Blog - Womens Health and Wellbeing Barwon South West

WHWBSW blog

Read the latest blog post from WHWBSW CEO, Jodie Hill.

International Women’s Day (IWD) is for the women’s health sector what Christmas is to the retail sector, a busy time of high demand and great celebration. And so it was last week as we marked this year’s theme – Count her in. Invest in Women. Accelerate Progress.

Celebrating women

Across the Barwon South West, we recognised and celebrated local women for their dedication to community, their efforts on big issues like climate change, their commitment to the economic empowerment of other women, and for inspiring others.

So many women in our region make a tremendous impact on the people, places and communities around them and I was privileged to attend and present awards to some of those women at IWD events.

Women supporting women

As we celebrated the women in our region I was struck by the power and prevalence of women supporting other women. Women who have mentored and coached others to build skills, undertake training, or grow their careers to secure their economic future. This is such a valuable contribution in an era where the highest growth in homelessness is amongst women over 65 years old.

We heard stories of women who banded together to activate working groups that rejuvenated public spaces to boost economic, social and wellbeing outcomes in their communities and deliver tangible change.

There is something quite amazing and incredibly valuable that happens when women put effort into supporting and uplifting each other.

Our humble heroes

I was struck by the humble surprise with which many women received their well-deserved awards, some clearly shocked to be nominated and many making mention of the work of other women.

Women can be conditioned to downplay their successes and not ‘boast’ about their accomplishments. So, it’s not really a revelation that some women will be uncomfortable receiving credit for their good work in the community.

We all expect to see victorious tennis or cricket players hoisting a trophy, champion footy stars carrying team mates on their shoulders or season winning race drivers having a celebratory “shoey” in recognition of their achievements. We are proud of their accomplishment; we share their joy and cheer that they celebrate their success.

So why is it that many women, whether consciously or subconsciously, feel obliged to deflect recognition or downplay their achievements within the community? Perhaps the “Matilda effect” and the increasing profile of women in sport and our shared joy at their successes will start to normalise women celebrating their own achievements.

One amazing woman, and award recipient, told me that she didn’t understand why she was nominated for just doing what she thought was good and useful. Prior to receiving a nomination, she hadn’t been aware that there were any community awards for women. She said “now that I know, I’ll be nominating loads.”

This demonstrably selfless, community minded, proactive woman, like so many others, sat uncomfortably with praise of her own work, yet she was eager to recognise the good work of others.

Let’s walk with pride

It’s important that we continue to recognise the many and varied achievements of women. It’s equally important that we create an environment where women can comfortably, proudly and joyfully accept that recognition.

I hope that when International Women’s Day comes around next year, we see more women walk confidently to the podium to accept their awards with pride as well as humility. Let’s commit to accepting recognition unapologetically, even if it feels inwardly uncomfortable, because we need to model that its normal, joyful and important to celebrate women.

Image 1: Jodie Hill presenting at ProviCo on IWD

Image 2: Award recipients for the Geelong Community in Life Awards, presented on IWD.

It’s an often repeated statistic that Australian women are dying at the rate of one a week due to gendered violence. I am writing this in week fifteen of 2024, and we now have a reported death toll of 18 women, so let’s be clear that it is more than one a week.

At the time of writing, the headlines are dominated by the most recent incident, the shocking death of Hannah McGuire in Ballarat. A beautiful young life cut short in an incomprehensible act of violence, allegedly perpetrated by a man she knew.

Hannah is one of 18.

18 women who were daughters, sisters, friends, wives, mothers. Eighteen women whose dreams and potential will never be fully realised. And most were killed by men that they knew.

Our Premier Jacinta Allen along with women’s advocates and organisations, have been admirably vocal about the fact that this must stop, and I join the chorus. If 18 women had died because of faulty medication, tainted food products, or dangerous exercise equipment, the public at large would be united in outrage.

There would be demands for action, products would be recalled and there would be enquiries into how things could have gone so wrong. When we hear that women were killed in acts of violence, and by men that they knew, this outrage and level of ferocity from the public is not always felt.

