Women’s Grants for a Stronger Future in Australia

Deadline: 1-Nov-23

The Department of Communities (Communities) is currently accepting applications to provide funding support for the community to develop initiatives based in Western Australia, that address the unique issues faced by women.

The Women’s Grants for a Stronger Future will 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.

Priority Areas

• As part of your application to the Women’s Grants for a Stronger Future program, you must align to any of the following 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.
      • Applicants are encouraged to refer to the Stronger Together Plan, and the Second Action Plan and consider initiatives that raise awareness and contribute to preventing gender-based violence in the community and the workplace.
  • 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.
  • 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 for initiatives based in Western Australia that align with the grant priority areas, and address the unique issues faced by women.

Eligibility Criteria

• Eligible groups and organisations must be:
  • incorporated not-for-profit community organisations;
  • local government authorities; or
  • unincorporated organisations or community groups, applying through the auspice of an incorporated body or a local government authority.

Ineligibility Criteria

• 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 a previous Communities’ grant or program funding are ineligible to apply until the required documentation has been submitted.

For more information, visit Department of Communities.