Much attention has focused on the gender-patterned impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Victorian economy, in particular a steep dive in women’s workforce participation rates alongside traditional gender norms being re-entrenched with women carrying the bulk of caring and home-schooling responsibilities.

What is less well known is that, throughout the pandemic, some significant local steps towards gender equality were being made. Victoria introduced the Gender Equality Act and the Victorian Department of Treasury and Finance has now created a Gender Responsive Budgeting Unit to bring a gender lens to its State Budget process.

This event will take stock of the current state of gender equality in the Victorian workforce. It will share insights on the evidence of what works to close gender gaps, identify the risks ahead, and outline the positive policy developments that are defining Victoria as a leading jurisdiction on gender equality in Australia. It will also provide an opportunity for discussion on these optimistic developments as Victoria, and Australia more broadly, envisions a more gender equal future beyond the pandemic.

The event will run as an online-only webinar and is open to ESA members and non-members alike.

Dr Leonora Risse is an economist with specialist expertise in understanding gender gaps in economic outcomes. Leonora is a Research Fellow with the Women’s Leadership Institute Australia and recently spent time in residence at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government as a Research Fellow with the Women and Public Policy Program. She brings public policy experience having previously served as a Senior Research Economist for the Productivity Commission and holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Queensland. She is currently appointed as Senior Lecturer in Economics at RMIT University and serves as the National Chair of the Women in Economics Network.