Gender Equality Budget Statement

A message from the Treasurer and the Minister for Women and Girls

This year marks a decade of Gender Equality Budget Statements in this state, and our fifth year of gender responsive budgeting.

Gender responsive budgeting runs an equality ruler across all Budget decisions, to build a fairer future for all Victorians.

It evaluates how policies and budget proposals affect different genders differently and holds governments accountable for their gender equality promises.

It helps drive change, such as increased workforce participation for women, which has risen from 58.3% to 62.9% over the past decade in Victoria.

More than 425,000 women have found work over the last decade. This represents a 30.4% increase in the number of women in work in Victoria. The share of women in work has grown by 5.3 percentage points over the last decade, and at 60.2% remains near the recent historical highs.

The Victorian Government has led on policies that help women work, keep them safer and address their health.

In this milestone year, we look back at what we have achieved during the decade of this reform.

In the workplace, we’ve broken down barriers for women in industries traditionally dominated by men, with strategies to open doors across the manufacturing and construction sectors.

Since 2018, the Victorian Government has invested $8 million to increase the number of women in trade, non‑trade and professional roles across the civil, commercial and industrial sectors.

To keep women and girls safe, we’ve funded our Women’s Safety Package, including helping more women and children experiencing family violence into safe and secure accommodation.

We’ve passed legislation to restrict non‑disclosure agreements in sexual harassment cases to stop the practice of misusing them to silence victims and protect offenders.

Women’s health needs haven’t always been met – now that’s changing.

We’re working hard to address the gender pain gap, with our Inquiry into Women’s Pain hearing from 13,000 women, girls and health workers.

We’ve dispensed over half a million free pads and tampons across over 600 venues – a $23 million investment over 4 years to tackle period poverty and address the stigma that surrounds periods.

Through Chemist Care Now, we’re making it easier for women to refill the pill and get care for conditions like urinary tract infections without a visit to the GP. From July, Victorian women will be able to save time and get the pill at one of the 850 participating pharmacies without a script.

By keeping gender equity central to all our decisions, we are building in better outcomes for all – so that every Victorian can be their very best.

^{Any references to a woman, women or girls are intended to include those assigned female at birth and anyone who identifies as a woman, though they may have a different sex at birth.}