The Department of Communities has released a 10-year plan to address gender inequality in Western Australia.
Launched by Minister for Women’s Interests, Simone McGurk, Stronger Together: WA’s Plan for Gender Equality sets out a long-term coordinated approach to addressing the issue.
“Women and girls in Western Australia deserve to live and work safely in a community where diversity is embraced and where access to rights, resources, opportunities and protections is not determined by gender,” Ms McGurk said.
She said the plan provided a framework for coordinated action by Government, business, organisations and individuals with practical steps to advance gender equality.
She said an extensive consultation process had been undertaken involving a wide range of people from all age groups, backgrounds, abilities and sexual identities across Western Australia.
“The issues raised by Western Australians during these discussions made it clear that things need to change,” Ms McGurk said.
She said women in Western Australia also faced Australia’s biggest gender pay gap of 22 per cent (compared to 14 per cent nationally) and continued to be overlooked for leadership roles.
“While significant advances have been made to remove barriers faced by women, there is still a long way to go to bring about lasting solutions and achieve gender equality,” Ms McGurk said.
The Minister said an implementation and action plan would guide delivery of Stronger Together over the next 12 months.
“Data collected from the outcomes of actions will contribute to the evidence base and reflect the status of progress made to advance gender equality and will inform future actions plans,” she said.
The 49-page plan can be accessed at this PS News link.
