Rosemary Calder

First Assistant Secretary, Office of the Status of Women

Rosemary Calder was appointed Head of the Status of Women on 29 May 2000. Rosemary Calder's original training and career began in journalism with The Age newspaper in Melbourne. After studying sociology, Ms Calder then worked as a policy advisor for the national network of Councils on the Ageing.

Over a number of years Ms Calder researched, wrote and presented policy advice to national and state governments on a range of issues affecting older people, including taxation policies, retirement income provisions, superannuation, health improvement, treatment services, health insurance and health service access, and community and housing services.

She worked as the Chief Executive of the Australia Council on the Ageing, as well as participating in a range of community activities as a volunteer. This includes working with refugee women and child and family organisations.

From 1990, Ms Calder worked for the Victorian state department, responsible for health services, and had responsibility for establishing the policy framework and operational guidelines for the development of statewide specialist health services for older people and those with specialist health care needs. Additionally, Ms Calder had responsibility for the establishment of Statewide services for palliative care, services for people with severe acquired brain injury, rural health and aged care services, and for the redevelopment of public sector residential care services.

Ms Calder brings to the position policy expertise across both social and economic policy, at national and international levels.

Interview with Rosemary Calder

Below are the questions which Rosemary Calder addressed in her interview. Her response is featured below the list of questions. 

What observations do you make about which issues are of primary concern to Australian women today?

What have been some of the challenges that have emerged in realising your vision? 

To what do you attribute existing attitudinal and structural barriers to women's representation in leadership positions?

For women in Australia to achieve true equality, what major changes do you believe will need to be instigated in the new millennium?

What key strategies are in place to breakthrough traditional attitudes and expectations of the role of rural women?

To what degree is developing the potential of rural women a priority for government?

What do you perceive as being the disadvantages that indigenous Australian women experience in their professional lives?

How is OSW working with indigenous Australians to develop their leadership potential?

What advice would you offer to women with respect to networking, mentoring and breaking through the glass ceiling?

Rosemary Calder's Response:

In the course of my first 12 months in the Office of Status of Women, four strong themes have emerged from the work of the office, and from the many women and organizations with which the Office interacts – these are:

·         Economic self-sufficiency and security for women throughout their lives

·         Elimination of violence in the lives of women

·         Optimal status and position for women

·         Maintenance of optimal health and well being throughout women’s lives.  

These themes are now the focus of the strategic plan for the Office for the next three years.  They each encompass a diversity of issues.   For example – the current inadequacy of superannuation arrangements to provide for the economic self-sufficiency of women in older age is of considerable concern to many women – especially those in the “baby-boom” cohort, and OSW will work with women, their organizations, academics and government representatives to explore the policy issues and options this raises.    Elimination of violence in the lives of women includes many aspects of day to day violence that affects women – domestic violence; sexual assault; date rape; stalking and other forms of intimidation and harassment.  Health and wellbeing encompasses the impact on young women and others of the media focus on stereotyped images of women and the importance of women being adequately represented in leadership positions in health, as well as enabling a focus on the wide range of other factors which influence good health and wellbeing for women. 

The OSW Vision is for equality for women in every aspect of their lives and respect for and value of the choices, contributions and diversity of women.  Our ambition for OSW is to be the respected authority and leader in policy and service development for women.  

To enable OSW to function effectively in partnerships involving government, women and women’s organizations, the professions and industry, we have reviewed OSW’s past and present role and have established a strategic plan with the four policy goal areas I have already discussed.  The staff structure has grown to support these areas of work, and we have now been allocated additional funding through the 2001-2002 Commonwealth Budget to undertake new project work in a number of these areas.   

In working towards the OSW Strategic Plan and the new Budget initiatives, I have lead wide discussions with a broad range of women and women’s organizations; undertaken detailed work within the OSW team and consultation with other Government departments; and, I have worked closely with both the previous Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Status of Women, Senator Jocelyn Newman and the present Minister Assisting, Senator Amanda Vanstone. 

Women have achieved greatly enhanced participation in all aspects of society over the past century, with massive change in women’s participation in the workplace, and therefore in a great range of professional, commercial, industrial and political leadership positions, over the past 40 years.  Some of the obstacles that remain include the constant and complex pressure of decision making about, and management of, the balance between family and work commitments; the need for continuing increase in the numbers and proportions of women in all areas in order for greater numbers to be represented in senior leadership roles; and the levels of confidence and expectations of many women about themselves and their abilities.

