Djab Wurrung woman and former Greens Senate candidate Sissy Austin was brutally attacked on 11 February 2023 while out trail running in Lal Lal– roughly 20 km away from where Murphy reportedly disappeared in Ballarat on 4 February 2024 while out for a regular run. 

Last year, Austin was allegedly attacked by a man with a homemade weapon (a rock tied to a stick) and knocked unconscious. Police at the time said they believed the attacker to be a Caucasian male wearing black jeans, a cap and no shoes or shirt.

Despite the brutal nature of the assault, her alleged attacker has yet to be found. Now, Austin says the police are revisiting her case with regards to Murphy’s disappearance but have failed to contact her regarding the investigation. 

In a scathing social media post on Wednesday, Austin laid bare the hypocrisy surrounding the police’s investigations into a missing white woman compared to her own case as a proud Aboriginal woman. 

“When a First Nations woman is attacked running, there’s little to no investigation. Then a year on a white woman goes missing running in the same town and now highly regarded detectives want to revisit my case, not because my life matters, but because the missing white woman’s does,” writes Austin.

“This is one of those clear examples where if police fail one of us, they fail all of us.”

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Police scaling back the ground search for Murphy

Murphy, 51, went missing over a week ago after leaving her Ballarat East home to go for one of her regular runs at around 7am. She was captured by her home’s security camera dressed in an exercise shirt and with her hair pulled back. 

The alarm was sounded after Murphy failed to attend a brunch she had planned later that day.

Emergency services and locals from the area launched a full-scale search of bushland, with no trace of her found. On Saturday, however, police announced they were scaling back the ground search. 

Retired homicide detective Charlie Bezzina told the ABC, that it’s likely the police have a specific line of inquiry to justify scaling back this land search. He believes investigators could be looking at the same suspects who attacked Austin last year. 

Having spent three-and-a-half decades investigating some of the nation’s worst crimes with Victoria police, Bezzina said that if he were on the case, he’d “be looking very closely about the whole investigation, did they have suspects, whether you need to go back and talk to her.”

“I’d be looking at the investigation file. Let’s start re-interviewing those suspects, let’s get them alibied.”

As community members join the search and social media groups post theories on Murphy’s disappearance, Victoria Police have discouraged people from speculating on the case while investigators continue to look for evidence. 

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The research, by Harvard Business School Associate Professor Katherine B. Coffman reveals businesses can draw more women applicants by making it easier for candidates to know whether they’re qualified. This involves getting rid of vague language about the experience and skills required in job postings and listing more precise qualifications.  

“We found that candidates were talented, and yet they self-selected out,” said Coffman, whose research study was inspired by a commonly quoted statistic: Men apply for a job when they meet only 60 per cent of the qualifications, but women apply only if they meet 100 per cent of them.

Coffman and her research team set out to provide empirical evidence to this age-old statistic by first running experimental ads on freelance job platform UpWork. 

The first ads called for expertise in stereotypically male-dominated domains, and used fairly generic and vague language: “We are looking for candidates with [management expertise/experience in analytical thinking], as demonstrated through education, past work experience, and test scores. Successful applicants will also have strong writing and communication skills.” 

The research team offered an “intermediate” position, as well as an “expert” track that was considered more challenging but also came with more pay. Candidates had to choose which position to apply for, if any.

Just 6 per cent of women applied for the expert job, compared to 22 per cent of qualified men. 

Conversely, when the ad language was changed to provide clear guidance on the required qualifications, more women applicants (29 per cent) responded. The ‘clear guidance’ included asking candidates for an exact threshold of analytical or management UpWork test scores to apply to the advanced position. 

Coffman’s team then repeated the experiment on the research platform Prolific to clarify the results, which turned out to be similar to the UpWork study. Only 42 per cent of qualified women applied when vague job qualification language was used, compared to 56 per cent of men. And when specific guidance was given, the per cent of women applicants jumped up to 62 per cent.

In light of these results, Coffman offers some advice for hiring managers looking to attract more female candidates to their job postings: steer clear of vague qualifications, state the amount of experience and the skills candidates should possess, as well as actively recruit qualified female candidates, rather than waiting for people to apply. 

The advice is imperative for businesses as the World Economic Forum’s 2023 Global Gender Gap Report has declared only slow and steady gains for the proportion of women hired to leadership positions in the past eight years (a rate of just one per cent annually, that dropped to just 32 per cent in the first quarter of 2023). 

The data also shows women represent 46 per cent of entry-level roles, but then only 25 per cent of C-Suite roles. And the Global Gender Gap is also still 131 years away from closing. 

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The anniversary comes a week after a recent major review of the Closing the Gap agreement where the Productivity Commission warned that policies meant to improve life for First Nations people will fail without fundamental government changes. 

The government is scheduled to table their annual report today on the progress of the policies and programs tied to the National Agreement on Closing the Gap. This report will analyse progress from 2023. The government will also present the next Closing the Gap Implementation plan to outline the new actions they’re taking to improve the lives of Indigenous Australians. 

“The entrenched inequality experienced by many Indigenous Australians is completely unacceptable,” said Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney. “And unfortunately, actions so far have not led to the change needed.”

