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Leadership and community

• National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women's Gathering
• 2009 Community Leadership seminar series
• Indigenous Women's Mentoring Workshops
• United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
• 2009 Swing into Spring fundraising gala
• 2008 Rural Women's Symposium
• Get Involved!

Women play a significant role in our communities.

Volunteering is an important part of many women's lives, contributing a wealth of social and economic benefits to Queensland.

Women also contribute much to Queensland communities by being social and business entrepreneurs.

Yet their community building activities often go under-acknowledged and women do not enjoy formal leadership and decision-making roles mirroring the extent of their contributions.

The Queensland Government wants to see women's participation in leadership, decision-making and community building increased.

The Queensland Government will deliver a range of flexible strategies and initiatives to support women's community building and leadership activities which can be adapted to meet the specific needs of women with a disability, Indigenous women and migrant and refugee women.

It will achieve this by addressing women's under-representation in leadership and decision-making roles and providing more information and opportunities to increase women's leadership and community building skills.

Several resources and publications are available on these topics.

2008 Rural Women's Symposium

In March 2008, Premier Anna Bligh and Local Government Minister Warren Pitt announced plans for three annual regional women's symposiums beginning this year, as part of the Queensland Government Blueprint for the Bush initiative. The first, 2008 Rural Women's Symposium, was held in Roma on 4 September 2008.

The theme for the 2008 symposium was 'Liveability - A Woman's View'. This symposium explored what is currently happening across rural Queensland to help foster and develop roles and opportunities for women.

The purpose was to develop ideas and create solutions to improve the 'liveability' of rural communities for women. The symposium was coordinated by the Office of Rural and Regional Communities in partnership with the Office for Women.

Consultation

In the lead up to the symposium, the Office for Women and the Office of Rural and Regional Communities ran consultation forums in 27 towns across Queensland, to invite women to have their say about life in rural and remote communities. Online questionnaires were available and a Rural Women's Symposium eForum was established. Information gathered through this process was collated into a Consultation Report which provided the foundation for the symposium's agenda.

Blueprint for the Bush Rural Women's Symposium Consultation Report (PDF 607 KB).

Rural Women's Report Card

The Office for Women prepared a report card on the Bligh Government's activity and future plans, especially in relation to rural women, against the Government's vision for the women of Queensland, as detailed in the Women in the Smart State 2003-2008 Directions Statement.

The report card covers areas of

• improving women's health and wellbeing
• promoting opportunities to help women balance their work, family and lifestyle
• improving women's capacity to achieve economic security
• enhancing women's safety
• increasing women's participation in leadership, decision-making and community building.

Rural Women's Report Card introduction and key contacts (PDF 158 KB)

Rural Women's Report Card (PDF 392 KB)

Continue to have your say

As a result of the Symposium, the Rural Women's Symposium eForum has been created as an opportunity for an exchange of ideas and discussion between delegates.

Where to from here

Further development of the workshop topics will be analysed in conjunction with the Consultation Report to develop a proposed recommendations report.

The drafting of this report will commence in October/November 2008, and will be published on this website when available.

The report will be provided to Queensland Government departments seeking a whole of Government response to the proposed recommendations.

The Office of Rural and Regional Communities and the Office for Women have started planning the next Rural Women's Symposium to be held in 2009.

Further information is available at the Department of Local Government, Sport and Recreation's Rural Women's Symposium page.

United Nations Commission on the Status of Women

The Australian Government Office for Women is now seeking applications from community sector and Indigenous representatives to attend CSW 54 in New York from 1 to 12 March 2010.

The Australian Government Office for Women will support the participation of one community sector representative and two Indigenous representatives to attend CSW54.

The 54th session of CSW marks the 15-year review of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (also known as Beijing +15).

The review is intended to assess nations' progress towards implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the remaining gaps and challenges towards the goals of gender equality and women's empowerment globally.

The selected representatives will be important members of the official Australian Government delegation to CSW. They will provide advice to the delegation on Australia's progress on the implementation of Beijing +15 from non-government and Indigenous perspectives.

Flights to and from New York, accommodation and meal allowance will be funded by the Australian Government Office for Women.

For information on how to apply and the selection criteria, view Applications for Delegates to CSW 54 / Beijing +15.

Applications are due to the Australian Government Office for Women by Friday, 6 November 2009.

2009 Swing into Spring fundraising gala

The Office for Women is a proud 'Queen of Hearts' sponsor of Second Chance Programme Fundraising Group's 2009 Swing into Spring fundraising gala.

This support contributes to initiatives including sponsorship of a bed at the Anglican Women's Hostel, supporting the Brisbane Housing Company's Bridge the Gap program, and raising awareness of women's homelessness in Queensland.

For more information visit Second Chance Programme Fundraising Group.

Get Involved!

It is important that women are involved in decision-making at all levels of our society. The Queensland Government through the Get Involved website offers a variety of ways in which you can become active, engaged and connected in different aspects of your community.

This includes community forums and consultation, volunteering and even being a member of the Public Gallery when parliament sits.

The website also offers you the opportunity to:

• Make contact with your local Member of Parliament
• Comment on Queensland Government policies and initiatives
• Sign an existing ePetition or
• Create your very own ePetition

Get involved has a diverse range of learning experiences in which you can explore. The choice of how, when and where you wish to get involved is yours.