Tasmanian Women’s Strategy April 2022
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About TasCOSS TasCOSS’s vision is for one Tasmania, free of poverty and inequality where everyone has the same opportunity. Our mission is two-fold: to act as the peak body for the community services industry in Tasmania; and to challenge and change the systems, attitudes and behaviours that create poverty, inequality and exclusion. Our membership includes individuals and organisations active in the provision of community services to Tasmanians on low incomes or living in vulnerable circumstances. TasCOSS represents the interests of our members and their service users to government, regulators, the media and the public. Through our advocacy and policy development, we draw attention to the causes of poverty and disadvantage, and promote the adoption of effective solutions to address these issues. Please direct any enquiries about this submission to: Adrienne Picone Chief Executive Officer Phone Number: (03) 6231 0755 Email Address: adrienne@tascoss.org.au
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Introduction Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the Department of Communities’ Discussion Paper (‘the Discussion Paper’) relating to the draft Tasmanian Women’s Strategy 2022-2027 (‘the Draft Strategy’). The objective of the Draft Strategy is, ‘to provide the Tasmanian community with a meaningful and sustainable way to achieve gender equality in this State’. 1 The Discussion Paper invites responses to consider and make recommendations relating to four key areas: the proposed goals, the proposed outcome areas, the principles for implementation and the proposed action areas. TasCOSS is broadly supportive of many aspects of the Draft Strategy. Our response will focus on our key recommendations for the Government in relation to improving gender equality in Tasmania: - Recognition of the need for an intersectional approach when addressing gender equality, which considers the needs and experiences of a diverse range of Tasmanian women and responds to identified priorities; - The need to address structural inequalities and underlying social disadvantage, such as poverty, housing insecurity and unemployment, as part of the process of ending gender inequality; - The importance of concrete and quantifiable targets to accurately measure progress; - Development of clear and transparent processes for measuring and reporting on outcomes and progress in relation to gender equality; and - Investment in programs and initiatives, other than those specifically outlined in the Draft Strategy, which will address the goals and priority outcome areas identified.
An intersectional approach The Draft Strategy acknowledges the need to consider a broad range of experiences and voices in developing initiatives and plans, recognising that, ‘[i]t is critically important that efforts to address the structures limiting women’s agency and empowerment also consider the influence of other forms of discrimination some women experience such as ableism and racism’.2 Issues relating to diversity and multiple forms of discrimination are recognised as key themes which emerged in the Government’s consultation with community,3 as well as the need for ongoing stakeholder engagement with a diverse and broad range of Tasmanian women. ‘Person-centred design’ and ‘engagement’ are also named as principles for implementation,4 recognising the need to have the lived experience of Tasmanian women at the centre of planning and policy development. TasCOSS is supportive of person-centred design as a key principle for implementation and encourages the Government to develop initiatives drawing on the expertise and lived experience of the diversity of Tasmanian women, communities and organisations. We strongly believe any consultation processes conducted by the Government must be broad enough to encompass the varied and diverse needs and 1
Tasmanian Government, ‘Tasmanian Women’s Strategy 2022-2027 – public consultation 26 March -26 April 2022’, https://www.women.tas.gov.au/tasmanian_government_policy_and_programs/tasmanian-womens-strategy-2022-2027. 2 Tasmanian Government, ‘Tasmanian Women’s Strategy 2022-2027’ (March 2022), 14. 3 Ibid, 11. 4 Ibid, 17.
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experiences of Tasmanian women. Proactive steps must be taken to ensure that certain women, particularly those who may belong to disadvantaged or excluded groups, are not further marginalised by engagement processes. We also believe an intersectional approach to gender equality is a crucial part of any planning or implementation process, which requires the Government to plan engagement strategies which are appropriate for a wide range of audiences, taking into consideration the needs of particular communities and groups.
