Honouring Victorian Women In Order Of Australia Awards

Victoria is again leading the nation on gender equality by ensuring there is an even number of women and men nominated for 2018 Order of Australia awards.

Less than one third of nominations for Australia’s national awards system are for women, which is directly reflected in the awards outcomes.

The Andrews Labor Government is addressing this with the appointment of a dedicated awards officer who will focus on organising an additional 200 nominations of Victorian women each year to ensure a gender balance.

The awards officer will identify nominees, organise workshops, tap into existing Victorian based awards processes, such as the Victorian Women’s Honour Roll and work with community groups, such as Honour a Woman.

It will complement work done to improve diversity of Victorian nominees by working with Aboriginal and multicultural organisations.

The Labor Government’s efforts will also focus on ensuring Victorian women are represented at the three highest levels of the awards structure (Officer, Companion and Member of the Order of Australia) as well as Order of Australia Medal.

It is expected that the flow of nominated women from Victoria will reach parity with the number of men early in 2018 with improved outcomes for Victorian women in 2019.

Nomination information is available at gg.gov.au and for inspiration and advice on nominating women, go to facebook.com/honourawoman.

Quotes attributable to Acting Minister for Women Jenny Mikakos

“Victorian women contribute equally to the success of our state and it’s important that we nominate them to be recognised for their service and dedication.”

“We’re on track to become the first jurisdiction to achieve a 50/50 split of male and female nominations – which will be a significant milestone and encourage other states and territories to lift their game.”

“Only the Andrews Labor Government – through Victoria’s first ever Gender Equality Strategy – is making this target so close to being achievable.”

Quote attributable to Honour a Woman co-founder Ruth McGowan OAM

“Our group is thrilled the Andrews Labor Government has taken such a strong step towards achieving gender equality in these awards.”