Three improvements for gender equality that we can make happen right away

The theme of International Women’s Day tomorrow is Make it Happen and the Greens are calling for key improvements that governments can make happen right away for International Women’s Day.

While it’s frustrating that there’s still such a long way to go to achieve gender equality, there are some clear, tangible steps that we can take right away.

Firstly, the Abbott Government needs to urgently reverse its funding cuts to key services that women rely on to escape domestic violence – housing and community legal centres.

Domestic violence is the biggest cause of homelessness in women and tragically women are facing the impossible decision of violence or homelessness.

Secondly, the Queensland and New South Wales governments need to take abortion out of their criminal codes.

These archaic laws technically treat abortion as a crime in some cases, stigmatising women’s rights to make their own choices about their own bodies.

And thirdly, the Abbott Government needs to stop trying to water down requirements for big companies to report on the gender equality on their workforce.

The data collected informs efforts to close the gender pay gap, which alarmingly is at its highest level in two decades at 18.8 per cent.

There’s so much more that we can and need to do to achieve gender equality. But these are some key starting points to start making it happen.

About the Author
Larissa Waters is a Senator for Queensland and the Australian Greens spokesperson for women.

Australian Greens Leader Christine Milne will join her NSW colleagues on International Women’s Day, 8 March 2015, to launch the Greens NSW plan to reform abortion laws and stand up for women’s reproductive rights.