Summit participants identified a range of issues in the area of women’s representation and decision making. In particular, participants supported the Rudd Government’s election commitment to strengthen the voice of rural and regional women and the establishment of a national rural women’s network.
Achievements and progress under way
In November 2008, the Minister for the Status of Women set out the Government’s agenda for achieving equality between women and men. The three priorities include improving economic outcomes for women; reducing violence against women; and ensuring women’s equal place in society.
The Government has moved to address these priorities by:
- establishing the Office of Work and Family;
- introducing a fairer and more balanced workplace relations system;
- improving the accessibility of quality and affordable child care;
- asking the Productivity Commission to conduct an examination into paid parental leave;
- conducting a thorough investigation into pay equity and the Sex Discrimination Act 1984;
- developing a social inclusion agenda;
- reviewing the National Women’s Alliances (formally known as the National Women’s Secretariats); and
- acceding to the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.
In addition, the establishment of a national rural women’s network is being undertaken within the context of the re-focusing of the Alliances, noting that there is already a Rural Women’s Coalition.
On 5 February 2008, the Australian Government introduced a policy implementing transparent and merit-based assessment in the selection of most Australian Public Service (APS) agency heads and other statutory offices working in, or in conjunction with, APS agencies. Secretaries and Ministers will continue to seek to increase the representation of women in senior government appointments and include women on candidate lists by using the Office for Women database, AppointWomen, for example.
In addition, The Hon Tony Burke MP, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, announced at the Summit a new commitment of $500,000 for capacity building activities for women, including funds for grants under the Recognising Women Farmers program. The grants will offer up to $50,000 to organisations to stage events that build the leadership and representative capacity of women in primary industries, particularly in the context of support for productivity and community resilience to a changing climate. The Community Networks and Capacity Building component of the Australia’s Farming Future initiative also supports activities to build the leadership and representative capacity of women, including Indigenous women and those from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds.
Appointments by the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry have seen the representation of women on rural Research and Development Corporation boards increase from 20 per cent to more than 40 per cent since November 2007.