“The first Productivity Commission Review on the National Agreement on Closing the Gap makes it clear that all governments need to do better– states, territories and the Commonwealth,” she said. “We’ll work with the Coalition of Peace and across governments to consider the findings of the report.”

Marking today’s significant anniversary, Burney met with members of the Stolen Generations and their families in Canberra.

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The national program amplifying the voices of the Stolen Generation– The Healing Foundation– has said that as the government’s annual progress report on Closing the Gap policies is handed down today, “we must recognise that Stolen Generations survivors are a ‘gap within the gap’, a statistical indicator of truth not reconciled.”

As Stolen Generations survivors age, urgency grows,” the Foundation said in a statement. 

“We must ensure consistent and adequate compensation is seen by survivors in their lifetime. And with many survivors sadly passing away, there is no time to waste.”

“We invite Australians to stand alongside Stolen Generations survivors as we renew our call for the counting of actions, not anniversaries.”

Labor announces $707m job program for Indigenous Australians

The Albanese Government has also announced it will invest $707 million in a new Remote Jobs program that will create 3,000 jobs over the next three years.  

This new program is meant to replace the widely-criticised Community Development Program (CDP). 

Speaking to these developments, Assistant Minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy told the ABC that the CDP is currently the sole employment opportunity for most First Nations people in remote areas, but over the last 5-10 years, it’s had “some really serious problems”.

“When we came to government, we said we needed to look at the CDP program and abolish it because we recognised it didn’t have superannuation, it didn’t have holiday leave– it didn’t have all the entitlements that come with supporting workers.”

“So this is our first step,” she says, adding that the Prime Minister’s announcement today is “significant” as they embark on the future of this Remote Job program. 

The government says the program will start in the second half of this year, and will be “grounded in self determination”, allowing communities to decide what jobs are created, such as in community services and the care sector, hospitality and tourism, horticulture and retail.

The post Government releases annual Closing the Gap report on anniversary of national apology appeared first on Women's Agenda.

While the 21-year-old fell to American Caitlin Simmers, 18, in the final, Picklum’s perfect score was nailed in what’s widely rated as one of the best-ever women’s heats on the Championship Tour against Hawaii-local Bettylou Sakura Johnson in a thrilling semifinal win. 

World No. 5 Picklum flew through the barrel on her backhand side to earn the only 10 in the women’s competition. 

“I feel like for me personally, there’s no more fitting place than Pipe to give me my first 10,” said the NSW surfer, who will also represent Australia at this year’s Olympics in Paris.  

“ I’m just so, so happy– 10 points, it’s hard to come by,” she said. 

“With the wave I needed a score and I know she’s capable of a 10, so I just took off and I just thought it’s got some draw to it and I may as well roll the dice and try.”

“But 10 points, I love it, I want more.”

In the end, Picklum finished with a score of 10.64,  behind Simmers’ 12.66 score. Nevertheless, even Simmers had praise to heap onto Picklum’s historic heat. 

“Molly’s a guru, she’s probably the best girl out here in my opinion,” said Simmers about Picklum. “One heat out here is like months of experience, and getting barrelled in a heat with your friend is the most fun thing in the world.”

Commenting on all of the “epic” performances of the day, Picklum wrote on Instagram after the event: “Wow what a day for women’s surfing. So inspired by the women before my time who charged and push the limits and of course my girls who are pushing it in todays generation.”

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“Pipeline is for the fucking girls!”

Despite this year’s epic performances from female surfers at Pipeline, women have only been allowed to surf the sport’s most challenging and dangerous wave since 2020.

Three years ago, Australia’s Tyler Wright claimed victory at the first women’s World Surfing League (WSL) tour event to be held at Pipeline. 

Before that, women surfed at a different Hawaiian location– Honolua Bay– for the findal event of the tour, while Pipeline was reserved for the men. Following a fatal shark attack during the 2020 Maui Pro, however, the women moved to Pipeline out of caution. 

Nevertheless, Picklum’s perfect 10 on the deadly wave seems to have cemented that “Pipeline is for the fucking girls,” as Simmers declared after her heat. 

“This wave is terrifying; I respect everyone who wants a part of it and everyone who doesn’t because it’s really scary out there,” said Simmers.

“It starts with all the girls that battled the guys and barely got any waves, and I hope that this event showed the girls can do it. We’re getting spat out all day, and it’s pretty cool to see. I’m really happy to be a part of it.”

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The Members Connect Series will provide a platform for women to engage in discussions concerning industry trends and pioneering programs, offering them unique insights and opportunities. The aim is to advance the careers of women and increase female participation in the sector.

Founder and Director of Franklin Women, Dr Melina Georgousakis says that members of Franklin Women bring diverse experiences and skills to the sector, so bringing them together through the Members Connect Series is a special opportunity. 

“By connecting these women outside of their day-to-day and linking them with innovative ecosystem partners, we are facilitating opportunities for them to thrive,” she said. 

Franklin Womn is a leading social enterprise championing women in the health and medical research fields.

