Embracing equityInternational Women’s Day (IWD) that was held this Wednesday celebrates the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women around the world. It is also a day to raise awareness of the ongoing gender inequality women face. According to recent gender pay gap data, women earn 13.4% less than men on average in Australia. This gap is particularly significant for women working part-time, with a gap of 14.6%. Additionally, women are overrepresented in low-paid industries such as healthcare, education, and retail. Women are also underrepresented in leadership positions, with only 17% of CEOs and 30% of key management personnel being women. There is a danger that International Women’s Day becomes performative, without substantially addressing gender inequality. Last year, a Twitter bot was programmed to respond to organisations purporting to celebrate IWD to highlight their hypocrisy. For every ‘we celebrate IWD’ post, the bot responded with the pay gap between male and female workers at that organisation. The gap is interesting to reflect on us proud members of Australia’s critical non-profit sector. At the heart of this sector are inspiring women who dedicate their time and energy to creating positive change. Although the nonprofit sector still has a way to go in achieving gender equality, we’re lucky to be able to see a plethora of women in leadership in this landscape. Nonprofit boards are much more likely to include women compared to commercial boards. Well over half of Mental Health Australia’s board comprises of women. As well, many of our member organisations are led by women. Most of our staff are women. Next month we welcome our new CEO - also a woman. They have shown consistent dedication to improve the mental health of Australians, and our wider mental health system. Their leadership, commitment, and passion are truly inspiring. An existing challenge for all of us in the sector is to fully embrace intersectionality. While we see promising gender representation, sector-wide, we find far less diversity. LGBTQI+ women, First Nations women, CALD women, younger women, and women with disabilities are still underrepresented as non-profit leaders despite the fact that their experiences and insights are hugely valuable in understanding and addressing social injustice. By understanding and addressing the intersections of oppression, we can work towards a more just and equitable society and health and mental health care systems for all. This International Womens Day should be a recognition of all women. Erin Stewart
Communications Officer | 