At Women’s Health and Wellbeing Barwon South West, these statistics and headlines are part of our work everyday. We are feeling the outrage, and it motivates us in the work that we do on prevention of gendered violence. I often wonder though how this news lands for others.

Are the headlines so common place that they’ve lost impact? Is the way that the media reports on gendered violence obscuring the tragic facts and reality of what is happening to women? Or, perhaps the public reaction is tempered because the actions to make a difference are not as immediately obvious as a product recall.

Violence against women can be described as any act of gender-based violence that causes or could cause physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of harm or coercion, in public or in private life (Our Watch). This definition includes all acts of violence including family violence, intimate partner violence, coercive control, stalking, harassment and assault.

Men are most often the perpetrators of violence against women, and women are three times more likely to experience violence from someone they know than from a stranger.

Shockingly, in Australia violence perpetrated by intimate partners contributes to more death, disability and illness in women aged 25-44 years than any other preventable risk factor. That should be a mind-blowing statistic and one that really warrants our anger and our attention. We should be all be outraged!

Notably, this statistic refers to violence as a preventable risk, and the take-away message here is that violence against women is preventable.

Research on the matter is absolutely clear: the drivers of violence against women, the things that make it possible, are disrespect towards women, rigid gender stereotypes, men feeling they should control or have power over women, and social norms and attitudes that condone this violence. This is where it becomes clear that our societal attitude to violence against women, and more broadly our attitude to gender equity, has a very real impact.

There is consensus amongst researchers and experts internationally that violence against women arises from the social context of gender inequality, in other words, gender inequality is the soil from which violence against women grows. Maintaining attitudes and beliefs that foster gender inequality contributes to the prevalence of violence against women.

These harmful attitudes directly influence behaviours that produce violence.

According to Patty Kinnersly, CEO of Our Watch, this means that sexist, disrespectful humour and remarks do matter; that put-downs and controlling behaviour do cause harm, and that these all contribute to an environment in which men’s violence against women is more likely.

It’s important to recognise though, that the attitudes we hold also have the power to produce positive behaviours and drive acts of intervention.

Making change to deeply held attitudes and beliefs is challenging. It is long term work requiring broad involvement and commitment across our communities. We are fortunate to be in a region where we have a number of organisations, employers and community groups who have committed to the elimination of gendered violence.

At WHWBSW we have the privilege of being close to this work and seeing the genuine dedication, progress and change that is happening, but there is so much more to do. The 18 deaths of women so far this year clearly suggest that we cannot take the foot off the pedal on this.

Preventing violence before it occurs means confronting some of the more challenging ideas we have about men and what masculinity means, about gendered power imbalances, and patterns of abuse and control. It is about pulling down the cultural structure that we know and rebuilding it to be more inclusive, equitable and safe, for everyone.

It is also about a collective understanding that our attitudes and beliefs as a society matter, it is what drives the behaviours that either allow or prevent violence. Our attitudes to every day behaviours that perpetuate gender inequity, the jokes, the comments, the exclusion.

Our attitudes to the inappropriate behaviours. Our attitudes to minimising and trivialising violence against women, and our attitudes to blame shifting.

Our attitudes to the invisibility of perpetrators of violence. And inevitably, our attitudes to the procession of headlines about dead women that appear week after week. Our attitudes set the tone for society and, ultimately, as a society, we set the pace of change.

The women in those headlines deserve more than a cursory glance before we turn the page or scroll on. When you next read a headline about the murder of a woman, really consider how it makes you feel. If you feel outrage or disgust, use it as a trigger to check your beliefs and attitudes about gendered violence and gender equity.

Use it as an opportunity to drive the conversation with sons and daughters, partners, friends and workmates about their attitudes. Gendered violence must stop, and we all have a role.

We live in a world where, sadly, violence against women dominates the headlines, along with issues like the gender pay gap gender pain gap, and rising levels of homelessness amongst women. Fifty-one per cent of Victoria’s six million people are women, yet women are under-represented across local government – in both elected councillor and senior manager roles.

