Page 5855 - Week 14 - Tuesday, 7 December 2010
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I have been given copies of examples of what key messages have been conveyed on those banners. Clear messages from the banners show that girls and young women, even at an early age, define themselves in terms of their relationships as well as their physical appearance and feel that they are unique, independent and powerful and that they can achieve whatever they want in life. What a wonderful feeling to have. I am sure that these young people acknowledge that they will need to meet a range of challenges in order to achieve their life goals, whatever they may be.
But this feeling of potential is something that one must work to retain throughout one’s life. The ACT government offers support to meet these challenges through a range of policies and programs as well as through ongoing research to better understand the needs and wants of women and girls in our community.
I would like to speak about some excellent work that the ACT Office for Women does through its various grants programs to support a diverse range of women in our community, women of all ages and backgrounds and from all walks of life. Indeed, just this year I produced a grants directory so that all people in our community are aware of the grants available to them. This is an important function of government and demonstrates that community and private organisations do much to support community members to achieve their goals.
In particular, I would like to draw your attention to the range of innovative grants and programs that the Office for Women offers and how they are helping women empower themselves to establish businesses, further their education and pursue their dreams. Some of these grants and scholarships aim to promote inclusion and tackle disadvantage. And I am pleased to say that in the past year they have helped dozens of women in the ACT.
One such program is the return to work grants program. We know that women on low incomes face many obstacles when trying to re-enter the paid workforce. Accessing affordable childcare, flexible working hours and meeting the costs of education and training are just a few of the barriers. For some, dealing with issues about self-esteem can also be hard to overcome. The return to work grants recognise the extra support some women may need as they transition back into the paid workforce and assist women from all walks of life.
One woman, a mother of four children, who is making a new life for her family in Canberra after fleeing the conflict in the Sudan, found it difficult to put food on the table while meeting the costs of studying for a bachelor of nursing. The $1,000 grant gave her financial relief and comfort as it enabled her to buy textbooks and pay course fees, without eating into the family food budget.
Another, who is the mother of three-year-old twins, used the grant to participate in the MYOB computing course. This allowed her to establish her own work safety consulting business and provided the flexible working hours she needed to take care of her children.
We know the value of having women in the paid workforce. We also know the positive effect that returning to the paid workforce has for mothers and the
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