Dear All,

welcome to a new year! For us it has started with a flurry of activity and we anticipate that continuing. The flurry is productive but we will also look for the calm in the chaos and hope that you can also. 

Listening to the powerful joint National Press Club address from Brittany Higgins and Grace Tame we were reminded not only of the immense courage and strength of these advocates for the prevention of sexual violence but also of the importance of understanding continuums of violence. Of having effective mechanisms to recognise what violence is and how it is enacted. Of what casual and everyday violence amounts to and how it may be present in our workplaces, homes and communities. Some of the work that the GRN will do with the Depts of Communities and Justice in 2022 will seek to address this and to contribute to wider policy work in the area.
 
The debates regarding the proposed Religious Discrimination Bill 2021 and associated Bills this week are related directly to these issues of violence and creating safer spaces and cultures for women and  gender-diverse folk. It has been a tough and unsettling week for our gender-and-sexually-diverse community members – having to witness and hear that the basic rights of gender and sexually diverse young people are up for debate is very hard for many us.  Equality Australia is encouraging those concerned to right to their MPs about this, noting that the current bill removes "discrimination protections for LGBTIQ+ people, women, people with disability, and others when people make certain statements which are discriminatory based in religion". The GRN will do so on behalf of our members and in December 2021 we also sent a submission to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights with respect to the proposed Religious Discrimination Bill 2021. We will continue to be active in this area in 2022 and we invite you to join us.
 
Our online talks series for 2022 starts on 17 February with Dr Joanne McEwan on Gender through the Ages. In March we will have Dr Myriam Blin discuss gender politics in Mauritius and we host a conversation with Professor Iain McCalman on his new book Delia Akeley and the Monkey: A Human-Animal Story of Captivity, Patriarchy and Nature. Later dates are still being confirmed but we hope to release a list for review in the new fortnight. If you would like to contribute, or to suggest speakers, please be in touch. We look forward to seeing you online! 

We are also launching a new Gender Reading Group in 2022 and we encourage you to please pass this on to your HDR and fourth year students so that they might join. The group will be led by Dr Peta Dzidic with involvement from Dr Amy Dobson and the first meeting is in March. Please see details below and please express your interest by 28 February 2022.

Finally, we would like to showcase gender research at Curtin on the GRN webpage. Please send examples to Liz.

Thank you for your time and commitment to the GRN and we look forward to working with you in 2022.

Very best wishes,

Samantha, Therese, Liz with Amy Dobson and Peta Dzidic

External Talks and Events

University of Melbourne Gender and Sexuality at Work Conference 2022
This conference has been designed to bring together talent from academia and the broader public and private sectors (both for-profit and not-for-profit) to participate in respectful, professional and rigorous debate about gender and sexuality at work. The aim is to learn from each other, to find better ways to work together in building the knowledge base required to address gender and sexuality at work in healthy and productive ways. In 2022, the theme of the conference is Accelerating Gender and Sexuality Inclusion at Work. Our knowledge of what works to enhance workplace inclusion is becoming increasingly sophisticated. In this iteration of the conference, we want to continue to explore a wide range of research about gender and sexuality at work, while focusing on what the evidence tells us can be done to accelerate gender and sexuality inclusion at work and in organisations.

Date: 15 February, 5:00am-3:30pm AWST. Further information and registration via Eventbrite.


Gender Equality Network – Respect is everyone’s business
We all want to end sexual harassment and build equality across our workforces. An important step in achieving this is to ensure the elimination of sexual harassment is firmly planted on board and executive agendas. In the lead up to IWD 2022, the first Gender Equality Network webinar will investigate Chief Executive Women's Respect is Everyone's Business toolkit, designed to help initiate critical conversations and take meaningful action to end sexual harassment and make workplaces safe for everyone. Join Sam Mostyn, President of Chief Executive Women who will discuss the impetus for the toolkit and what she hopes it will achieve. A panel discussion moderated by DCA CEO Lisa Annese will follow to explore how to turn intentions into action.

Date: 28 February, 10:30am-12:00pm AWST. Further information and registration via Diversity Council Australia.