Although women and girls play a number of important roles in our communities, they continue to face inequality, disadvantage and violence as a result of their gender.
The Women NSW Strategy 2018 – 2022 states that data shows:
- Women make up 59.9% of undergraduate completions, however, the median starting salary for women is lower than men.
- Across the NSW labour market, women working full time earn an average of $239.70 less than men per week, with women over-represented among lower paying industries.
- Women make up 68.5% of all primary carers in NSW. Unpaid care is critical to the sustainability of our health and community services systems. It would cost over $60.3 billion to replace the hours of care provided by unpaid carers in Australia.”
The Australian Human Rights Commission, Face the Facts: Gender Equality 2018, states that “Women comprise roughly 47 per cent of all employees in Australia. 95% of primary parental leave (outside of the public-sector) is taken by women and women spend almost three times as much time taking care of children each day, compared to men.”
This March, New South Wales celebrated it’s very first NSW Women’s Week established by Women NSW, to shine a light on gender inequality and disadvantage and to focus, discuss and celebrate the achievements of women throughout NSW.
In celebration of our first NSW Women’s week, Nepean Community & Neighbourhood Services (NCNS) developed the “Her Stories” project, funded by Family and Community Services through the NSW Women’s Week Grants 2019, to recognise the important contributions of the women of Cranebrook at work, in our families and the community.
The “Her Stories – Anthology of the Remarkable Women of Cranebrook” project captured the stories of women of Cranebrook, recognising and celebrating their achievements and participation, regardless of divisions, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political backgrounds, with a focus on young girls, women in STEM, sports, CALD, Aboriginal, and women with disabilities.
The achievements and their stories are highlighted in the “Her Stories” book and tells of 39 remarkable women of Cranebrook. The book is a testimony of the many contributions of women in our community, with a focus on working towards creating an inclusive and supportive community for all women and girls, no matter what path they take and to challenge traditional stereotypes about women’s roles and career paths.
The culmination of the project was a beautiful “Book Launch, Breakfast and Social Networking” event for the women of Cranebrook on Monday 4th March, held at The Lakeside Restaurant at the Regatta centre, Penrith.
The event saw 70 women come together to celebrate the launch of the book and hear from a range of inspiring guest speakers, while creating the opportunity to develop peer relationships, supports and linking in with a range of services and educational organisations.
The speakers included Aunty Carol, Councillor Karen McKeown – Labor Candidate for Penrith, Wendy Truelove, Coordinator, Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) Program from Western Sydney University and 2 remarkable women of Cranebrook, Ashlea Holt and Bronwyn Nuttall who shared their stories.
We were also privileged to hear a beautiful acoustic music performance by one of our local young women from Cranebrook High School, Olivia Kezik.
Not only was the event a celebration of the achievements and contributions of the women nominated but also acknowledged that each and every woman is “remarkable” in her own right and every contribution is worthy of recognition. We all have a part to play in our community to ensure a better, gender balanced future for the next generation of young women in Cranebrook.
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