Increased grants to help WA women reach their full potential

• McGowan Government delivers significant increase in funding through Women's Grants for a Stronger Future Program
• 14 community organisations receive grants ranging from $7,000 to $100,000 for projects to help tackle gender inequality in Western Australia
• Successful recipients to share $335,000 in funding announced on International Women's Day to support range of initiatives addressing workplace inequity, Aboriginal women's leadership and barriers faced by older women

Fourteen community initiatives aimed at supporting and empowering Western Australian women and girls from all walks of life will share $335,000 in State Government funding.

In recognition of International Women's Day, Women's Interests Minister Sue Ellery today announced funding from $7,000 to $100,000 would be made available to 14 WA organisations through the significantly expanded Women's Grants for a Stronger Future 2022-23 Program.

A significant expansion of the Women's Grants program this year resulted in a total funding increase from $85,000 to $335,000, providing more opportunities to support initiatives that advance gender equality to build a better, fairer and more equitable WA community.

The grants are spread across the priority areas of women's health and wellbeing, economic independence, safety and justice to align with the State Government's Stronger Together: WA's Plan for Gender Equality.

Projects supporting Aboriginal women's leadership and older women were also priorities for this year's program, as were initiatives that aligned with the implementation of the recommendations of the Respect@Work: National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces.

Multicultural Services Centre of WA was awarded the largest grant worth $100,000 to deliver a project called Zero Tolerance and work to create safe, respectful and inclusive workplaces for women.

Other projects to receive funding include:

• a Roebourne-based intergenerational cultural transmission project in which young Aboriginal women work alongside Elders, female artists and mentors to build skills as women storytellers and leaders in the community;
• a project that will pilot a new way of delivering economic empowerment education to women affected by, or at risk of, family and domestic violence; and
• research exploring the lived experiences of LGBTI women who are carers, paid or unpaid, to focus on their support needs.

For more information on the Women's Grants for a Stronger Future 2022-2023 Program visit: www.communities.wa.gov.au/womensgrants.

As stated by Women's Interests Minister Sue Ellery:

"The McGowan Government is committed to supporting women and girls to reach their potential.

"Women and girls in WA deserve to live and work safely in a community where diversity is embraced, and access to resources and opportunities isn't determined by gender.

"This year we have significantly expanded the Women's Grants for a Stronger Future Program to support more initiatives, and increase resourcing to deliver better outcomes for women and girls wherever they might experience barriers - at school, in the workplace, in retirement and in their homes and communities.

"The recommendations of the Respect@Work Report show we still have a long road ahead to address issues of inequity in the workplace - a challenge that has been accepted by Multicultural Services Centre of WA's Zero Tolerance project and some of this year's other grant recipients."