The inaugural Members Connect event will be hosted by Organon, a the only global healthcare company of its size focused primarily on the health and wellbeing of women, at their Sydney office.

Managing Director of Organon ANZ, Nirelle Tolstoshev, says that the global healthcare company believes in this series’ ability to “drive real change” by investing in women in the sector. 

“Just 34 per cent of CEO and Head of Organisation roles in our biopharmaceutical sector are held by women – and whilst women tend to be well represented in middle management, they seem to be passed over for more senior opportunities,” says Tolstoshev. 

“At Organon, we believe that by investing in the bright pipeline of innovators and empowering these women through collaborations such as these, we can drive real change in this area.”

Following the Federal Government’s Senate Inquiry into Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Health and the recent announcement of an Australian-first inquiry into women’s pain in Victoria, the initiative’s goal to support women in the health and medical research sector is particularly critical. 

The Members Connect meetups are free to attend, and those who participate will be able to contribute to emerging women’s health priorities. Franklin Women and Organon say the events will “be instrumental in breaking down silos between different stakeholders and contributing to the improvement of health outcomes in communities”.

Interested members can register for Members Connect meetups here. 

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Middleton has over 30 years experience covering federal politics as a reporter, analyst and commentator.

For the past eight years, she’s been chief political correspondent for The Saturday Paper. Prior to that, Middleton was chief political correspondent for SBS and political editor for The West Australian. 

She’s also a regular panellist on ABC Insiders, a commentator on Australian politics for a range of domestic and international outlets and has written two books– a biography of Anthony Albanese; “Telling it Straight” and “An Unwinnable War” about Australia’s involvement in Afghanistan. 

Middleton says she’s “thrilled to be joining Guardian Australia”. 

“It’s already a big year in politics, and I look forward to working with the great team in Canberra to try to make sense of it all,” she says, as she’ll be joining the Canberra office to oversee Guardian Australia’s political coverage.

Guardian Australia editor Lenore Taylor says she’s “delighted” that Middleton will be joining the team, noting the “decades of experience, judgement, a significant record of news breaking and excellent analytical skills” that she’ll bring to the publication.

Middleton’s appointment follows the resignation of the former political editor at Guardian Australia, Katharine Murphy, roughly two weeks ago. 

A respected Australian journalist with nearly 30 years in the field, Murphy announced on social media that she was resigning to work in Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s office. Having worked at Guardian Australia since the British media outlet extended to Australia in 2013, she, and the publication’s editor, Lenore Taylor, were key in the establishment of the independent media organisation in Australia.

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According to the government, the round saw 697 expressions of interest applications that were assessed by an Independent Assessment Committee made up of successful women entrepreneurs.

Launched by the Morrison government in 2020 and headed by the Department of Industry, Science and Resources (DISR), the initiative offers grants to help women-led businesses scale into domestic and global markets. 

In order to be eligible, the startup has to be at least 51 per cent women owned and led.

The total grant funding available is $11.6 million for this round. Here’s a rundown of the startups who’ll be receiving a slice of the pie. 

Successful grant recipients, Round 3 of Boosting Female Founders Initiative

Accessi Group Pty Ltd, $400,000

Project Title: Achieving global expansion of Credit Risk Management Software Platforms

Access Intell’s project is developing a credit risk software to protect businesses from bad debts. Businesses struggle to manage debtors ledgers across disjointed systems with limited access to cost effective credit intelligence. Access Intell aggregates data from multiple sources and integrates with business systems to deliver a continuous risk assessment on every customer.

The grant funding will allow the business to scale-up, expand into global markets, become self-sufficient and create jobs and wealth for Australia.

Bestie Kitchen Pty Ltd, $249,600

Project Title: Scale Pet Supplement & Sustainable Food Range

Bestie Kitchen has commercialised intellectual property developed with CSIRO, to make a unique form of nutraceutical gummy chews for pets. This tapped into a growing market for pet supplements.

The key project activities will grow awareness and customer acquisition in Australia, secure distribution with key distributors and retail chains and penetrate key export markets in Asia.

Black Box Trading Company Pty Ltd, $400,000

Project Title: Farming tools driven by data

Black Box Trading is providing analytics to the agricultural supply chain. The project funding from this grant is key to the product vertical, as Black Box have ambitions to build livestock dashboards to help farmers, feed-lots and processors with decisions derived from their database of 3.5 million animals.

Black Box’s service is aimed at working across the beef supply chain, from the paddock to grocery shelves to aggregate data, apply machine learning, and give each stakeholder insights into their livestock.

Butter Insurance Pty Ltd, $400,000

Project Title: Scaling Butter Insurance – Revolutionising Contents Insurance

Butter Insurance is revolutionising the way young Australians access, purchase and manage insurance. The project will focus on commercialising technology enabling data-lead instant quote and bind processes, flexible single-item policies and cost-effective pricing without lock-in contracts across key distribution channels. Butter’s goal is to bridge the insurance gap for the critically underinsured Australian renters’ market and under 35’s.

