Released 10/10/2019
The ACT Government is joining forces with leading community organisations to identify ways to improve the lives of women and girls in our community.
The ACT Government is in the final year of the First Action Plan 2017-19 under the ACT Women's Plan 2016-26 which sets out the government's ongoing commitment to work with non-government organisations, business and the broader community towards gender equality for all ACT women.
Of the 100 actions within the First Action Plan, 95 per cent are completed or underway. The results demonstrate the cross government commitment to delivering actions that improve the lives of women and girls in the ACT.
The year two reporting on the First Action Plan will be made available on the Office for Women website later in October 2019.
The Second Action Plan will be based on five focus areas that have been identified through consultation with individuals, the community sector and across the ACT Government:
- Improving the mental health and wellbeing of women and girls in the ACT
- Fostering gender equity in Canberra workplaces, including through improved gender equality in leadership and workplace participation
- Building a community where women and girls are safe and supported to participate
- Improving housing support and sustainability and reducing homelessness for women
- Developing appropriate and accessible services, programs and policies for women and girls, ensuring consideration of those from diverse backgrounds
Building on these themes, the ACT Government will host an ACT Women's Summit that will bring together 170 key community and government stakeholders to inform the Second Action Plan.
The YWCA Canberra, the Women's Centre for Health Matters and ACTCOSS worked with the government to develop a discussion paper to support the summit. The paper is based on what is already in place for women and girls in Canberra, what the data and the community is telling us and where we need to focus our attention next.
This invitation only event will include a keynote address, breakout sessions and a lunchtime panel discussion. The panel will be moderated by Virginia Haussegger AM, Director 50/50 Foundation and ACT 2019 Australian of the Year, and the speakers are:
- C Moore - CEO Women with Disability ACT
- Cindy Mitchell - CEO Mill House Ventures
- Susan Clarke-Lindfield - Executive Director, Toora Women Inc.
- Caroline Hughes - Director (Indigenous Education) CIT Yurauna Centre
However, to effectively improve gender equality, the work needs to be informed by the experiences of the many different people who live and work in the ACT.
The ACT Government is also seeking the views of the community on what actions we need to undertake to improve the lives of women and girls in Canberra, so that we can achieve equity together.
I encourage you to contribute to this discussion by completing a short survey on the YourSay website.
- Statement ends -
Yvette Berry, MLA | Media Releases
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