This a share of the Australian Gender Equality Council (AGEC) announcement regarding their Town Hall forum being held online Tuesday 29 April 7-8pm. Registration is currently open.
FEDERAL ELECTION TOWN HALL – MAJOR PARTY COMMITMENTS TO GENDER EQUALITY
We are pleased to invite you to the Australian Gender Equality Council 2025 Federal Election Town Hall which will be hosted online on Tuesday 29th April at 7:00pm – 8:00pm AEST. Register here.
Our Chair, Coral Ross AM will be pleased to host ALP Senator the Hon Katy Gallagher MP, Minister for Women, and Greens Senator the Hon Larissa Waters MP. We also look forward to receiving confirmation of attendance from the Hon Sussan Ley MP, Deputy Leader of the Opposition.
This is a fantastic opportunity to hear from major parties about their commitments to gender equality. In addition, our member organisations will present major parties with our 2025 Federal Election Priorities. These were released in early April 2025 and a copy can be found on the AGEC website.
Why is this important?
2025 has seen unprecedented international challenges to women’s rights, and a roll-back in legal and policy protections. It is important, now, more than ever before, that we safeguard the strides that have been made by those that fought hard for the legal and policy protections we now enjoy.
What’s at stake at work, and at home?
Women make up just over half of Australia’s population and yet we continue to face significant safety issues in our homes, workplaces and communities, additional barriers to accessing employment, and, as a result, increased income insecurity throughout our lives.
At work, women are more likely to make serious claims for mental health conditions (59%) compared to men and are more likely to be impacted by behavioural hazards like occupational violence, bullying, sexual & gender-based harassment (Safe Work Australia, 2024). Work-related gendered violence can result in anxiety, depression, PTSD, loss of income, and in the worst cases, even suicide (WorkSafe Victoria, 2022).
Despite this, Australia does not have nationally consistent mandatory safety controls for behavioural hazards in the same way we do with physical safety hazards (like high-risk electrical and construction work, which predominantly impact men). Safety regulatory controls have, in the past, been found to halve the rate of injury where regulations are complied with (Gun, R.T., 1993).
At home, 27% of women have faced violence from an intimate partner or family member, with 1.6 million women (16%) enduring economic abuse from a partner they live with (ABS, 2021-22).
Women struggling financially are far more likely to suffer abuse at the hands of men. Financial hardship can ignite new violence, intensify existing abuse, or serve as a tool for control. Outcomes are worse for women with intersecting identities (Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety, 2022).
In the 2025 Federal Election it is essential for all parties to commit to priority actions to address women’s safety and respect at work, at home, and in the community, and to commit to addressing the root causes of violence; women’s inequality, and the attitudes and behaviours which fuel disrespect and violence.
We look forward to seeing you at our 2025 Federal Election Town Hall. You can register here.
Coral Ross
Chair Australian Gender Equality Council
To learn more about AGEC’s Federal Election Town Hall event, visit AGEC’s Town Hall Forum >>
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