- Cook Government releases mid-point review of Stronger Together: WA's Plan for Gender Equality
- Provides overview of the progress made under Stronger Together
- Stronger Together drives gender equality in key focus areas including health and wellbeing, safety and justice, economic independence, and leadership
- Cook Government investing in building a more inclusive community
The Cook Government has today released the mid-point review of Stronger Together: WA's Plan for Gender Equality, continuing its commitment to advance gender equality and build a more inclusive Western Australia.
Launched in 2020, Stronger Together is Western Australia's first whole-of-government, long-term plan to advance gender equality. The plan is led by the Department of Communities through four action plans between 2020-2030.
Stronger Together's four priority areas - health and wellbeing, safety and justice, economic independence, and leadership - reflect the leading issues that impact on Western Australian women's lives and engagement with their communities.
The mid-point review provides a summary of Stronger Together's outcomes and impacts to date, with more than 140 actions identified since 2020 that have improved outcomes for women and girls.
It also offers an opportunity to reflect on and celebrate the achievements made over the past five years, including:
- the two-year gender equality in procurement pilot, led by the Department of Communities, which informed the development of the General Procurement Direction requiring all State Government agencies to include a gender equality disclosure in procurement documents for contracts valued at $250,000 or more;
- significant maternal, mental, and menstrual health initiatives that have driven improvements in women's access to health services through co-ordinated and gender-responsive policy development, investment, and service delivery;
- the Health Justice Partnership pilot between the Department of Health and the Women's Legal Service WA, which has integrated legal support into women's healthcare settings for the provision of holistic, culturally safe assistance for victim-survivors of family and domestic violence;
- a range of programs focused on increasing women's workforce participation, supporting entrepreneurship, improving financial capability, and addressing structural and cultural barriers to economic security; and
- increased representation of women in senior leadership positions in the Public Sector through programs such as the Women in Executive Leadership Development Experience Initiative.
In keeping with the whole-of-government approach, actions for Stronger Together have been delivered across numerous agencies for the first two action plans. Work is now underway on the third action plan, which will continue to show the strong commitment across agencies and sectors to drive change toward gender equality.
Read the review here: www.wa.gov.au/government/publications/stronger-together-was-plan-gender-equality
As stated by Women Minister Simone McGurk:
"As the Minister for Women, I am committed to driving change that ensures women and girls to have equal opportunity in schools, workplaces, at home and in the community.
"Gender equality benefits everyone. There is clear evidence that it brings economic and social benefits, helping Western Australian women have a better balance between work and family responsibilities, and contributing to improved wellbeing and emotional connection.
"We want a State where women and girls may live and work safely in a community that embraces diversity and where access to rights, resources, opportunities, and protections is not determined by gender.
"We must continue our collective work toward gender equality and ensure that the vision of Stronger Together becomes a lived reality."
