MEAA launches new project to enhance online safety for women in the media
February 11, 2021 10:54
The MEAA has launched its Enhancing Online Safety of Women in the Media project, in partnership with Gender Equity Victoria (GEN VIC) and Australian Community Managers (ACM).
The announcement:
MEAA has partnered with Gender Equity Victoria (GEN VIC) and Australian Community Managers (ACM) to launch a pioneering Enhancing Online Safety of Women in the Media project.
GEN VIC has developed three critical resources to help media organisations and publications better support women journalists who experience harassment:
Australian Media Moderation Guidelines: these comment and online discussion moderation guidelines are the industry-standard for Australian media to moderate comment sections using a gender and intersectional lens.
Gender-responsive budgeting architecture;
Creating a gender and disaster workforce; and
Strengthening gender-equal communities.
The submission from Gender Equity Victoria comes after a difficult year where women lost their jobs at a faster rate than men, and disproportionately carried the burden of unpaid care work, including homeschooling, that arose during lockdown periods.
Gender Equity Victoria chief executive officer Tanja Kovac said women lost 109,000 jobs last year across Victoria, and this recovery period is a once in a lifetime opportunity to restructure the economic, public health and social support system in the state to improve gender equality.
“Our members have recommended practical, affordable solutions to support women and gender diverse people to recover from the pandemic,” Kovac said.
More than $200 million needed to close Victoriaâs pandemic âgender gapâ
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Spending of more than $200 million is required to close the âgender gapâ in employment, health and welfare between Victorian men and women and curb disproportionate impacts of economic insecurity, family violence and poor mental health on women.
As womenâs unemployment in Victoria remains significantly higher than menâs (8.1 per cent versus 5.9 per cent) the stateâs peak gender equality agency will ask the Andrews government to invest $63 million on fast-tracking at-risk women into work.
âTAFE is the engine room of skills-based education and it has to be gender equal,â says Gender Equality Victoria chief Tanja Kovac.
Aiming for a gender-equal world
Global report highlights inequalities and provides roadmap for action.
Credit: ronstik / Getty Images
Exacerbating the long-standing gender divide, girls and women worldwide have been hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report released by Women Deliver and Focus 2030.
“COVID-19 has exposed the economic gender fault lines across Australia and the world,” says Tanja Kovac, CEO of Gender Equity Victoria, Australia. “[Women] recognise the risk of disaster posed by this moment in history and what it means for their own wellbeing and progress and that of their children.”
In 13 out of 17 countries surveyed since the outbreak, women reported more emotional stress and mental health challenges compared to men, including higher gender-based violence, fewer sexual and reproductive services, greater economic impact and increased household burdens.
Last modified on Thu 28 Jan 2021 11.32 EST
Australia has fallen behind in gender equality driven by a succession of federal treasurers with âgender ignorantâ approaches to the economy, Victoriaâs peak organisation for womenâs health, equality and violence prevention said.
Gender Equity Victoria CEO Tanja Kovac said Australiaâs woeful record in provision of childcare services to assist workforce participation meant Nordic countries, New Zealand, and parts of Asia were well ahead in terms of womenâs participation.
Her comments follow the release of a report on Friday co-authored by global gender equality organisation Women Deliver and quantitative and qualitative research agency Focus 2030, which includes findings from an online poll conducted across 17 countries, with at least 1,000 people surveyed in each. In Australia, 1,007 respondents were surveyed, including 517 female respondents and 490 male respondents, and zero respondents who identified in an