Gender equality insights from Hawke papers
by Jon Brooks
Improvements in the accountability of governments in the Asia-Pacific region in relation to gender equality is the focus of a research project at UniSA.
Professor Diane Elson, gender equality and economics expert from the University of Essex in the UK, was based at the Hawke Research Institute recently for six weeks.
Working closely with UniSA’s Professor Rhonda Sharp, Professor Elson (pictured) used the Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Library’s unique resources in her research, particularly early Hawke era gender equality policy documents.
"The Prime Ministerial Library is the ideal place to do this sort of research because it holds significant archival material that documents the Hawke Government’s progressive approach in backing its gender equality commitments with funding," Prof Elson says.
"Hawke was the first Australian Prime Minister to be really active in this area, through the appointment of women ministers and advisors and a conscious effort to improve gender equality in Australia through budget commitments," Prof Elson says.
The two-year project, funded by AusAID, will shed light on how governments fulfil their promises in terms of budgeting for women’s empowerment in the AsiaPacific region and will focus on the situations in Indonesia and Timor Leste.
"Most governments around the region have made commitments regarding gender equality, but to fulfil those commitments you often not only have to legislate for equality but also allocate money in a way that’s going to back up the implementation of those laws," Prof Elson says.
"To combat domestic violence for instance, you need good laws, but you also need funds to support policing, the judiciary, health care services, and wider but important support services such as volunteer organisations, men’s anti-violence groups and women’s shelters so that women and children have the information and back up to leave violent homes.
"Unless that funding is in place, the laws won’t necessarily lead to a benefit."
Prof Elson says recent examples in Australia, including plans for a paid maternity leave scheme, show that Australia is still advanced in its approach.
She says while the majority of countries in the Asia-Pacific region are making improvements to their gender equality policies, many factors, including religious and cultural factors and economic poverty, have held up the process of establishing better services for women.
"In some countries there are still issues like dowry deaths and laws that favour men in domestic disputes," she says. "Nevertheless, many countries are progressing and projects like these have an important part to play in that progression.
"What we are exploring is how the various countries approach gender responsive budgeting. They are starting to manage their budgets in a way that allows them to be responsive.
"Countries that have been poor performers on gender equality in the past have started to train parliamentarians, educate their officials and become more proactive in terms of their budgeting. In many cases their budgets have statements on how they’re trying to fulfil their gender equality responsibilities.
"Hopefully this research project will shed further light on what’s taking place around the region and maybe even lead to some more good news for women in the region."