EVENT ALERT:"Now you see it, now you don't!" Gender in contemporary policy
In its fourth successful year, Power to Persuade’s (PTP) annual symposium is not only going national but is also branching out to include a forum on gender and contemporary policy. Headed up by Lara Corr (@corr_lara), a gender inequity focused public health and social policy scholar, alongside Gemma Carey and Kathy Landvogt (co-directors of PTP), this ground-breaking forum will hit the big issues of how women and policy mix (or don’t) in the current policy climate. Beyond that, the forum, which will be known as PTP:Gender, will explore how to do policy differently by taking a feminist perspective. Save the date for the 17th September, 9-3.30pm, Australian National University, Canberra.
"Now you see it, now you don’t": Gender in contemporary policy.
Background
2015 sees the gender gap in wages continue, family violence affect one in six Australian women and parenting in the early years become harder due to parental leave and child care policies that miss the mark. Where and how is gender playing out in the social policies that shape our daily work and home lives? How does paying attention to gender values and inequities lay the foundation for policy that protects and promotes community wellbeing?
The PTP:Gender Forum
PTP:Gender examines two critical aspects of policy development as they relate to gender equity: evidence and values. In doing so, it explores where gender is strategically made visible or invisible in contemporary policy, what is served by this and the values that sit behind policies that shape women’s and men’s lives.
In the first session, "Why we are stuck", we ask what evidence is available to create policies that protect the wellbeing of women and why, in some cases, it is unavailable. Digging deeper, speakers then explore and question the values underpinning selected policies that have dramatic impacts on women’s everyday lives. In the second session, we then seek to reimagine a society supported by feminist policy and set the agenda for women’s policy through a facilitated workshop.
Speakers will endeavour to not only explore gender and policy, but also how gender intersects with other aspects of women's identities, such as age, cultural background and family/work status.
What will I take away from the forum?
Forum participants will build capacity for equity-based policy change through:
- Hearing about contemporary research and analysis relating to gender and social provision from a range of perspectives
- Learning about gaps in gender-based data
- Interrogating the values underpinning key policies that create and/or reinforce gender inequities.
- Identifying a range of solutions to improving the daily lives of Australian women and the communities they live and work within.
- Contributing to setting the agenda for women’s policy in Australia
Menzies Policy Grand Challenge
After the forum, PTP: Gender will co-host the ANU Menzies Centre for Health Policy 'Policy Grand Challenge', which will consist of a panel style debate on 'Why does gender equity matter for health policy?'. The debate will enable policymakers, researchers and leading thinkers to engage in debate to generate public awareness about the role of gender in health policy.
Confirmed panel members include:
Emeritus Professor Eva Cox, prominent feminist, policy analyst and sociologist
Professor Sharon Friel, health equity expert
Associate Professor Lyndall Strazdins, expert on work, health and families.
Join us for a stimulating and enlivening day to progress gender equity and policy in Australia!
Posted by: @corr_lara