Compassion Creamery Pty Ltd, $270,000

Project Title: Retail Ready Launch of Compassion Creamery’s Award-Winning Oat Creme Cheese

Compassion Creamery is looking to scale their Oat Creme Cheese operations by increasing in-house manufacturing capability in Australia, as well as build commercial capacity including increasing shelf life through formulation alterations. Compassion Creamery will allow hundreds of foodservice outlets to contribute to the expansion and acceptance of plant-based alternatives in the market; ultimately driven by the urgent need of creating a more sustainable and ethical food system.

Driveschool Enterprises Pty Ltd, $300,000

Project Title: myDRIVESCHOOL® – social & global

myDRIVESCHOOL® is an award winning road safety program to teach people how to drive online, using simulation, gaming and artificial intelligence (AI). With BFF funding we will develop additional learning modules to address behavioural change and combine all for global markets.

Education Ontrack Pty Ltd, $462,833

Project Title: Flohh Assessment Platform Scaling and Integration

The project for Education Ontrack will focus on integrating Flohh’s online essay marking platform into School Management Systems (SMS) and Learning Management Systems (LMS) to facilitate student data transfer and eliminate double-handling for teachers. This will also enable the business to scale internationally and enhance product performance.

Evolve Communities Pty Ltd, $443,100

Project Title: Accelerating Allyship & Reconciliation supporting Statement of the Heart

Evolve Communities is a majority Indigenous owned, female-founded organisation that teaches Practical Reconciliation and Allyship. The project will expand their unique frameworks, educational resources, multi modal delivery, accreditation and licensing programs to make their training and accreditation the gold standard for professionals and organisations in Australia.

Fonz Moto Pty Limited, $393,847

Project Title: Fonz Moto – Australian designed & made EV motorcycles market expansion

Fonz Moto designs, builds, sells and rides electrifying two-wheel motorcycles & road-scooters for the future of mobility. The project boasts a highly innovative Australian designed and manufactured product that has disrupted the Sydney market, and will continue its rapid growth both locally and overseas.

Future Anything Pty Ltd, $294,150

Project Title: Future Anything Enterprising Education Applied Learning Platform

Future Anything’s project will transform teacher-led enterprise education programs into a new student facing applied learning EdTech experience.

The project will create an innovative new standalone product that will enable Future Anything to scale rapidly and sustainably into the domestic and international market.

Gaykamangu, Liandra; $437,500

Project Title: Liandra Swim International Expansion

Liandra Swim is a premium fashion brand that focuses on sustainability whilst celebrating Indigenous Australian culture. Liandra Swim presents contemporary fashion collections showcasing hand-drawn signature prints.

The theme of each collection links the audience to a carefully considered narrative through the ancient Indigenous art of storytelling. The project will support the expansion and diversity of available swimwear inventory into the domestic and international market.

Givvable Pty Ltd, $397,600

Project Title: Givvable – helping businesses reach their sustainability targets, faster

Givvable has developed an artificial intelligence-powered software as a service (SaaS) platform for businesses to discover and track the sustainability attributes of suppliers mapped to widely-used reporting frameworks. The project will leverage existing local distribution partnerships to expand further into the domestic and international market.

Grant’d Pty Ltd, $382,122

Project Title: Grant’d 2.0 Automating and Scaling The Personalised Grant’d Experience

This project will create a subscriber based platform that automates our unique grants service, transforming Grant’d into a scalable tech based business. This investment will boost the scalability of Grant’d by eliminating our current manual processes and removing cost barriers for users through: A purpose-built Software as a Service (SaaS) platform using generative AI to deliver and maintain Grant’ds vision to become the go-to digital solution for grant seekers in Australia and globally.

Lactamo Holdings Pty Ltd, $365,000

Project Title: Scaling-up Lactamo to respond to demand nationally and internationally.

Lactamo is a world first in MedTech innovation for breastfeeding. Lactamo uniquely combines temperature, movement and compression to address the common breastfeeding problems. Independently clinically validated and IP protected, Lactamo is both proactive and reactive for breastfeeding.

The project will focus on 3 key activities consisting of marketing (domestically and internationally), the expansion of the team, and operational expansion support to facilitate growth, creating a secure foundation for the core business areas.

Leap4ward.ai Pty Ltd, $399,600

Project Title: Tech development of artificial intelligence-enabled virtual health coach

LeapForward.ai’s project is an artificial intelligence-enabled application that supports injured individuals to recover from a compensable injury or illness. The minimum viable product’s core function will implement a chatbot (“Virtual Health Coach”), which delivers virtual support and responds to users with scripted responses deployed via basic algorithms.

The project will utilise advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning to understand the user’s expression, tone and sentiment.

Life Skills Group Pty Ltd, $300,000

Project Title: Develop an SDK to integrate wellbeing data and tools into web-based systems

Life Skills’ project is a Software Development Kit that allows the integration of existing wellbeing data collection, measurement and analysis tools into third party applications. It is a platform to measure the emotional wellbeing of students.

Lush Organic Hair & Spa Forest Glen Pty Ltd, $150,000

Project Title: Penny Black Organic hair products – domestic and global expansion

Lush Organic Hair trades as Penny Black Organic (PBO) and is the only Certified Green Salon in the Southern Hemisphere. Lush Organic has developed 16 certified organic hair products.