To address some of these, the Commonwealth Budget of 2001-2002 has provided funding for a number of initiatives, which OSW will develop and implement in forthcoming months.  Funding of $2.4 million over four years has been provided to undertake a national strategy to promote women’s leadership, and particularly the leadership capacities and opportunities for women in rural communities; for indigenous women; for women in marginalised or disadvantaged groups.  This strategy will be undertaken in collaboration with State and Territory Governments and with women’s organizations.  Funding of $5.6n million over four years has also been provided to OSW to establish the Women’s Development Program, subsuming the previous Women’s National NGO Funding Program, and expanding the capacity to support project and research work which contributes to a broad range of Government policy formulation relevant to women.  This program will work with the three national women’s secretariats and with the broad range of women’s organizations to enhance women’s capacities to contribute to policy and service development. 

These two initiatives reflect the barriers and issues facing women and their organizations that have been strongly articulated in consultations with OSW and with Government. 

Another initiative, Informed Choices for Women, funded at $5.5 million over four years, will include the development of integrated data about women to inform Government and other policy consideration and formulation.  Currently, Government and other databases include a great range and diversity of information about women’s circumstances and needs, with limited opportunity for that data to be consolidated to provide a comprehensive picture of women’s circumstances.  OSW will work with other Government departments and experts to develop an integrated data warehouse that will then be made available as an on-line service to the wider community. This initiative will also include the initial development of a web-based range of Government information for women, leading to the establishment of a women’s information portal. The initiative will also support a biennial conference of women that will consider contemporary issues and concerns and facilitate information sharing and discussion between women, their organizations, bureaucrats, academics, policy makers and politicians.  The first conference will be held in Canberra at the National Convention Centre from August 26 – 28.

Together with the fourth Budget initiative for OSW, which provides $16.5 million over four years to mount a national strategy to reduce the incidence of sexual assault in our communities, these initiatives reflect major issues or concerns which need attention if women are to continue to increase their participation, and achieve full equality, in all aspects of our society.

Women in rural and remote Australia have particular issues, circumstances and needs that require specific attention.  OSW’s new initiatives will each have a particular focus on rural, regional and remote women – to identify and support leadership development and participation; to enhance the capacity of organizations representing and working with rural, regional and remote women; to improve information to and about women in rural and remote Australia; and the national strategy to reduce the incidence of sexual assault of women will have a strong focus on women in rural communities.  Additionally, the OSW National Women’s Conference, Australian Women Speak, in August 2001 will support the attendance of rural, regional and remote women to ensure that their issues are included in the Conference debates.    

A number of initiatives have been in place to enhance the role and participation of rural, regional and remote women.  To ensure rural women’s concerns are considered in policy development, the Rural Women’s Advisory Council has been established through the Dept of Transport and Regional Services and reports to the Deputy Prime Minister, the Hon John Anderson.    The Rural Industry Research and Development Corporation annual awards for State and Territory rural women entrepreneurs have profiled individual women who are at the forefront of innovation industry and trade in the rural sector; and, the Prime Minister’s Community Business partnerships program has recognized and promoted a wide range of successful small business and other enterprises throughout rural Australia. 

Indigenous women have been represented in each of these strategies, and in others focussed particularly on indigenous community issues.  OSW has funded 8 indigenous leadership training scholarships for young women, and the new national leadership initiative will have a particular focus on leadership development opportunities for indigenous women.   This work, and the OSW work with indigenous communities to reduce the incidence of family violence in the lives of indigenous women and the communities, will be enhanced by the establishment later this year of an Indigenous Women’s Advisory Group to OSW, which we hope will provide leadership for indigenous women’s development strategies into the future. 

In summary, women of today have much to be proud of, in their achievements and their participation and contributions, over the past four decades.  Young women now commonly regard themselves as equal in every respect to their male peers.  This needs to be celebrated whilst we recognise and address the inequalities in opportunity and status which still persist for many of all ages, and from diverse backgrounds.   

Women have achieved these gains in many ways: individually; through group networking and collaboration; through scientific and social developments which have supported women’s goals and aspirations; through agitation and advocacy.   The continued advancement of women will be achieved through effective participation in contemporary policy debates; through strong networks of women in leadership positions and with younger generations of women; and through the forging of effective partnerships with networks in the wider society, including and particularly with men and their networks.

Equality will only come in full when society holds it as a shared goal and value. To that end, partnerships between networks of women and men offer great potential to advance women’s access and participation, and to maximize the contributions to society of all its members.   

Rosemary V Calder

May 2001