Project commenced March 2025
| Organisation | Project title | Description of project | Grant amount (GST exclusive) |
|---|---|---|---|
| The University of Sydney | Research Partnership | The University of Sydney will lead a group of partners to build the evidence base on what works to achieve gender equality, especially in relation to driving economic equality. The University’s Australian Centre for Gender Equality and Inclusion @ Work will partner with Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research (at University of Technology Sydney) and University of Melbourne. The Research Partnership activities aim to strengthen the evidence base where gaps remain, and translate evidence into action for Government, industry and the community more broadly. | $5,000,000 |
Project commenced June 2023
| Organisation | Project title | Description of project | Grant amount (GST exclusive) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Women for Election Australia Ltd | Enhancing Diverse Women’s Pathways into Leadership Roles | The Women for Election Australia project aims to build and support a pipeline of diverse women to prepare for, and enter, public office at all levels of government. Activities under the program include place-based training events, online training forums, and a tech-based training platform containing candidate resources and support forums. The project will increase the number and diversity of women running for public office and getting elected, and encourages the participation of women from politically under-represented communities. Delivery partners for this national non-partisan project include Turnstone Collective, Australian Local Government Women's Association, Global Institute of Women's Leadership, Ruth McGowan Pty Ltd, and Quantum Impact Group Pty Ltd | $5,000,000 |
Project commenced February 2023
| Organisation | Project title | Description of project | Grant amount (GST exclusive) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Committee for UNICEF Limited | Family Friendly Workplace Initiative | The Family Friendly Workplace (FFW) initiative was established by UNICEF Australia and Parents at Work together with a group of leading Australian employers in 2021. Its purpose is to further advance the goal of building a family-friendly Australia by enabling more employers to adopt people policies and practices that foster workplace cultures that are safe, inclusive, and family-friendly. FFW directly addresses the challenges working families, and in particular women, face when combining their work and caring responsibilities, and thus improves women workforce participation and gender equality. | $1,400,000 |
Projects commenced December 2022
| Organisation | Project title | Description of project | Grant amount (GST exclusive) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diversity Council Australia Limited | Realise. Inspire. Support. Energise. (RISE) | This project addresses the systemic barriers that restrict culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) women’s upward mobility into leadership roles in Australian organisations. Innovatively working at the individual and systemic level concurrently, the project will partner with organisations to identify, design, deliver and evaluate effective change interventions that remove systemic barriers for CALD women in middle management. The project will focus on building CALD women’s leadership skills and provide training programs, which are designed to create a critical, nuanced and reflective understanding of these structural barriers. | $3,279,542 |
| Global Sisters Limited | Back Her Brilliance | This project will focus on women who experience intersectional barriers to economic participation and support them on a pathway to self-employment. The project will support women to become business leaders and employers of the future. Key activities include the roadmap of business development support: business ideation, business education, coaching support and connections with leading Australian companies, microfinance and direct market access. | $3,000,000 |
| People with Disability Australia Ltd | Advancing Women with Disability in the Workforce | This project will improve how women with disability participate in Australia’s workforce and their leadership representation. The project will focus on developing leadership skills and will deliver a series of training, webinar and e-learning modules to employers, staff, disabled women and disability sector workers. These modules will unpack employment in relation to Australia’s key disability and disability employment strategies, diversity and inclusion from a disability rights perspective, through the lens of women with disability. Networks will be developed through a mentorship program, supported by key employer, employee and recruitment organisations. | $1,115,000 |
| Tranby Aboriginal Co-operative Limited | Yanalangami Strong Women, Strong Communities Program | Yanalangami is a national self-governed grassroots leadership program that connects and further empowers Indigenous women by strengthening their networks and leadership capacity. This program expands on the success of Tranby's existing Yanalangami program, which is recognised as a powerful, innovative and best-practice example of cultural governance and place-based leadership. It is unique, culturally-safe and addresses the systemic barriers faced by Indigenous women through strengths-based models, supporting women's inherent cultural leadership and healing. | $2,772,268 |
| University of New South Wales | Attracting, Retaining and Empowering Women in Construction | This project engages female high-school students, women studying construction in universities, and women working in the construction industry to promote the industry’s diverse job opportunities for women and support them to successfully progress their career and obtain leadership positions. The project aims to make fundamental changes in Australian society and the construction industry, to enable a sustainable increase of women’s workforce participation and leadership positions in construction. | $2,311,000 |
| Women in Seafood Australasia | Turn the Tide | Turn the Tide is an innovative national project to support women and influence men and decision-makers within the Australian seafood industry. The project will focus on increasing women’s representation in leadership through leadership and entrepreneurship training, building strong networks and improving access to champions, mentors and decision makers. The project will address systematic and cultural barriers women face within the industry to make workplaces more attractive for women to thrive in, free of bias and safe from sexual harassment. | $3,362,000 |
Projects commenced October 2021
| Organisation | Project title | Description of project | Grant amount (GST exclusive) |
|---|---|---|---|