Diversity in decision-making bodies, leads to better decisions.

The Victorian Government Safe and Strong Gender Equality Strategy aims to deliver 50:50 representation in local government by 2025, and there has never been a more critical time to have fair representation. The outcome of the 2024 local government elections in October this year will determine whether this goal is reached.

The Victorian Local Governments’ Women’s Charter recognises that councils are uniquely positioned to contribute to the global goal of gender equity. The Charter aims to increase women’s participation in key decision-making forums and articulates principles of gender equity, diversity and active citizenship.

It is vital that councils reflect all the people they serve and, as a woman, I am certainly keen to see that the councils include representatives that understand issues relevant to me and mine.

Victoria leading the nation, but progress towards gender equity remains slow.

The first Victorian female councillor, Mary Rogers, was elected to Richmond City Council in 1920. In the intervening 100 years there has been slow progress toward parity, culminating at the 2020 local government elections where women councillors made up 44% of elected representatives.

It is a great testament to Victoria that it leads the nation in gender diversity in local government and heartening to see some positive strides forward, even though it has taken a century to get here. This progress stems from a long history of support and targeted funding in Victoria and, while that should be celebrated, we do need to recognise that there is more work to be done.

Driving towards gender parity by 2025

Change doesn’t just happen on its own; it requires intent and action – and we in the women’s health sector refer to this as ‘driving’ gender equity. I recently had the pleasure of seeing a presentation by Ruth McGowan OAM about an initiative to drive towards the 2025 goal of gender parity in local government.

Ruth is a former Mayor at Baw Baw Shire Council and author of Get Elected – a step-by-step campaign guide to winning public office. She is one of seven community-focused women who established an informal network to advance equality in local government. This group, called 1000 women standing, also includes Ashleigh Vandenberg, Jenny Wills, Leonie Morgan AM, Linda Bennett, Seema Abdullah and Sandra Wilson. The group are working collaboratively with local and state governments, peak organisations, community groups and interested women and men to support women to stand in local elections.

The goal is to see 1000 women standing for the local council election in October 2024.

Ruth McGowan says that “when we have more women in council chambers, it results in better council decisions for all of us. This is because of the diversity of lived experiences that women bring to the table to inform council decision-making. Whether it is through the knowledge they bring from their professional lives, understanding of services because of their caring responsibilities or knowing what can be done to better support volunteers, women councillors are able to contribute their unique wisdom and experiences about how to improve their local community.”

1000: the critical number

Approximately 650 councillors, from across 79 councils across Victoria, will be elected in 2024. To achieve gender parity 325 of these councillors must be women. Historically, one out of every three women candidates are elected, so an estimated 1000 women candidates need to stand for election to achieve the 50:50 goal.

The 2020 election results demonstrated progress, but there were still worrying gaps in gender equity. Across Victoria, one-in-seven wards fielded no women candidates, and eight councils elected only one woman. The election also resulted in one all-male council (Mansfield). This shows that we cannot assume that once a council achieves progress towards gender parity, this will be sustained or improved at the next election.

What stops women from standing?

The perennial puzzle of balancing family responsibilities and employment, along with the obligations that come with leadership, means that nominating for election is often complex for women. This is particularly acute for younger women, the ‘missing cohort’ in local government. Addressing matters such as childcare, councillor conduct, and culture, is vital to attracting and retaining more women candidates.

Most disappointingly, some women opt out of standing due to fear and concerns about abuse, online trolling and harassment, and these fears are not unfounded. International research shows that women in politics and female candidates receive an overwhelming amount of online abuse, harassment, and gendered defamation via social media platforms.

Shockingly, women can receive up to ten times the amount of abuse that of male candidates in the same race receive.

Leveling the playing field.

It takes guts, stamina, and considerable personal resilience to persist in what is effectively an unfair playing field. This gendered harassment has led to eligible and capable women choosing not to stand, and in some cases, to the withdrawal of candidates before the election process is complete.