The project will focus on scale manufacturing and organic packaging, product range expansion for direct customer sales both domestically and early international sales, recruitment of skilled management team to implement brand awareness and marketing.

Maxme Pty Ltd, $380,599

Project Title: Hodie+: Powering the Great Reconnection in the Digital Age

Maxme’s project is an immersive and digitally-enhanced human skill development learning experience underpinned by a digital learning application, empowering individuals to take control of their skills, careers, and futures, driving retention and engagement in the small to medium sized enterprises market. The gamified solution bridges the gap between employees and their jobs, integrated into daily work life through the application.

Meditati Pty Ltd, $330,000

Project Title: Commercialisation of tampon innovation to disrupt the FemCare market

The project will undertake Multi-Cultural Research for the commercialisation of a revolutionary applicator to disrupt the FemCare market. Key activities for the project are to create Go-To-Market brand, web-based education for schools and health practitioners. The project is developing a revolutionary soft applicator insertion solution. The New Zealand market pilot study will refine the go-to-market strategy for the Australian release.

Mettleaje Pty Ltd, $225,995

Project Title: Scaling Thirsty Turtl skincare boosts global Indigenous extracts market

Thirsty Turtl is an Australian skincare startup that launched in December 2022 with three products. The project will focus on growing the global market for Indigenous-sourced Australian native plant extracts.

This will be achieved through product expansion, sales growth via domestic and export-focused distributors, more efficient manufacturing and employment of specialised staff to build brand awareness.

MIIROKO Pty Ltd, $400,000

Project Title: MIIROKO’s establishment and expansion into Japan

MIIROKO’s innovative vegan hair colour formula is free from ammonia, resorcinol, and paraphenylenediamine, empowering women with affordable access to salon-quality hair colour that is both gentle on their hair and environmentally friendly.

The project will focus on enhancing its digital capabilities, establishing a robust back-end team, and securing investment to leverage existing organic growth within the domestic market to scale into the lucrative Asian market, beginning with Japan.

Mineral Fox Pty Ltd, $262,500

Project Title: Mineral Fox National Expansion

Mineral Fox exists to help people return to nature and is a supplier of innovative, Australian-made natural plasters and renders that provide a sustainable, healthy a beautiful alternative to conventional wall coatings.

This project will support accelerated national expansion through additional headcount, systems, marketing and training.

More Good Days Pty Ltd, $396,318

Project Title: Digital Evidence-Based Pain Management Program for Fibromyalgia

This project will accelerate the build of MoreGoodDays pain management digital platform, and help accelerate growth across Australia and internationally.

Neomorph Pty Ltd, $300,000

Project Title: NeoMorph – An innovative mouldable alternate to the dental-made mouthguard

NeoMorph Prodigy is an innovative over-the-counter, re-mouldable alternative to the dental-made mouthguard. The patent pending design, interlocks a dual polymer combination to provide a mouthguard that is securely custom fitting, protective and comfortable, to address the current concerns of end-users and the Australian Dental Association.

Our Trace Pty Ltd, $400,000

Project Title: Automate carbon footprinting for SMEs to scale in Australia and overseas

This project will focus on automating the process of collecting data from businesses and enhancing the accuracy and useability of the carbon inventory to power decarbonisation and enable Trace to scale. By integrating with technology that companies use every day, such as spreadsheets, accounting and travel management software, Trace can gather data required to measure, reduce and track emissions and establish channel partnerships with third parties already servicing our target customer.

Parking Spotz Pty Ltd, $388,917

Project Title: Parking Spotz – Electric Vehicle (EV) charging market expansion and execution of growth plan

Parking Spotz is developing an integrated hardware and software solution that automates parking bay security and optimises usage, turnover, and a return on investment through data-driven insights for electric vehicle (EV) charging bays.

The project will focus on product integration with new EV Charging partners, optimise and automate manufacturing processes for scaled production, execute sales growth plan with the recruitment of specialised management team and launch new data analytic modules to deliver valuable insights and position us as leaders in parking and EV data analytics.

 Pixii Pty Ltd, $133,740

Project Title: Changing women’s experience everywhere by bringing equality to bathrooms.

The project will result in a second generation dispenser for Pixii organic period products being brought to market, including new tech-enabled capabilities for stock monitoring and automated re-ordering. This will enable more building and facility managers to offer period products as part of their fundamental hygiene suppliers to staff and guests, just like soap and toilet paper.

The Paw Grocer Pty Ltd, $400,000

Project Title: Scaling for Expansion in the Domestic and Export Premium Pet Food Markets

The multi-faceted project will scale The Paw Grocer in both domestic and export markets. The grant funding will be used to improve our manufacturing capability & production efficiency, implement an inventory management system, and bring new products to market.

The One Two Pty Ltd, $362, 521

Project Title: The OneTwo domestic and global expansion

The OneTwo creates an easy bra shopping experience with hyper-personalised e-commerce, including a proprietary world-leading fit algorithm and innovative products.

The project aims to accelerate revenue growth in two years through commercialisation into the domestic and international market, as well as investments into intellectual property and technology.

