Gender equality and womens rights in Australia

by Ulla Maaria

— 68

In 1902, as a result of the vigorous lobbying of Australian suffragettes, the Commonwealth of Australia became the first country in the world to give women both the right to vote in federal elections and the right to be elected to federal parliament. Although liberating for white women, the Act specifically excluded aboriginal women (and men), who had to wait until 1962 to be formally given the right to vote by the Commonwealth. [Learn more](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminism_in_Australia)
Australian women have fought for and won the right to federally funded child care and women’s refuges. Australian government covers about 63% of the total child care costs. Still, only 23.7 % of families use formal child care. 38.6 % of children under the age of 12 by family or friends. Grandparents usually care for 26% of all children. [Learn more](http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-04/fact-file-facts-about-childcare/6277362)
In Australia, 86 per cent of mothers returning to work use flexible work arrangements in order to care for their children, 65% work part time, 35% do flexible hours, and 26% work from home. Only 8.4% of directors of the largest 200 publicly listed companies in Australia are women.
High rates of violence against women remain a major issue, with almost 30% Australian women experiencing physical violence and almost 20% women experiencing sexual violence in their lifetime. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are 35 times more likely to be hospitalised as a result of spousal or partner violence than non-Indigenous women. [Learn more](http://www.humanrightsactionplan.org.au/nhrap/focus-area/womens-rights)
The Commonwealth of Australia is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area with a population of 24 million people.
www.thinglink.com Womens rights and gender equality in Israel
Cathy Freeman is a famous retired Australian sprinter. She is the 6th fastest woman of all time and was "the first Australian Indigenous person to become a Commonwealth Games gold medallist." She went on to win several Olympic medals between the 1996 and 2000 Olympics. Since her retirement she founded the Cathy Freeman Foundation. [Read More](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathy_Freeman)
Read more on[ Women's Rights 360 Virtual Field Trip](Read more on Women's Rights 360). Production: ThingLink Education team. Sounds: [Eelke, freesound.org](www.freesound.org) This work is licensed under [Creative Commons Attribution 3.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/)