There is, however, some good news for women in local politics. When women do stand for council, it appears that our communities are keen to elect them. In fact, women have as much or more chance of getting elected as men, with one-in-three women candidates being elected in 2020 compared to one-in-four males.

Seema Abdullah, of the 1000 women standing movement, is currently a councillor and a project management professional. She has held the roles of board director, chair, former mayor, and deputy mayor and is the first woman of ethnic origin, and a first-generation Pakistani Muslim woman elected to the Greater Shepparton City Council. “I strongly advocate for women (including migrant women and others) to pursue councillor roles on their local councils. Their inclusion enriches the governing structure with a variety of perspectives, leadership approaches, and ensures a more balanced gender and diversity representation. This diversity leads to positive outcomes on personal, organisational, and societal levels.”

Local government can be a training ground for other levels of politics, and so greater diversity at the local level can be a stepping stone to increased representation at state and national levels.

There are currently three women councillors (of seven) on Warrnambool City Council, and one woman councillor (also of seven) on Moyne Shire Council. With this in mind, I see tremendous value in being active across our communities to encourage and support women to stand and to serve as councillors.

So, what can we do?

We each have a role in driving equity in our local councils. Firstly, we all have our vote, an important and powerful tool to be sure, but only fully effective if we have relevant candidates to vote for.

We can all probably identify women who would make great councillors. Some may be toying with the idea of standing; some may consider standing ‘one day’ rather than today. We can encourage those women in our lives to find out more, to investigate the process, to look at the resources available. We can rally around them and support them to take that step to nominate. A little bit of support can make a world of difference in building capacity and confidence, so have that conversation!

With the local government elections looming, it would be great to see 1000 women standing come October, and maybe, just maybe, we’ll see the 2025 gender parity goal achieved.

Women’s health is getting some much-needed attention lately. The national Women’s Health Strategy was launched in 2020. The Victorian Government announced its inquiry into women’s pain in January this year. Sexual and reproductive health was a priority in both state and federal budgets and, of course, most of us will have seen the advertising campaign for a well-known pain relief medication that speaks to the gender pain gap.

The attention is good, its needed, it’s about time.

It’s interesting though, the things that come to mind when we hear the term women’s health. In my experience, very often people focus immediately on all things periods, babies and menopause. This can lead to extreme reactions including squeamishness and embarrassment all the way through to disdain and eye-rolling dismissal. It’s a stark reminder that, in some ways, we haven’t travelled all that far from the ancient Greek theories of wandering wombs and hysteria. Theories that set the tone for understanding – or failing to understand – women’s health for, quite literally, centuries.

Women’s health is, of course, so much more than that.

What is women’s health

Women’s health and wellbeing refers to the physical, mental, and social-emotional wellness of women and their overall quality of life, from birth through old age. It is shaped by a woman’s freedom to have autonomy over her body, to have personal choice as well as access to quality healthcare, food, education and employment without fear of gender-based discrimination.

Women’s health can be impacted by biological and genetic factors, age, ethnicity, sexuality, disability and geography. Personal choice, such as diet, activity levels and drug and alcohol use, also plays a part. Women’s health is, however, also significantly impacted by social determinants including education status, employment and work conditions, economic security, accessibility of services and housing security. And, as we have seen all too much this year, violence can have catastrophic impacts on women’s health. In fact, violence is the biggest preventable risk factor leading to illness, disability and death for women aged 25-44 years.

Why look at women’s health separately?

At all stages of life, women are at greater risk of ill health than men. Globally a higher proportion of women and girls experience chronic pain; however, women are less likely to receive treatment. A global gender health gap study has shown that while women tend to have a longer life expectancy than men, they spend more years of their life in poor health. Non-fatal conditions that cause illness and disability, such as musculoskeletal problems, mental health issues and headache disorders for example, particularly affect women. The health differences between women and men continue to grow with age, leaving women with higher levels of illness and disability throughout their lives.