| BUSY Group Ltd | BUSY Sisters mentoring for women entering apprenticeships and traineeships | This project will support women across Queensland and Western Australia, commencing an apprenticeship or traineeship in traditionally male‑dominated industries by providing specialised, intensive mentoring support. The project will engage experienced female mentors to support women from job commencement, through their first six months of employment. | $838,145 |
| Centre for Women & Co. Ltd | Kick-Starter Project | The Kick-Starter Project will deliver an intensive 8-week development program, focused on building women’s self-determination to work through trauma and domestic and family violence in order to improve their economic security by returning to work. The project will provide women in Logan and Redlands, Queensland, with the opportunity to gain professional development and assistance to achieve employment, become economically independent and informed. | $699,000 |
| Collingwood Football Club Ltd | Magpie Nest Women’s Program | The Magpie Nest Women’s Program is a new initiative in Melbourne, linked to the Collingwood Football Club’s existing Magpie Nest Program. Women experiencing disadvantage, such as homelessness and family, domestic and sexual violence, will receive direct support to build their confidence and aspiration, as well as establish pathways to employment, skills training and independent living. | $300,000 |
| South East Local Learning and Employment Network Inc | Young Mothers Transition Project | This project will provide individual coaching and case management for young mothers in South East Melbourne to complete education, develop foundational parenting skills, participate in job focused skills training and secure sustainable employment. This project will work alongside young mothers to identify pathways, goals and strategies that enable them to obtain Year 12 certificates, plus industry certificate qualifications and transition smoothly to employment. | $800,000 |
Projects commenced June 2021
| Applicant | Project title | Description of project | Grant amount (GST exclusive) |
|---|---|---|---|
| ABC Foundation Ltd | AWRAE - Aboriginal Women's Research Assistant & Evaluation Training Project | This project will train Indigenous women to be evaluators of programs operating within their communities. ABC will contract Blak Impact to co‑design a training program with Indigenous women that will be culturally secure and hands-on, with embedded mentoring and support. This program goes beyond a training model; once women have learnt the skills of planning, data collection and analysis, they will work on contract evaluations, with support from Indigenous consultants at Blak Impact and Workplace Mentors from local Employment Services Providers. | $389,373 |
| Accessible Arts | Front and Centre Career and Leadership Development Program | This project will deliver a 12 month comprehensive career development and leadership program for women with disability, that will provide pathways to skills development, workforce participation, financial literacy, self-expression and confidence, and broader aspirations and capacity for cultural and community leadership. | $355,600 |
| Business and Professional Women’s Association Darwin | Women's Mentoring Program 2021 - 2024 | This project will develop and implement a mentoring program supporting young women aged 18-30 years from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women across the Northern Territory. The annual six-month mentoring program will empower women, build confidence and leadership capacity, strengthen economic independence and support female labour force participation in the Northern Territory. | $45,000 |
| Carers Australia Ltd | Women who Care Employment Toolkit Project | Carers Australia will develop and implement the Women who Care Toolkit Project, targeted at women carers. Through a series of activities underpinned by an online 'hub' for both women carers and employers, this project will focus on supporting women carers to reconnect with training, or to new or emerging workforce opportunities whilst being able to maintain their caring role. The project will also deliver a framework to assist employers with practical strategies that can be implemented in their workplaces to support women carers to become and remain employed. | $620,000 |
| Family Planning Association of Western Australia Inc | Safe to Tell | This project builds on the screening program developed by Sexual Health Quarters (SHQ) to support women most vulnerable to violence and affected by intimate partner violence (IPV), reproductive coercion (RC) and other family, domestic violence (FDV). This screening program will now be further implemented, in partnership with Women’s Health and Family Services and South Coastal Health and Community Services. The screening program will be supported by training, counselling services, and translated resources and delivered to health organisations in Western Australia. The project will enable the health workforce to have the skills and confidence to assist women experiencing violence and coercion, and ensure that more women at-risk are identified and supported to be safe in their homes and communities. | $782,970 |
| Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health | Enabling STEM Women to Win Grants and Lead Research | This project addresses the disparity in research funding application and success rates for women, and aims to help retain women in STEM research careers and boost numbers of women at leadership levels. The project will equip a cohort of women medical researchers with skills and confidence to articulate the value of themselves and their research, building their capacity to secure research funding and support their career progression. | $365,000 |
| Inventorium Pty Ltd | Returning Women to the Workforce | This project will support women who have been out of the workforce for at least six months in order to build their self‑confidence and self-efficacy enabling them to re-enter the workforce. Women will participate in online learning, face to face workshops, personal career development planning, mentoring, work-shadowing and receive support through the job application process. Participants will explore their career ambitions, challenge stereotypes of typically male-dominated fields and sectors, including STEM based careers. | $608,700 |
| Kalyuku Ninti - Puntuku Ngurra Ltd | Empowering Martu Women | This project is a practically oriented leadership program for Martu women in the Western Australia remote communities Jigalong, Punmu, Parnngurr, Kunawarritji and Newman. The project will improve women’s leadership and participation, financial security, and safety. Women will participate in regular workshops and learning sessions to develop of broad-scale understanding of mainstream law, governance, financial literacy, healthy relationships and Martu cultural knowledge. | $795,654 |
