Today GEN VIC will launch Towards a Gender Equal Recovery, its second annual budget submission, calling for a total of $271.2 million dollars of investment in gender equality initiatives to drive recovery after the COVID19 she-cession.
After a tumultuous year for Victorian women, where they lost jobs at a greater rate than men, reduced their super balances and carried the burden of essential care work and home schooling, the submission sets out six priorities for government spending:
- Gender equal job creation;
- Boosting women’s health services;
- Gender responsive budgeting architecture;
- Imagining a care economy;
- Creating a gender and disaster workforce; and
- Strengthening gender equal communities.
The report was developed after months of consultation with 42 gender equality organisations, expert in gendered economics, job creation and placement, health, sport, the arts, housing and social welfare.
“Our members have recommended practical, affordable solutions to support women and gender diverse people to recover from the pandemic. Victoria has a once in a lifetime opportunity to restructure its economic, public health and social support system to build back better in ways that benefit everyone.” said Tanja Kovac, CEO of GEN VIC
“Women lost 109,000 jobs last year across Victoria. That’s why we have prioritised creating jobs for women to get them back to work. For example, we want government to triple the gendered violence prevention workforce. This would create 500 jobs needed to address a shadow pandemic and fulfil recommendations made by the Royal Commission into Family Violence”
“Despite being in the middle of a global health emergency, women’s health services have not had an increase to core funding since their inception in the 1980s. If we want women to take up vaccines without fear of impact on pregnancies, to return to cancer screening services and access mental health support, we need women’s health services to be resourced for today – not a Victoria forty years ago.”
A full media briefing on Towards a Gender Equal Recovery will be held on Wednesday 3 February at 11am.
–ENDS
MEDIA ENQUIRIES. Tanja Kovac, CEO GEN VIC, Ph. Mob 0419 910 577, genvic@genvic.org.au