Illness can have a knock-on effect, impacting a woman’s ability to participate in work and social activity and, in turn, impacting her financial security and mental health and wellbeing. It harms the individual and their family and it adds to the burden on the health system.

The gender divide

According to the World Health Organisation, the sociocultural factors preventing women and girls (globally) from getting the best possible level of health include:

unequal power relationships between men and women
social norms that decrease education and paid employment opportunities
an exclusive focus on women’s reproductive roles and
potential or actual experience of physical, sexual and emotional violence.

I suppose its unsurprising that inequity is at the heart of women’s experience in terms of health. A growing body of evidence suggests that women disproportionately experience delayed diagnosis, overprescribing, and a failure to properly investigate symptoms. As an example, symptoms of a heart attack are less likely to be recognised in women than in men and women are less likely to receive appropriate treatment for heart disease.

Add to this the fact that gender bias is common in health settings, with many women reporting that they feel they are dismissed, their illness minimised or that they are not believed when they describe symptoms to their doctors. This can lead to a denial of pain and therefore, lack of pain relief and associated treatment for women. This occurs for multiple health conditions, including cardiovascular, neurological, reproductive, and autoimmune conditions.

Many of us have heard that, while women are at higher risk of injury and death in car accidents, until very recently (2022), crash test dummies were predominantly based on male bodies. In much the same way, medical research and in turn medical training, has historically focussed on male physiology.

According to Women’s Health Victoria, “women have been historically underrepresented in clinical trials for new drugs, treatments and devices in Australia and around the world. In instances where women have been present in trials, the influence of sex and gender is often not analysed and reported. The resultant lack of evidence around women’s experiences in clinical trials may have withheld effective treatment and exposed women to harmful side effects.”

Women’s health in a rural setting

According to the Australian Government’s Institute of Health and Welfare, approximately 7 million people (28% of the population) live in rural and remote locations. People (not just women) living in rural and remote areas have higher rates of hospitalisation, deaths and injury, and poorer access to primary health care services.

In our beautiful regional and rural communities across the Barwon South West, as women we get the double whammy – and that multiplies further if, for example, you happen to live with a disability, are gender diverse, or a First Nations person.

The challenge for our health system is to design, implement and evaluate sex- and gender-informed ways of diagnosing, preventing and treating health conditions. Until they succeed in closing the current gender gap, our awareness of the issues can help us to look after ourselves. This is why it’s good, and needed, and about time that women’s health is getting some attention. I hope it stays a hot topic until all the squeamishness, embarrassment and disdain are eliminated. We must all be confident enough to advocate for our own health. Women represent 51% of our population and women’s health cannot be considered an exception or an add on.

As the Olympics and Paralympics approach, I am excited we will soon witness amazing events full of spectacle, international comradery and impressive human achievement.

This Olympics will be even more than that. Paris 2024 is widely reported to be the first Olympic games with full gender parity on the field of play. Sport is a powerful setting for driving progress and demonstrating leadership on gender equity. Our region has fabulous examples of initiatives that increase the participation of women and girls in sport and sports leadership, and that embed cultures of equality and respect both on and off the field.

As we celebrate the achievement of 50:50 parity in the upcoming Olympic Games, let’s look just a little closer at how far we have come and consider how much is yet to be achieved.

A low bar

The first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens in 1896. At that time, organiser Pierre de Coubertin argued that an Olympics with women would be “impractical, uninteresting, unaesthetic and indecent.” He believed that the games were for “the solemn and periodic exaltation of male athleticism” with “female applause as a reward.”2

The next games (Paris, 1900) saw women compete in events including tennis, golf and sailing. They totalled just 2.2% of competitors. Paris hosted again in 1924 where 4.5% of competitors where women and they competed in diving, fencing, swimming, tennis and sailing. This slowly grew to 23% in Los Angeles in 1984 and 44% in London in 2012.

Despite more women taking to the sports field, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) remained an all-male committee right up to 1981 and only acknowledged gender equality as a principle in the Olympic Charter in 1996.

