Working with women for women

Monash University is hosting an online Q&A panel of interdisciplinary experts to discuss opportunities for building a better and healthier future for women in Australia.

The event marks the launch of two government-funded initiatives that highlight the priorities facing women’s careers and health.

The topics discussed by the panel of female leaders will include:

● The existing inequalities faced by women and children that have been amplified by COVID-19 escalating the need to act now;
● Why women in healthcare leadership help women and children in improving equity and health outcomes and how can we advance women’s careers in healthcare;
● The greater proportion of unpaid care undertaken by women and greater balance and support is needed;
● The burden of caring has escalated for women during COVID – supporting the health and careers of these carers is vital so they can care for themselves, as well as others;
● Job losses and financial insecurity have escalated – 80 per cent of superannuation withdrawals during COVID-19 have been women and why we need to address this to improve health and well-being;
● The gender pay gap that will take 135 years to address on current trajectories and how to tackle this;
● The impact of financial insecurity and care burden on women’s health and wellbeing – including the disproportionate increases in psychological distress and mental health;
● The role of government-funded national collaborative initiatives in addressing these issues.

Event details:

What: Webinar on Prioritising women’s health and careers in COVID recovery and beyond.
When: Thursday, October 14, 2021 at 6pm (AEDT)
Where: Register for the webinar here.
Who: Hosted by the Monash University Centre for Health Research and Implementation (MCHRI) Director, and lead on these initiatives, Professor Helena Teede.

Hear from keynote speakers, Parliamentary Friends of Health and Medical Research, Dr Katie Allen MP, Young Australian of the Year 2021 Isobel Marshall, and WHRTN Chair, Indigenous Women’s Health, Prof Aunty Kerrie
Doyle.

Why: Women provide most of the healthcare and general care in our communities. Yet they are under-supported to look after themselves and hence to care for others. Inequalities have the greatest impact on women and children and are significantly aligned to social determinants including financial insecurity.

Imbalance in parenting responsibilities, misalignment between the career trajectory of men and women, a significant difference in superannuation and the major gender pay gap in Australia continue to leave women vulnerable to
impacts on their health and well-being vulnerable.

COVID-19 has amplified and heightened these existing inequalities. Taking on a greater proportion of unpaid care, and an increase in job losses in the hardest-hit sectors are just some of the barriers women now face.

Diversity in healthcare leadership leads to improved health outcomes for women and children and more effectively address inequalities.

Government is increasingly aware of these challenges and is working to tackle these challenges, however much more needs to be done.

What is needed is a collaborative solution with women, for women. We now seek, with a sense of urgency, to partner with women nationally and with stakeholders including the government, to combat these deeply entrenched challenges of inequality and the likely long-lasting adverse impacts of the pandemic on women’s health, careers and wellbeing.

Learn more about these national collaborative partnerships and initiatives:

• Advancing Women in Healthcare Leadership (AWHL)
• Women’s Health Research Translation and Impact Network (WHRTN)

Image by shanegaughan from Pixabay