Submission to the new Queensland Women's Strategy Consultation
Gender inequality affects everyone. Stereotypes or ‘rules’ about how women and men, girls and boys should be, begin from the moment of conception through education, health, employment and retirement. Women are impacted by gender segregation in education and training, the drop-off in workforce participation when children are born, lower pay, years of unpaid labour, the long-term financial impacts of family violence, and inadequate retirement incomes that leave single, older women facing poverty.
We commend the Queensland Government for making significant progress in identifying structural barriers women and girls face and championing gender equality in their current Women’s Strategy. Good Shepherd welcomes the Consultation for a new Queensland Women’s Strategy and believes significant progress in Queensland can be made by:
- Formally embedding the process of Gender Responsive Budgeting
- Creating Australia’s most progressive environment for women to work and study
- Expanding the reach of financial capability programs
- Supporting women-led small businesses
- Putting gender equality at the heart of disaster preparedness and response: including delivering in financial preparedness and response programs
- Protecting and prompting women’s financial security in response to economic abuse: including connecting women with financial independence and capability programs
- Prioritising housing for women’s social and economic equality: by taking a gender-responsive approach to social housing policy and investment.