Structural inequalities and social disadvantage The Draft Strategy acknowledges the structural barriers currently impeding our progress towards gender equality. We do not believe the actions adequately address these barriers. Gender equality will not be achieved without initiatives to address the underlying factors driving disadvantage in our state. We know our communities are facing some of the highest levels of disadvantage in the country and we encourage the Government to focus on measures which support women to access the essential services they need to live a good life, including a safe place to live, the ability to afford the basics, access to health and other services and meaningful opportunities to engage in education, training and employment. As well as facing disadvantages relating to gender, an intersectional lens on gender inequality highlights the additional barriers faced by many Tasmanians. Women with disability, Aboriginal Tasmanian’s, women from migrant or refugee backgrounds, older women, women in rural and remote areas and women in the LGBTIQ+ community are often facing complex barriers to full participation in social and economic lif, and need targeted, specialised interventions to ensure they can live a good life. In addition, TasCOSS believes the Government must implement whole-of-community approaches and initiatives to achieve the stated goals of the Strategy. We suggest reframing the language included in the Draft Strategy to make it clear that all Tasmanians must take proactive steps to understand the role they can play in achieving gender equity. For example, while we agree with empowerment as an appropriate objective, the Draft Strategy should acknowledge the role of all Tasmanians (not just women) in ensuring increased participation in social and economic affairs. Similarly, visibility of women and greater awareness of female or gender-diverse experiences often requires structural change to enable voices to be heard; changes cannot be achieved by focusing on women alone. Finally, a whole-of-community approach requires a high level of public understanding and awareness of current structural inequalities and issues relating to gender inequality. All Tasmanians must be able to access materials to educate themselves about these issues, as well as comprehensive information about existing services, resources and opportunities. Alongside other initiatives, the Government should commit to further funding of existing awareness and education programs which provide education and resources in this area, as well as funding for additional programs or campaigns to increase the public’s awareness of these issues.
Concrete and quantifiable targets The Draft Strategy outlines several proposed actions, including the continuation of some existing strategies, such as the Women on Boards Strategy 2020-2035 and the role of Industry Liaison Officer –
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Women’s Workforce Participation, as well as the development of new initiatives, such as the Modern Workplaces Framework and the Gender Budget Statement. Whilst TasCOSS is supportive of these measures, we note that many of the actions outlined address women’s workforce participation. In our view, this focus skews the Strategy’s impact towards women already in employment or who are not facing significant barriers to obtaining employment, which undermines the Strategy’s aims to create wider cultural change and empowerment. We urge the Government to include initiatives to address the underlying drivers of structural inequality – for example, establishing targets for reducing homelessness among women and children and setting targets for reducing unemployment in disadvantaged parts of Tasmania. A community-by-community, co-design approach would be a useful way to identify place-based initiatives that address the needs of women in specific locations.
Measuring and reporting on outcomes and progress The Draft Strategy acknowledges the need for analysis and assessment of current experiences of gender inequality in Tasmania – for example, ‘assessing the impact of gender’ is recognised as one of the principles for implementation.5 However, there are no details about how these assessments should/will take place included in the Draft Strategy. As a first step, we strongly encourage the Government to develop and implement processes for comprehensive data collection to accurately identify priority issues for Tasmanian women and establish a baseline for how progress is to be measured. These processes must be designed to encompass the views and experience of a wide range of Tasmanian women. The Tasmanian Government should look to the examples provided by other jurisdictions, such as New Zealand,6 to develop processes for how this data can be collected and analysed. We are supportive of the recommendation included in the Draft Strategy for gender impact assessments to be conducted, and recommend the Government look to other Australian jurisdictions where gender assessment and analysis tools are already in place. For example, the Queensland Women’s Strategy includes online gender analysis resources and tools (which can be used in any workplace), as well as online training and resources for organisations, communities and individuals to educate themselves about gender equality.7 We would welcome the development, provision and promotion of similar resources in Tasmania, noting the need for materials which can be easily accessed by a wide range of audiences and takes into consideration the different needs of diverse Tasmanian women (who, for example, may struggle to access online materials due to limited digital access, or with literacy and/or communication needs).
