On Wednesday, 20 May 2026, the Human Rights Subcommittee of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade will hold a public hearing for its inquiry into gender equality as a national security and economic security imperative.
Chair of the Human Rights Subcommittee, Mr Tony Zappia MP, said the hearing is a chance to hear from researchers, advocacy bodies and organisations on the front lines of crisis response to understand how gender inequality is impacting regional security.
Examples of witnesses the Subcommittee will hear from include:
- International Women's Development Agency
- Griffith Asia Institute
- International Planned Parenthood Federation
- Human Rights Watch
- Jobs and Skills Australia
Mr Zappia said, 'The hearing will provide an opportunity to understand the success of Australia championing gender equality internationally, and to gather ideas on how the Australian Government could better embed gender equality into its foreign policy and national security architecture.'
'We will also hear about why women's workforce participation is so important to meet our workforce needs in key industries, and the economic security and prosperity this could secure for Australia.'
