Hi everyone,
Today is International Women’s Day, a global celebration that recognises the achievement of women, but also shines a spotlight on the ongoing issue of gender equality.
I have to say as a young woman living in regional Victoria, I’m finding it hard to celebrate today. My thoughts are with the family and friends and entire community of Ballarat which is now coming to terms with the alleged murder of Samantha Murphy. We extend our deepest condolences to all affected by this tragedy.
This year’s theme is Count Her In: Invest in Women. Accelerate Progress and is designed to encourage us to work towards greater economic inclusion for women and girls everywhere, removing the obstacles that prevent equal participation in the economy.
As a huge advocate of women and gender equality I welcome days like today, but I also find I am quite dismayed when I look at the statistics on inequality and realise that we have so much more work to do.
I am pleased that as a Council, we’ve introduced a number of initiatives to address gender equity including our Gender Equity Action Plan and the introduction of Gender Impact Assessments across all new plans, policies and projects.
As we head into the long-weekend, we’re expecting high visitation in our towns, with plenty of events taking place. It is forecast to be extremely hot so please take care.
Cr Sophie Price