Theratrak Pty Ltd, $150,000

Project Title: Theratrak, scale-up and market expansion to support the disability sector

Theratrak is developing an innovative online and mobile application based tool for therapists working with children with disabilities. Theratrak will support a wider cohort of people living with a disability, such as adults living with autism, intellectual disabilities, cerebral palsy and other physical and mental health challenges.

Theratrak will support a wider cohort of people living with a disability, such as adults living with autism, intellectual disabilities, cerebral palsy and other physical and mental health challenges.

Vapar Innovation Pty Ltd, $300,000

Project Title: Innovative AI sewer technology expansion to the USA

Vapar Innovation is developing artificial intelligence for sewer technology expansion into the United States of America. Vapar will implement a channel strategy to reach early adopter customers and set up sales operations internationally.

VETNexus Pty Ltd, $200,000

Project Title: Bridging the National Digital Skills Gap: Leave no-one behind

VETNexus has developed a Digital Literacy Licence (DLL) which is a suite of online courses with digital badges. These badges can be displayed on a participant’s social media profile and resume to verify their skills when applying for employment.

The DLL takes participants on a journey of discovery and decision making, actively engaging with the concepts covered to ensure they have developed the full range of foundational digital skills by the time they complete their full DLL.

The project will include digital skills roadshows, marketing materials, learning content to promote and raise awareness of digital literacy.

X-Hemp Pty Ltd, $480,000

Project Title: Scaling X-Hemp, Building Homes, Elevating Women, Capturing Carbon

X-Hemp uses waste agricultural materials and purpose planted crops to make environmentally-friendly hemp building products.

The project aims to deliver synergistic investments in people and processes, equipment and business enabling infrastructure, new product development, branding, marketing and new market activation.

Zondii Pty Ltd, $427,000

Project Title: Zondii Wool Scanning Device + Female Leaders Project

Zondii’s technology goes beyond human senses to measure the true value of food and fibre. The prototype is currently in on-farm beta trials and its application in wool measurement has attracted a growing waitlist.

The Zondii Wool Scanning Device + Female Leaders Project will fund an industrial design and refinement process; product launch in Australia and New Zealand; and professional development for Zondii’s female leaders.

This project will establish Zondii as a financially sustainable female founded startup, with a commercial product in domestic and global markets, and will provide economic growth for wool growers, improved earning potential for women, and job creation internally and within the industry broadly.

The post Meet the 34 grant recipients sharing in the $11.6 million Boosting Female Founders Initiative appeared first on Women's Agenda.

Janice, 31, has been fighting an aggressive sarcoma since 2021. Earlier this year, she received the devastating news that the rare form of cancer would take her life. 

With an uncertain timeline left to live, Janice decided to release a special song she had in her “vault”, writing on Instagram that she “knew this was the one”. 

Despite the incredibly sad diagnosis, the song Janice gifted to the world Dance You Outta My Head is a groovy, upbeat dance hit that, since being released on January 19th, has gone viral on TikTok and charted top 10 worldwide. Here in Australia, the song hit #1 in the charts. 

“I want to leave behind smiles, grooves and joy for you and I know this is the right song for that,” Janice wrote to her followers on Instagram upon its release.

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A post shared by Cat Janice (@cat.janice)

A mother’s gift to her son

Probably the most heartfelt part to Janice’s incredible story is that she’s signed over all the song’s royalties to her 7-year-old son, Loren, so that she can leave him with support after her passing. 

“I am leaving all proceeds to my son who is very musically inclined, hoping to give him the boost in music he will need later in life,” Janice said.

She’s asked people to stream/watch the song as much as possible.

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A post shared by Monica Alford (@monicaclarealford)

The song itself was born out of inspiration from a car ride she’d had with her son, Janice told the Washingtonian. The two were “grooving” and singing along to one another when they landed on the line, “dance until you love me”. 

Janice said this eventually turned into “Dance You Out of My Head”  when she began to write the labor of love. 

All over the world, people have resonated with the song, creating their own videos dancing to the catchy beat and leaving comments on Janice’s videos about how much her story has meant to them. 

Aussie musician, Jack River commented on one of her posts, saying: “Sending infinite love from Australia ~ from one music making mother to another xxx”.

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A post shared by Cat Janice (@cat.janice)

“I’m just honestly so blown away by everyone’s love and how they’ve support me through this and shared this story,” Janice told the Today Show. “I really do believe it’s a miracle to be able to witness this. I’m just very happy to be here.”

Even before her tragic diagnosis, Janice would update her social media with her journey battling cancer. She grew up around the Washington DC area and was recently married to her partner, Kyle Higginbotham. 

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A post shared by Cat Janice (@cat.janice)

Along with her prowess for music, Janice has worked as a geospatial information scientist, loves playing soccer and is known for organising neighbourhood cleanups, according to her little sister, Meredith, who set up a  GoFundMe page to help with Janice’s medical expenses. 

“Catherine (Cat) is one of the coolest, smartest and most loving people you will ever meet”, writes Meredith.

