Women being bold for change
WIRE is an organisation dedicated to providing women support, through both counselling and training programs, across Victoria. They are the only Victoria-wide free information, support and referral service run by women for women. On International Women’s Day we caught up with Julie Kun, their CEO to discuss her role in shaping the gender equality playbook for Australia.
How did you mark International Women’s Day?
I celebrated International Women’s day by waking my daughter up and taking her to school. I was then late to work because my daughter couldn’t get her shoes on in time! I purposefully chose not to attend any events today — I thought the best thing to do was to catch up on work. It’s a constant juggle between family, work and other commitments.
My mother always used to say, “Don’t be nice to me on Mother’s Day. You’ve got to be nice to me every day of the year”, I think the same thing applies for International Women’s Day but it is an opportunity for us to advocate for our rights. We need to draw attention to the fact that women are awesome but they’re not being treated with the awesomeness that they deserve.
Tell us about your organisation, WIRE.
WIRE is the only Victorian Women’s service that provides support, information and referrals to any woman on any issue. We have a women’s support line, online chat and face-to-face service. We have no eligibility criteria, we’ve got a no wrong door policy.
Just this week we heard from a woman disclosing violence for the first time after 30 plus years of abuse, another drowning in a mountain of debt accumulated by an abusive ex-partner. There are women that have worked their whole life and are facing homelessness because they’ve earned such a poor amount of money and they’ve taken time off to care for their children. [Others are] experiencing family violence and they don’t know which way to turn.
For the past 10 years we’ve been specialising in women’s economic security. There are still stereotypes about women not being good at numbers. Not everyone has those beliefs but those beliefs exist enough that it makes women more vulnerable to financial abuse if they internalise it themselves.
Last year we were very excited to launch the Women Talk Money site, dedicated to improving financial literacy of women in relationships to mitigate financial abuse.
How does International Women’s Day impact your organisation?
Every day at WIRE we hear from women who are doing so much to survive, but they need all of us to be bold as individuals, as community members, as a society and as policy decision makers so they can live free of violence discrimination and poverty. International Women’s Day is an opportunity for us to be advocators. We hear so many heartfelt and distressing stories. A day like today, gives us an opportunity to amplify their voices and say, “hey, this is what’s happening to women.”
How can organisations better address the gap in gender equality? Where do you think businesses are falling short?
There was a recent study done with recruiters in America. They gave recruiters CVs, some with male names and some with female names but all the other details were the same. Across the board, they were more likely to employ the candidate with a male name attached, they were more likely to give them a higher salary, and very significantly they were more likely to say they would devote more time for training up that person and mentoring them.
Even if they come with the same skillset, people attribute more authority and knowledge to the man even though they have exactly the same or less knowledge and skill than the woman. It’s those sort of things that see women not getting higher-paid jobs. If they do get that executive position they’re being paid less for it. Female senior executives earn on average $93,000 less than men in corporate life.
You’ll find a lot of women in business will say, “I would really love to have a picture of my kid on my desk but I feel that diminishes me as a professional so I mimic what the men have on their desk”. Taking that time to grow the awareness, to understand unconscious bias and not just conscious bias is crucial.
What’s the most pressing issue facing Australian women?
Men are more likely to be killed by a stranger. Women are more likely to be killed in their own home by someone who should’ve loved them. Last year 71 women and children died due to family violence. That [figure] doesn’t talk about the rate of injury and the emotional damage that’s being done.
We’re so lucky in Victoria because we’ve got a government that’s really doing something about it, but the behavioural change that’s needed will take decades.
If we’re going to eradicate discrimination, sexism, misogyny and the gender pay gap and all the other nasties, then we’ve really got to target those gender stereotypes that hold women back. We need every woman and every man to point out the sexism they see and boldly say, “No. This will not do.”
We can no longer say that it is just the way it is. We need to embrace change that improves women’s safety and financial security such as paid family violence leave, decent wages for feminised professions and supporting and extending programs that promote respectful relationships and gender awareness. Why? Because women deserve better, our community deserves better, our country deserves better.
If you had a message for young women on International Women’s Day what would it be?
You are better than you think you are. You have the potential to do more than what you think you can right now and there will be hard times ahead but there will also be great times. Trust in yourself and trust in the people that support you and show their love to you.
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Thick were proud to partner with WIRE to improve their digital services.
WIRE offers a free information and referral service for all Victorian women no matter what the issue. If you’re experiencing a difficulty or you know someone that is call WIRE on 1300 134 130.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