As unbelievable as it sounds, a sport as ubiquitous as cycling was not opened to women at the Olympics until 1984. The realisation that this was in within my lifetime came as a bit of a shock to me.

It wasn’t until 2012 that women were allowed to compete in all Olympic sports and 2014 before the IOC committed fully to gender parity at the Games.

Aiming higher

IOC President Thomas Bach said “We are looking forward to Paris 2024, where we will see the results of the enormous efforts made by the Olympic Movement and female trailblazers come to life. This is our contribution to a more gender-equal world.”1 A contribution no doubt: 50:50 on-field parity is a great outcome, but we must be mindful that gender parity is not the same as gender equality.

A US study, the Respect her Game Report, of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics highlights some of the arguably less obvious gender considerations. During that games, women athletes were approximately ten times more likely to be objectified through camera angles, were more frequently portrayed wearing revealing clothing and were seven times more likely to be referred to by commentators using the diminutive term “girl.” 3

In fairness, the IOC efforts do go beyond parity of athlete numbers. It has developed a suite of objectives, guidelines and toolkits to drive equity throughout the games. 4

Organisers have achieved greater gender balance, with 28 out of 32 sports fully gender equal, and a more gender-balanced number of medal events. The Paris 2024 schedule comprises 152 women’s events, 157 men’s events and 20 mixed-gender events.

The IOC is also growing the visibility of women at the Olympic Games. Since Tokyo 2020, teams have been encouraged to have one female and one male athlete jointly carry their flag at the Opening Ceremony. Women’s and men’s sports events are also scheduled more fairly over the duration of the Games, providing broadcasters and journalists with the opportunity to better balance coverage.

For the first time since its inclusion in 1984, the women’s marathon will take place a day after the men’s at the Paris games and will conclude the athletics programme during the Closing Ceremony. This prestigious position has always been reserved for the men’s marathon. For women marathon runners to be showcased this way is a significant demonstration of change.

Opportunities for all

Some commentators though, are concerned that in an effort to achieve parity, some men’s sports have been diminished to make way for women’s events. An example is the 50km race walk where a mixed team relay will replace the individual men’s discipline. This delivers numerical parity by increasing women’s participation, but a true drive towards equity would be better served by adding women’s events without removing men’s opportunities.

Even with parity on the field, women continue to be underrepresented in other roles at the Olympics. The IOC has acknowledged that there is work still to do and they are committed to progressing gender equity in roles such as coaching, support staff and technical official roles.

While it is very positive to see advancement towards parity and commitment to equality at the Olympics, it must be acknowledged that the IOC has opted out of firm decision making in terms of transgender and intersex athletes. Instead, it has provided a non-binding framework as a guide and handed the decision making over to International Federations for individual sports. This has created some confusion and varied experiences for gender diverse athletes and as such, dulls the sparkle of the label of the “gender equal” Games.

The games are close, and I’m excited to see our athletes compete on the world stage. I’ll be thrilled by the ceremony and spectacle, and I’ll celebrate the achievement. I’ll also take the “gender equal games” narrative for what it is, a great demonstration of progress towards parity, but not comprehensive gender equity. I look forward to better and fairer coverage, more women’s events on our screens and more respectful commentary. Mostly, as the games draw close, I look forward to seeing our wonderful, dedicated and talented female competitors excel in their chosen fields.

https://olympics.com/ioc/news/genderequalolympics-celebrating-full-gender-parity-on-the-field-of-play-at-paris-2024
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/8/8/sexism-is-still-a-problem-at-the-first-gender-equal-olympics
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https://olympics.com/ioc/gender-equality

The Productivity Commission is set to release its final report on childcare at any tick of the clock. A draft report, released in November, proposed a universal childcare model that ensures that quality low-cost childcare is available to all Australian children.

This universal model is familiar to Australians who enjoy universal schooling, Medicare, and superannuation. Advocates, parliamentarians and the PM himself have endorsed the benefits of a universal approach to childcare.

