Policy and strategy

We are working to understand what's working and not working to reduce the gender pay gap in small and large firms. We are working in partnership with Dr Angela Jackson at Impact Economics and Policy, Dr Leonora Risse at the University of Canberra and Dr Swee-Hoon Chuah at the University of Tasmania to deliver this important projet.

We worked closely with the Sexual Assault and Family Violence Centre to design their first Primary Prevention Strategy. We listened to staff and prevention stakeholders in Barwon, Wimmera and South West to develop an ambitious strategy leveraging the SAFV Centre's unique strengths.

We were fortunate enough to work with VCOSS on a second listening tour around Victoria. We listened to over 300 Victorians to understand their lived experience and what a good life means to them. You can access the report here https://vcoss.org.au/housing-and-homelessness/2023/10/voices-of-victoria-2-0/

We reviewed literature on intersectional leading practice and listened to people with lived experience to provide advice to the City of Melbourne on the best way to apply an intersectional approach to inclusion within the City.

We worked with four multicultural community organisations in flood-affected areas to build their capacity in co-design. Using culturally sensitive co-design tools and practices, we supported community organisations to develop resources to build their community's resilience to emergencies. We developed policy insights and recommendations to advocate for change to government.

We conducted listening sessions with over 200 community members around Victoria listening to their experiences of the COVID pandemic, their challenges and their hopes for the future. We listened to parents and carers, people with a disability and First Nations people to understand their experiences and desired action from government. You can access the report here https://vcoss.org.au/health-and-wellbeing/2023/05/voices-of-victoria/

We listened to women and gender diverse local business owners in hospitality and retail to understand their unique experiences and identify barriers and enablers for business success. Their stories and experiences are in a report advocating to government and other businesses about how we can address gender inequality, and support success of women business owners.

We reviewed the first two years' implementation of Gender Responsive Budgeting in Victoria. We made clear, actionable recommendations for the future implementation to communicate the benefits of Gender Responsive Budgeting across government and how to better apply a gender and intersectional lens to the budgeting process.

We assessed the Victorian system for disability advocacy intake, identifying areas to improve access and equity. We looked at lessons from reforms to models of intake in social services (homelessness, family violence and family services) and made practical recommendations to improve access and equity.

We worked with the City of Melbourne to establish the data baseline for its Inclusive Melbourne Strategy. The data established the foundation from which to measure the impact of the Strategy and guide its implementation.

We facilitated a series of workshops with community services organisations that participated in the Working for Victoria funding program in 2020. We consolidated lessons learned from community service providers about what had worked and recommended policy directions for the future, focusing on job creation and experiences of diverse workers.