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The Bill finalises the government’s expansion of paid parental leave that was first announced in the October 2022-23 Budget, increasing the scheme to 26 weeks, or 6 months by July 2026.

From July 1 2024, parents will be eligible for an additional two weeks of leave to the current 18 weeks on offer, followed by another two in 2025 and then the final weeks in 2026. 

Four weeks are reserved for each parent on a ‘use it or lose it’ basis, with these changes designed to encourage parents to share the care.

The Bill also introduces concurrent leave, which means that from 2026, both parents can take four weeks of leave at the same time if they choose to, providing families with the flexibility to arrange their care how they need. 

Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth says the extra six weeks of is part of a total investment of $1.2 billion over five years from the Labor government towards paid parental leave. 

“Paid Parental Leave is a proud Labor legacy and our Albanese Labor Government is building and expanding on that legacy,” says Rishworth. 

“This will benefit over 180,000 families each year and represents the biggest expansion of the scheme since Labor introduced it in 2011.”

“The Bill gives Australian families more Paid Parental Leave than ever before and will support participation and productivity over the longer term, providing a dividend for the Australian economy,” she says.

There’s mounting evidence of a “motherhood penalty”, which refers to how becoming a mum in Australia comes with a high price for women. It occurs primarily because women take time out of the workforce or work fewer hours after having a child, which sees their lifetime earnings reduce significantly.

Creating an environment for fathers to take more parental leave has been shown to combat this, as shared parental leave policies can foster an equal division of unpaid care and paid work. 

Support for the Bill

Offering their suport for the increase to paid parental leave, the Australian Chamber of Commerce said “businesses are set to benefit by ensuring that fewer productive employees end up leaving workplaces permanently and more women remain in the labour market.”

Equality Rights Alliance, Australia’s largest network of organisations advocating for gender equality, has called the changes “equality enabling” and that it offers “significant advances in the promotion of Australian women’s economic security.”

Dr Leonora Risse, an economist specialising in gender equality, noted that this is a “historic milestone” for women’s rights and economic standing, and gender equality in Australia.

“The amendments in this Bill are an indisputable and significant improvement from previous policy settings and are strongly welcomed,” said Dr Risse. 

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Released on Wednesday, the data shows nearly 28 per cent of this group cited a lack of access to early childhood education and care as a barrier to employment, due to spots being booked out or inaccessible to them geographically. And 11.1 per cent said it was too expensive. 

The figures add to the mounting evidence of the “motherhood penalty“, the idea that becoming a mum in Australia comes with a high price for women. Last year, Treasury analysis found that women’s earnings falling by an average of 55 per cent in the first five years of parenthood, while men’s earnings are generally unaffected when they enter parenthood.

The ABS survey asked women with children under 15 what would help them in being able to take on a job. The majority (67.6 per cent) said the strongest incentive is the ability to work part-time hours. Many women also cited the ability to work during school hours and 53 per cent cited the ability to vary start and finish times. 

“These findings tell the story of the juggling act that so many women find themselves trying to balance– one that strikes the right balance between feeling financially stable and pursuing parenthood in a way that works for them,” said Georgie Dent, CEO of The Parenthood.

“Unfortunately, the structure of our society is still set up for an era that no longer exists, when dads worked and mums didn’t.

“In modern Australia it takes two incomes for most families to cover a mortgage or the rent, but it takes affordable early childhood education and outside school hours and care to earn two incomes.” 

Georgie Dent, CEO of The Parenthood

Unlocking $128 billion for the Australian economy

This isn’t just a personal issue either. The systemic barriers holding women back from the workforce are costing the Australian economy $128 billion, according to the Women’s Economic Equality Taskforce. The tasforce released a final report at the end of last year, looking at how much money could be gained with women’s full and equal participation in economic activity. 

“Women’s economic inequality is so normalised that people assume it is a result of women’s choices, but Australia has the most highly educated female labour force in the world,” the Chair of the Women’s Economic Equality Taskforce, Sam Mostyn AO told the National Press Club back in October. 

Considering this high price for the Australian economy, Dent says that “early childhood education and care centres in Australia should be funded by the government as critical infrastructure”. 

“Early childhood education and paid parental leave must be seen as critical infrastructure. You can’t go to work if you don’t have a road to get there. You can’t go to work if you don’t have an affordable and safe place for your kid. These things are synonymous.”

Gender equal parenting

Last month, The Parenthood launched The Dad’s Alliance Action Plan, showing that Australian men also want to see a cultural shift in which childcare and employment policies permit both parents to share the work and care loads. 

To do this, Dent says The Parenthood wants the Government to remove the Activity Test (a highly criticised requirement for parents to access subsidised early childhood education and care), make childcare more affordable for low and middle income families with young children and develop more early learning centres in regional and remote areas. 

“We also want to see an increase to paid parental leave entitlements for both mothers and fathers, so that less parents feel their care and career trajectories are at odds,” says Dent.

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“I had no concept of what any of that would mean, but I just held onto those goals,” says Steele, who can now boast a remarkable 13-year swimming career, with the titles of Paralympian and gold medalist under her belt. 

“We forget that we have this power within us to decide what it is that we want to have in our lives,” says Steele.

