It is a truth universally acknowledged (and now supported by research) that Perth has a blokey, masculine culture, poorer childcare options, a wider gender pay gap than elsewhere in the country and a social culture that tells women who don’t need to work that they should not. The Committee for Perth’s report Filling the Pool, released on 3 June 2015, outlines the grim reality of gender inequality in Western Australia’s workplaces. For many of us, the report fuels our already raging bellies about the disappointingly slow progress gender equality has made in WA’s political, corporate and cultural life.
But importantly, the report does not stop there. It sets out a roadmap to ignite this progress. The reports sets out interlocking recommendations for government, corporations and women to change this. Now. Finally, WA’s tight knit business community can stand together and united and really make a difference. There is a will. And now there is a way. The fire in my belly just burned brighter.
100 Women ignites the same passion in me for women who do not have access to basic healthcare, safety and economic freedom. We cannot sit back when there are women in the world that are not permitted to use the toilet in the home because it is reserved for men, and therefore can only ‘go’ outside at sundown. 100 Women, by granting funds in 2014 to Opportunity International, are helping these women to build toilets for them. It’s one latte a day for us. The impact on someone else’s life is indescribable. Like Filling the Pool¸ I believe there is a will in Perth to empower all women. Join 100 Women to help us find a way.
Cheryl Chan, 100 Women Advisory Committee Member
See link to the Filling the Pool report: CLICK HERE
See link to 100 Women’s 2014 grant recipients: CLICK HERE