| Medical Research Commercialisation Fund Pty Ltd | The Women in Leadership Development Program | This project will scale-up the Women in Leadership Development (WILD) program which tackles common barriers to career progression and sector retention faced by women employed in the STEM sector. The program provides Australian women in STEM with the qualifications, skills, confidence and networks needed to attain senior leadership and Board positions. The program comprises four components: access to the Company Directors Course, run by the AICD; two-day executive leadership retreat, focussed on executive success; Board observation experience; sector-wide diversity and inclusion training events to provide tools and solutions that can be rapidly applied in the workplace to address unconscious and conscious bias in the STEM sector. | $945,602 |
| Multicultural Centre for Women's Health Inc | Communities Leading Change through the National Education Toolkit for Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) Awareness (NETFA) | This project is an expansion of the current NETFA project. The project will provide national coordination and provision of the latest research, information, education and resources to raise awareness about the harmful impact of FGM/C, through the delivery of a community-led, multilingual, multimedia campaign that will target and support communities across Australia to take action to prevent and eliminate FGM/C. | $773,193 |
| Multicultural Services Centre of Western Australia Inc. | Occupational Specific Food Industry Training | This project is a scalable, industry transferable program which aims to upskill migrant women in a strength based approach by matching them to current occupational gaps in the food service industry. This program will be delivered in conjunction with North Metropolitan TAFE and provide culturally competent training and work experience (with embedded English language) designed to facilitate employment of women into primarily male-dominated and in demand occupations. | $736,346 |
| Queensland Rural Regional and Remote Women’s Network Inc | TripleR Qld Women Towards 2030 | This project focuses on creating pathways into non-traditional and emerging tech-based and flexible employment opportunities in areas such as agri-tech. Women will participate in regional clusters with each cluster being an informal community of practice/support for women re-entering the workforce or tackling entrepreneurial enterprise. | $850,000 |
| Relationships Australia Tasmania Inc | Relationships Australia Tasmania Women's Support Service | This project will provide counselling and group/peer education for disadvantaged Tasmanian women to address psycho-social barriers of unemployment (e.g. family violence, mental illness, poverty) and learn key employment life-skills (e.g. communication, assertiveness, conflict resolution) to help them participate in the workforce, achieve economic security and maintain safe and positive relationships. | $1,232,150 |
| Social Futures (Northern Rivers Social Development Council Ltd) | Standing Strong Program | This project is a specialised economic empowerment program that will address financial disadvantage for women aged 16 – 65 experiencing the impacts of Family and Domestic Violence (FDV). Participants will develop a comprehensive person-centred action plan focusing on Safety, Training, Employment and Housing (STEHP). The STEHP will articulate how the participant will be supported to achieve their goals, the wrap around support services, timeframes for completion of all activities and goals. Through tailored support, strengths‑based empowerment and trauma‑informed case management, women will be supported to increase their economic security, workforce participation and safety. | $797,940 |
| Southcare Inc | Emerging Leaders in Governance Program | This project increases representation of women from minority backgrounds onto the Boards of Not-For-Profit organisations in WA. The project will utilise the successful Emerging Leaders in Governance Program (ELGP) model and provide customised leadership and governance programs. Each program targets the recruitment of young women from diverse backgrounds (cultural, religious, indigenous; LGBTI; and disabilities). The program enhances the skills, knowledge and confidence to apply for Board positions. Participants will be linked with an existing network of community organisations to assess their needs and facilitate a matching process to connect graduates with Boards. | $473,490 |
| World Vision Australia | Driving Women's Workforce Participation and Leadership in Central Australia | This project will support women living in four remote communities in Central Australia to take up jobs in their own communities. Participants will build their confidence and capability so they can work and take on increasing responsibility in early and middle childhood programs in their communities. They will also have the opportunity to develop their leadership skills so they can lead initiatives that improve the wellbeing of women and children in their communities. Participants will receive training, coaching and mentoring that has been specifically adapted for their context and language group. Content will cover early and middle childhood, literacy development, protecting children and vulnerable adults, trauma informed practice, leadership and governance. | $598,971 |
| YFS Ltd | Spark Women's Work Employment Mentoring Project | The project will support women impacted by crisis to enter or re‑enter the workforce or training with the support of skilled employment mentors. These expert mentors will help women rebuild their lives by supporting them to pursue work or training goals. They will partner with specialist domestic violence, homelessness workers and financial counsellors to wrap support around women so they can succeed. | $625,500 |
Project commenced between 2019 and 2021
| Applicant | Project title | Description of project | Grant amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Council of Small Business Organisations of Australia Limited (COSBOA) | Future Female Entrepreneurs Program | This project delivers the Academy for Enterprising Girls program which supports young girls aged 10-18, to develop their skills in STEM, entrepreneurship and design thinking. The Accelerator for Enterprising Women program supports young women aged 18-24, providing the skills required to run their own business and includes a one-stop-shop of information, resources and business funding opportunities. The Enterprising ME Women program supports women 18+ with financial literacy, mentorship programs and business/entrepreneurship skills. | $13,700,000 |
Completed projects funded under the Working for Women Program.
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Workplace gender equality
University of Sydney awarded $5 million to build evidence base for gender equality
