#16DAYSOFACTIVISM
Your Rights at Work
This year for The 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence BMWHRC's EViE project will be focusing on equality in the workplace.
What is the 16 Days of Activism?
The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence is an annual international campaign that kicks off on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and runs until 10 December, Human Rights Day. It was started by activists at the inaugural Women’s Global Leadership Institute in 1991 and continues to be coordinated each year by the Center for Women’s Global Leadership. It is used as an organizing strategy by individuals and organizations around the world to call for the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls.
What is the EVIE Project?
EViE is the acronym for 'Ending Violence, improving Equality' and operates as a Primary Prevention of Domestic Violence Project facilitated & led by The Blue Mountains Women's Health and Resource Centre. EViE is funded under the DSS National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children. The project aims to promote gender equality by providing access to resources, education & entertainment with positive gender messages through social media, community partnerships & local actions.
Why are we focusing on workplace rights?
BMWHRC & The EViE project has annually taken part in the 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence, after revising the statistics and data around how women and minority genders experience the workplace in Australia we knew it was a relevant area to focus on post-lockdowns.
What do the statistics tell us?
Recent 2022 government statistics paint a picture of how gender is impacting an individuals working life. Whether its workforce participation, economic security, educational attainment, paid parental leave or obtaining leadership positions the stats for women still reflect huge gaps in accessibility.
The Workplace Gender Equality Agency has collated a significant amount of data that shows while we have made some progress, Australia is still lacking when it comes to true equality in the workplace. We highly encourage you to read their report via the buttons below.
'The Bearing the Brunt report', commissioned by Youth Action found that Young people make up 14% of the workforce but 39% of job losses during the pandemic lockdowns. Western Sydney and regional NSW being the hardest hit areas in NSW.
The report also found that young women were impacted more due to pandemic lockdowns, with 43,000 young women losing employment in comparison to the 31,000 loss for young men across NSW. Unfortunately statistics in that report are limited for First Nations people, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, LGBTIQA+ people, and people with disability.