Connecting to this power from a young age, Steele won her first gold medal in competitive swimming at just 14. Then, at age 17, she represented Australia for the first time at the 2000 Sydney Paralympics in the 400-metre freestyle, breaking a national record. 

Steele was born with a congenital disability called Arthrogryposis, which affects the range of motion in the joints and impacts the cartilage in the body. She also developed Amniotic band syndrome (ABS) in the womb, affecting the shape of both her hands. 

“Sport has been everything,” says Steele. “It has shaped me. It has shaped how I react to things, and how I have managed my disability.”

“We create our own reality,” she says. 

“Things are always going to happen in your life, but it’s how you react to those things. And so when I was a kid – and when I was early in my swimming career – I would react in a way that was like a victim because the world was telling me I was a victim. But then I realised I could change that narrative and go ‘well, you might see me like that, but I don’t see myself like that’.”

Throughout her swimming career, Steele has represented Australia internationally five times, including at the 2000 Sydney Paralympics. She’s also been captain of a number of Aussie swimming teams and held a Victorian Institute of Sport scholarship for eight years. 

After swimming, Steele took up wheelchair rugby. She was the only woman to be selected to play for Victoria at a national level. 

Today, Steele is an award-winning sportswoman, experienced personal coach and motivational speaker, who works in the personal development space as The Self Belief Agent. 

She’s also the Project Manager for the ‘Building Inclusive Sport Clubs’ program to promote the access and inclusion of people with disabilities in sporting clubs across Australia, working with Disability Sport Australia.

Recently, Steele was selected by the Office for Women in Sport and Recreation to become a Change Our Game ambassador. Steele is joined by seven other inspiring women in this movement to raise awareness on key issues in women’s sport. 

Steele is using this advocacy platform to create equitable change for all people with disabilities in sport. 

Emphasising the importance of her role with the Change Our Game movement, Steele says she’s proud that she and the other ambassadors have a direct opportunity to help other people feel the positive, life-changing aspects of sport that they’ve experienced. 

She says they’re able to do this “by breaking down inclusion and access issues and being able to share our expertise and make it easier for people to access the sports that they want to play.”

Looking back at her own sporting career, Steele can see clearly the changes she wished had been in place when she was competing at such a high level. These are the changes she’s working to implement for the next generation. 

And while there are some days where this change might feel impossible, Steele remains optimistic about the future.

“There are going to be days when you feel like you’re hitting your head against a brick wall,” she says. “And on those days, you just need to go for a walk or a swim in the ocean.”

“We’re not going to change the world in 24 hours because there’s so many different ways that people view women and sport and disability.” 

“We’ve all got our own perceptions or ideals of how people are meant to behave, but sometimes we need to put them aside for a bit so we can learn from other people,” she adds. 

“It’s okay if you just go, and take a deep breath, and start again.”

Change Our Game Ambassadors are using their platforms to help drive change and raise awareness on key issues and barriers for women in sport. Change Our Game is led by the Office of Women in Sport and Recreation to level the playing field for women and girls. Be sure to follow the Ambassadors’ journeys through @ChangeOurGame on socials.

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“I’m very proud to lead the first government in Australia with a majority of women in our membership,” Albanese said to government leaders who gathered together at Parliament House on Wednesday morning to officially launch Australia’s 2024 International Women’s Day (IWD) celebrations. 

“You can see across every portfolio, this makes a difference. Because of women campaigning with the union movement, making it clear that no one should have to choose between safety and their job, we now have 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave.”

“Because of women’s advocacy and the work of experts like Anne Summers, emphasising the way that poverty and financial dependency trap people in violent relationships, we’ve delivered more support for single mums,” he said.

“When women are seeking help, they should be heard and seen, believed, supported and empowered.”

“While women are shaping these policies and driving these responses, ending this epidemic of violence has to involve men stepping up. Because violence against women is not a problem that women should have to solve.”

The tragic number of women killed in Australia shows that the epidemic of violence plaguing the nation. In 2023, Destroy the Joint data revealed a staggering 64 women’s lives were stolen by violence, and already this year, six women have lost their lives to violence. 

The gender-based nature of this violence is clear, as men are often the perpetrators of physical violence, sexual harassment and sexual violence. This reality makes Albanese’s call for men to “take responsibility” all the more critical. 

Ahead of the UN Global Day of Observance on 8 March, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Leader of the Opposition Peter Dutton co-hosted the annual UN Women Australia event. 

“The lead-up to International Women’s Day is an opportunity for all of us to recognise the progress that women are driving across our economy and our society,” Albanese said.

“It’s a chance to re-affirm our commitment to true gender equality – in the community, the boardroom, on the sporting field, in our parliaments. Above all, this is a time when we must face-up to where we are falling short and look for new ways to do better.”

Also present at the event were some of the government’s most high profile womne, including Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong, Minister for Women Katy Gallagher and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth.

This year’s official theme for IWD is ‘Count Her In: Invest in Women. Accelerate Progress’, based on the priority theme for the United Nations 68th Commission on the Status of Women, exploring the pathways to greater economic inclusion for women and girls everywhere.

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