Deadline: 23-Nov-22
The Government of Western Australia is offering grants under Women’s Grants for a Stronger Future program that provides funding support for the community to develop initiatives based in Western Australia, that address the unique issues faced by women.
In 2022-23, the Women’s Grants for a Stronger Future program aims to support a wider range of initiatives through increased funding for projects and programs that advance gender equality and build a better, fairer and more equitable community in Western Australia.
The Western Australian Government is committed to addressing gender inequality and leading the way to create a better future for everyone, and through this program you are encouraged to proactively develop a project plan for funding.
Women’s Grants for a Stronger Futurewill help fund community initiatives that support and empower women – whether it’s through retraining, upskilling, mentoring or improving financial literacy or business skills. Your project initiatives are welcomed, as projects funded under Women’s Grants for a Stronger Future will contribute to women and girls reaching their full potential in all aspects of life: at school, in the workplace, in retirement and in their homes and communities.
Priorities
Projects or programs should address one or more of the following Women’s Grants for a Stronger Future program priority areas:
- Safety and Justice
- Goal: Women live safely and have appropriate access to adequate legal protections.
- Women continue to experience unacceptable levels of family and domestic violence and abuse in their own homes, at the hands of their partners. There are substantial costs to the community in relation to family and domestic violence, but it is disproportionately women who bear the social and financial costs. Some of these costs include:
- Increased risk of poverty and homelessness; and
- Contribution to negative health outcomes.
- Women’s Economic Independence
- Goal: Women can be financially independent throughout all life stages.
- A range of social and cultural factors contribute to many women having a more precarious financial situation than their male counterparts. This can mean that women’s cumulative earning power is severely compromised throughout their working lives. The gender pay gap in Western Australia is the highest of all states and territories in Australia and has been for many years.
- Contributing factors include:
- Time taken out from work to care for children;
- Broader caring responsibilities for ageing parents and relatives; and
- The gender pay gap and its effects on superannuation.
- Health and Wellbeing
- Goal: Women are healthy, active and lead fulfilled lives.
- Gender is a social determinant which can have a negative impact on women’s health and wellbeing outcomes.Risks include:
- Women’s participation in social and economic life is limited;
- Women unable to prioritise their own health needs due to unequal share and responsibility for family caring roles and domestic work; and
- Women and girls unable to manage mental health such as anxiety, depression, self-harm, attempted suicide and eating disorders.
- Women in Leadership
- Goal: Women’s skills, achievements and strengths are valued, enabling equal participation in the community, including at leadership levels.
- Research demonstrates the economic benefits for organisations that have greater gender balance in leadership, including improved strategic decision making, better financial performance and client relationships. Despite this, many women are overlooked or face barriers to accepting leadership roles in the workplace.Some barriers include:
- Inflexible workplaces;
- Lack of access to support managing caring responsibilities;
- Assumptions about women’s capabilities, career ambitions and cultural norms;
- Biases which undervalue women’s experience and potential; and
- Unconscious bias and affinity bias in the recruitment process resulting in hiring more of the same (gender).
Funding Information
- Grants of up to $10,000 are available.
- $10,000 – $25,000 for collaborative projects attracting joint project funding
- $25,000 – $50,000 for pilot programs with a duration of up to two years
- $25,000 – $100,000 for programs that support the implementation of the recommendations of the National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces.
Eligibility Criteria
- Eligible organisations must be:
- An incorporated, not-for-profit, community sector organisation
- A Western Australian local government authority
- An unincorporated organisation or community group, applying through the auspice of an incorporated body or a local government authority
- A group or organisation is not-for-profit if its governing documents prohibit distribution of profits to individual members while the organisation is operating and upon its wind-up.
Items Eligible for Grant Expenditure
- The following items are eligible for funding:
- Resource materials and publication costs
- Equipment and venue hire
- Publicity, communications and marketing
- Food and non-alcoholic beverages for community engagement activities
- Project staff and consultants, directly related to the project
- Intrastate travel
- Project evaluation
- Childcare provided by qualified providers in an accredited setting for women participating in the project.
Ineligible
- Entities not eligible to apply for funding through this program include:
- Commonwealth or State Government agencies
- Individuals
- Commercial, for-profit organisations
- Unincorporated, community sector organisations (unless applying through an incorporated body or a local government authority)
- Organisations located in the Indian Ocean Territories
- Organisations that have outstanding acquittal or evaluation requirements from previous Communities’ grant or program funding are ineligible to apply until the required documentation has been submitted. Please contact Communities if there are any queries about an organisation’s acquittal status.
For more information, visit https://www.wa.gov.au/government/publications/womens-grants-stronger-future