positions and 2 per cent of positions as chairs.

International leadership

In 2009–10, the Office for Women continued to ensure that Australia is a leader internationally in promoting equality between women and men. The office led the Australian delegation to the 54th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, also known as Beijing +15, which marked the 15th anniversary and review of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. The Office for Women funded two Indigenous delegates and one community sector expert delegate to provide expert advice and support during the commission. The commission adopted seven resolutions by consensus on specific issues, including women’s economic empowerment and the elimination of preventable maternal mortality. Because Australia is currently the chair of the Pacific Islands Forum, the Office for Women funded two delegates from Pacific Island countries to fly to New York to participate in Beijing +15.

The Office for Women is also leading whole‑of‑government work to develop a national action plan to implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.

Australia sent a strong delegation to appear before the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women on 20 July 2010 and will be an active participant in key international forums, including the 55th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women and the Asia–Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Gender Focal Point Network meeting.

In addition, the Office for Women plays a key role in developing and coordinating government policy and advice to, and for, submissions to the UN, APEC and the Commonwealth (Plan of Action for Gender Equality 2005–2015) on issues of gender equality and the empowerment of women.

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Improving women’s economic security

Better economic choices and outcomes

The Office for Women supports the Government in meeting its commitment to improve women’s economic security. Through the Women’s Interdepartmental Committee, the office works closely with the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations and other relevant agencies to provide policy advice to the Government on issues relating to pay equity and women’s workforce participation.

Through the course of 2009–10, the office provided advice to the Government on a range of initiatives affecting women’s economic security, including the review of the EOWW Act, the House of Representatives’ inquiry into pay equity and associated issues related to increasing female participation in the workforce, the review of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984, the National Human Rights Consultation and Australia’s Human Rights Framework, and the Australia’s Future Tax System Review (Henry review).

The review of the EOWW Act has been managed by the Office for Women with assistance from KPMG. Broad public consultation has been a key part of the review, which commenced on 1 September 2009 with the release of an issues paper. As part of the review, 136 submissions were received; 744 reporting organisations and 859 employees were surveyed; five roundtables, involving 98 individuals, were held around Australia; and 21 expert individuals and stakeholder representatives were interviewed.

The KPMG report on the consultation process was published on the FaHCSIA website on 11 February 2010. The Office for Women has worked closely with the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations in advising the Government on a broad response for implementation in 2010–11.

Targeted Research Program

During 2009–10, the Office for Women developed the Gender Equality Strategic Research Plan 2009–2012, which guides the office’s investment in research in the area of gender equality over the three financial years. Research conducted in 2009–10 was identified as a priority in the plan.

The research project ‘Impact of a sustained gender wage gap on the economy’, conducted by the University of Canberra’s National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling (NATSEM), was commissioned by the Office for Women at a cost of $136,651 (GST exclusive). The research involved microeconomic and macroeconomic modelling to derive estimates of the extent to which key determinants of the gender pay gap, including discrimination, affect women’s average earnings and per capita GDP. The key finding to emerge from the research was that there are significant economic benefits in addressing the wage gap. Specifically, NATSEM found that the 17 per cent pay gap between working men and women costs the Australian economy $93 billion a year, which can be equated to 8.5 per cent of GDP.

The Office for Women also continued to manage research to build an evidence base for encouraging and supporting men to be active fathers and carers. This research will investigate men’s aspirations regarding caring, barriers that prevent them from engaging in caring, and successful individual strategies and policy levers that support men to care.

In 2009–10, the office developed two research proposals on men’s engagement in shared care and unpaid work:

• a stocktake of national and international government policy initiatives that facilitate men’s engagement in caring and unpaid domestic work
• a study of men’s engagement in shared care and unpaid domestic work in Australia.

The research is expected to identify factors that assist men to be active fathers and carers and assist in developing policy to better enable men to undertake caring roles. It has a threefold objective: promoting greater equality between women and men, fostering greater economic independence for women and providing better outcomes for families overall.

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Other services—Services for other Government and Non‑Government Bodies (Special Account)

The purpose of the Other Services—Services for other Government and Non‑Government Bodies (Special Account) component is to manage expenditure in connection with services performed on behalf of other governments and bodies that are not FMA Act agencies, including the Commonwealth, State and Territory, and New Zealand Ministers’ Conference on the Status of Women (MINCO).

The Office for Women works in partnership with other jurisdictions through MINCO, which provides a cross‑jurisdictional mechanism for the coordination and development of policies, strategies and projects that affect the status of women. MINCO also facilitates action in areas of national significance, including women’s economic status and leadership. One example of the type of work being progressed by MINCO is the development of the National Strategy for the Increased Participation of Women on Boards.

The Office for Women provides secretariat services to MINCO; to the Women’s Advisers Meeting, which serves as the officials’ group for MINCO; and to the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women’s Gathering, which is a subcommittee of MINCO.

Summary of performance

Table 11.1 summarises the Department’s results in delivering Program 6.1 against the key performance indicators published in the 2009–10 PB Statements.

Table 11.1Program 6.1—key performance indicators

Key performance indicator	Result
Gender Equality for Women
Number and percentage of women contacting the new national online and 1800 service who receive immediate referral to an appropriate service	0 A provider for the new national online and 1800 counselling service was not in place during 2009–10. The existing service was extended pending commencement of the new arrangements. A new service provider has since been announced, to commence in the second half of 2010.
Number and percentage of women representatives on Australian Government boards	In the 2008–09 financial year, women held 1,887 (33.4%) of a total 5,655 positions on 529 Australian Government boards and bodies.
Assessment by stakeholders of the gender equality contribution of the Office for Women to national debates	The Office for Women conducted a survey of all Women’s Interdepartmental Committee members. The majority of respondents agreed that the Office for Women’s contribution is relevant to achieving progress towards gender equality of Australian men and women and that it makes a positive contribution to national debates.

Table 11.2 sets out the component deliverable and the Department’s result against the target published in the 2009–10 PB Statements.

Table 11.2Program 6.1—component deliverable

Deliverable	Target	Result
Number of women contacting Helpline programs	12,440	9,477 women contacted the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault National Helpline. The gender of a further 2,995 callers was not registered.

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Outlook for Outcome 6

There are a number of long‑term challenges to women’s equality. They include:

• violence against women
• women’s lower workforce participation (compared to men’s) and the gender pay gap
• women’s greater engagement in unpaid work and caring responsibilities
• women’s underrepresentation in leadership positions across the public, private and community sectors.

The major commitments for the Office for Women reflect those of the Government:

• reducing violence against women
• improving women’s economic outcomes
• ensuring women’s equal place in society.

Other major commitments by the Australian Government to the Gender Equality for Women program include:

• funding of $42 million as the immediate response to a range of recommendations in the National Council’s Time for action report
• accession to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, which provides people living in Australia with an additional avenue to seek redress for violations by Australia of its obligations under the convention, once all domestic remedies have been exhausted.

The outcome statement for Outcome 6 was modified in the 2010–11 PB Statements to reflect the focus of this outcome on gender equality.

Case Study 16

 

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