It’s all about choice

Before going further, I want to address up front that some parents make a choice to undertake caring responsibilities because they value the experience for themselves and their children. This is a beautiful and valid choice and I respect all parents who make this choice for their families. The key word here though is choice. It should be a choice. For so many, choice is the missing piece when the costs or availability of childcare make it an unviable option.

The long and short of the childcare shortage

While societal expectations are changing, in the absence of adequate or affordable childcare, women are still most often the ones to pick up the caring responsibilities. This has both long- and short-term implications. They may reduce or stop work to provide care, and, in many instances, this has both an immediate and long-term impact on their financial security.

The reduction or interruption to paid work due to caring responsibilities increases the gender pay gap, it decreases women’s earnings and contributions to superannuation for retirement and can impact career progression and promotion opportunities. Economists estimate that raising children can result in a 17% loss in lifetime earnings for women.

Sadly, the very real outcomes of this financial impact can be seen with older women making up the fastest growing cohort of people facing homelessness over recent years.

For women experiencing family or domestic violence, financial dependence is also a very real barrier to leaving a dangerous situation.

Boosting childcare boosts the economy

Creating a childcare model that enables and supports those women who choose to work is a big win that goes far beyond cost savings. It boosts the financial stability and security of the individuals and their families and will likely also have a positive impact on the Australian economy. Modelling suggests that tax revenue could be boosted by as much as $3.2 billion every year from parents able to work more hours as a result of having affordable childcare. Examples from Denmark, Germany, Sweden, and Norway, where universal low-cost childcare is available, shows high levels of participation.

Benefits of early education

There is also a huge body evidence on the positive impacts of early childhood education on children. According to the Department of Education quality early education leads to better health, education, and employment outcomes later in life and lays the foundation for lifelong development and learning. Additionally, children who attend preschool are generally better prepared to start primary school.

The arguments for getting the model right are clearly significant, but to fully implement an effective early childhood care system there is also a cultural change required. Caregiving is often undervalued, taken for granted and seen as “women’s work.” It’s fair to say that, for the most part, the true costs of caregiving are invisible.

It’s time to value care

The undervaluing of care is very clear in the early childhood sector. It is a highly gender segregated workforce – more than 95% of staff are female – and it is both undervalued and underpaid. Low wages fail to reflect the qualifications and responsibility held by early educators and, as a result, over recent years many are leaving the sector. The pay rate makes the sector unattractive to graduates with education degrees who are equally qualified for higher-paying jobs in primary schools.

In the current system, the loss of qualified staff and recruitment challenges have significantly impacted the service provision, and in turn, the families who rely on those services. Some services have been forced to cap enrolments or close their doors either temporarily or permanently. Parts of Australia, including South West Victoria, face such shortages in childcare places that they have been labelled a ‘childcare desert’. This lack of availability means that some families who could afford care, can’t access it anyway, once again limiting women’s choices.

For any model of early childhood care to work, we need to value and respect the work in order to attract people to the roles.

Historically Australia has not valued care. As an example, the monetary value of unpaid care work in Australia has been estimated to be $650 billion, the equivalent to 50.6% of GDP. To put it in perspective, that is almost four times the value of the mining industry (13.6% GDP). My observation is that this value is not reflected in public perception.

It was heartening to see some boost for early educator wages in the Victorian State and Federal budgets recently. It is a step in the right direction and starts to recognise the value of the sector. I hope it helps to attract more qualified and passionate people to these important roles.

Valuing the work, and the workers, goes some way to fixing the broken system. I hope that we see a positive change in the way care is valued and respected by all of us, whether that be in early childhood learning centres or in homes across the country. Let’s all recognise and respect the work of early educators, childcare workers, stay at home parents and anyone else who provides care to our under 5’s. They are, after all, shaping the young minds that will one day shape our future.

Getting the early childhood system working well means better financial outcomes for many women. Let us hope that the proposed universal early education system materialises soon and low-cost quality care for all, and the choice it enables, is not too far away.