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Tasmanian Government, ‘Tasmanian Women’s Strategy 2022-2027’ (March 2022), 17. Information about the New Zealand ‘Gender Attitudes Survey can be found on the Gender Equal NZ website: https://genderequal.nz/ga-survey/. 7 Information about the Queensland Women’s Strategy, including the online resources and tools, can be found on the Queensland women’s strategy website: https://www.justice.qld.gov.au/about-us/services/women-violenceprevention/women/queensland-womens-strategy/gender-analysis/resources. 6
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One example of the assessment process already included in the draft strategy is the ‘Gender Budget Statement’, a document intended to ‘demonstrate how the budget intends to meet gender equality goals’.8 TasCOSS is supportive of this measure, noting other Australian jurisdictions are already including similar analyses as part of their budget process. 9 Alongside this measure, we also encourage the Tasmanian Government to include a ‘gender lens’ evaluation or analysis of new legislation, policies and plans. There are examples of guidelines in other jurisdictions, such as New Zealand, 10 which provide examples of how Governments can integrate gender equality into a broad range of activities and/or policies. We agree the Government has an opportunity to drive change in the area of gender equality. To ensure the Government and public sector is leading by example, we encourage implementation of internal accountability measures to ensure positive change is occurring. One example of how Government and public institutions can be held to account is the implementation of a legislative framework to ensure the promotion of gender equality, such as the Gender Equality Act 2020 (Vic). This legislation requires entities (including the Victorian public sector, local councils and universities) to conduct a gender audit, which then produces a ‘Gender Equality Action Plan’ with strategies for how workplace gender equality can be achieved. There is a responsibility to publicly report on their progress in relation to the plan, as well as to promote gender equality generally. The Victorian Act also establishes a Public Sector Gender Equality Commissioner, which can both enforce compliance with the Act and also provide education and support regarding implementation. In the absence of a legislative framework, we encourage the Government to consider adopting some of the measures contained in the Victorian model. In particular, we encourage the Government to develop a set of indicators or targets by which progress towards gender equality in the public sector can be achieved and conduct an assessment or audit to identify priority areas for improvement.
Investment in programs and initiatives TasCOSS believes the Government could do more than is currently outlined in the Strategy to drive cultural change. For example, it could introduce and encourage policies which support people of all genders to access leave (such as parental leave) to encourage more equitable division of the labour of care within families and communities and it could also promote and recognise actions to achieve gender equity in all workplaces, particularly those that are traditionally male-dominated (such as construction or mining) or traditionally female-dominated (such as nursing or social work).
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Tasmanian Government, ‘Tasmanian Women’s Strategy 2022-2027: Discussion Paper for public consultation’ (March 2022), 4. For example, the Australian Government includes a ‘Women’s Budget Statement’ as part of their Federal Budget package (the Women’s Budget Statement 2022-23 can be accessed online at https://budget.gov.au/2022-23/content/womensstatement/download/womens_budget_statement_2022-23.pdf); the Victorian Government also includes a Gender Equality Budget Statement as part of their State Budget (the 2021-22 statement can be accessed online at https://www.budget.vic.gov.au/gender-equality-budget-statement). 10 New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, ‘Gender Analysis Guideline: Integrating Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment into an Activity, Programme or Policy’ (18 September 2012), accessed online at https://www.mfat.govt.nz/assets/Aid-Prog-docs/Tools-and-guides/Gender-Analysis-Guideline_0.pdf. 9
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The Government must also commit to ongoing and increased funding in areas of priority need for women, particularly those already facing disadvantage or at risk of social and/or economic exclusion. This could include, but is not limited to, the following: - Investment in digital inclusion measures to increase Tasmanian women’s ability to access information and services - Investment in affordable public transport infrastructure - Expansion of programs, such as the School Lunch Pilot, to assist low-income families - Increased literacy supports in school, as well as additional educational supports for families - Increased funding for programs and initiatives which address problematic behaviours and attitudes towards women and gender, including preventative education programs designed to increase women’s safety.
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