Leading through a global pandemic, economic turmoil and spiralling global crises has been some of the hardest, and yet most fulfilling couple years of Susanne Legena’s career thus far.  She’s been the CEO of Plan International Australia, a leading charity for girl’s equality, for five years, and has led through her fair share of volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity.  “I spent a lot of my five years in the CEO role trying to find equilibrium only to discover that in my line of work maybe there isn’t any,” Legena says. “If this is the new dance I have to learn the moves an ..read more

Gender equality leader Sally Hasler has been appointed as the next CEO of Women’s Health Victoria. Hasler comes to role after serving as a Director in the Office for Women in the Victorian government, and with extensive experience in a range of gender equality and health organisations.  Chair of Women’s Health Victoria, Judy Hacker, said Hasler’s appointment comes at a crucial time for organisation following the release of its latest strategic plan. “Sally was chosen after an extensive and extremely competitive selection process,” Hacker said.  “Her deep commitment to gender equity a ..read more

In South Australia, an ongoing study has revealed disturbing behaviours exhibited by male students towards female teachers, as the growing influence of harmful public figures continues to draw media attention and public concern.  Dr Samantha Schulz, a senior lecturer in education the University of Adelaide is leading a study into how the internet is shaping students and teaching. The survey aims to unpack the growing sexist and anti-social views among male students, and build momentum towards getting a national response to anti-social language and behaviours in schools. The researchers la ..read more

Violence against women is a “whole of society” issue that is in the “national interest to deal with”, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declared today while unveiling a number of new and existing measures to form part of his government’s response.   Speaking after the cabinet meeting of state and territory leaders that was organised following the horror spate of male violence against women in recent months, Albanese said the leaders had achieved a “constructive meeting” and have promised to return next quarter to share progress. The National Cabinet agreed to strengthening system responses ..read more

“Street Devil Home Angel” was a concept unveiled to me at a young age. Having spent almost a week seeking the girl’s toilets as safe refuge, I finally told my parents about a boy who had been chasing me at recess and lunch with the threat to catch me and “make me” his girlfriend. I was 8. A girl older than me noticed I was spending every break in the toilets and clocked the villain lingering outside the door blocking my exit. She negotiated my freedom but in return he expected me to give him something the following day. This was the day I learned a very crude word for female genitals…to be mor ..read more

US Vice President Kamala Harris has shared her reaction to the people who like to focus on one of her natural traits — her laugh. Appearing on The Drew Barrymore Show earlier this week, Harris revealed that some people love to talk about the way she laughs.  “You were asking me earlier about what it means to be like the first woman,” Harris said. “And you know, it’s funny because people still gotta get used to this, right?”  “I mean, my staff, for example, sometimes they’ll show me little things that just amuse me. Like, apparently, some people love to talk about the way I laugh.”&nb ..read more

Players in women’s domestic cricket competitions will soon earn $163,000 on average in Australia, as the sport’s governing body announces a new action plan to grow the game.  Cricket Australia plans to boost the total revenue from women’s cricket to $121 million over the next 10 years, an increase of $100 million.  As part of the action plan, the WBBL will have a 40-game regular season, bringing it into line with the men’s competition, while a new domestic women’s T20 competition will be introduced. The new competition will see the average domestic salary for women increase to ..read more

Friends and family of Molly Ticehurst, the woman who was allegedly murdered by her former partner while he was on bail, are calling for bail law reforms in NSW named in her honour. If passed, “Molly’s Law” would ensure police know the location of people on bail for domestic, family and sexual violence charges at all times to better protect alleged victims of these crimes. The call comes just over a week after Molly Ticehurst, a 28-year-old mother in Forbes, a regional NSW town, was killed in a “brutal” attack. Her former partner, 29-year-old Daniel Billings, was on bail for a separate offence ..read more

In May 2020, a man named George Floyd was tragically murdered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Here in Australia, Priyanka Ashraf watched the events unfold over the news, and felt herself waking up to the systemic injustices that had, up until then, been present but still invisible to her.  A proud Bangladeshi Muslim woman, Ashraf says the injustices she’d personally faced “had always made themselves subtly known through that wretched feeling” in the pit of her stomach.  “Every time someone mispronounced my name and felt I was making a scene, if I were to correct them, as if wanting m ..read more

Today (1 May) is World Maternal Mental Health Day, an opportunity to remind ourselves about the importance of suppporting new parents on their perinatal mental health journeys. Clinical Director of Gidget Foundation Australia, Karen Edwards, shares this piece about the new digital connections that are transforming perinatal mental health care. Pregnancy and parenthood represent a unique period in an individual’s life, but alongside the joy and excitement, new and complex emotions can also occur. Data from Gidget Foundation Australia (GFA) highlights the challenges faced by expectant and new pa ..read more