FECCA Welcomes Appointment to National Women's Alliances
The Federation of Ethnic Communities Council of Australia (FECCA) will form a new Migrant and Refugee and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Women’s Alliance (the Alliance) as part of the Government’s National Women’s Alliances (NWA), following a competitive funding round with $10.88 million to be shared among five organisations to help improve the lives of women and progress gender equality in Australia.
Working with a network of more than 1,500 organisations nationwide, including small ethnic associations in new and emerging communities, FECCA will ensure a diverse range women’s voices and lived experiences inform the development of policies and implementation of the Working for Women: A Strategy for Gender Equality (the Strategy).
FECCA will play a vital role in representing the unique challenges of refugee, migrant and multicultural women, to deliver expert advice and work with Government on the solutions and policies required to create an Australia where all women are safe, treated with respect, and have access to the resources, support and opportunities they need to live happy and fulfilled lives, says Peter Doukas OAM, Chair of FECCA.
FECCA will play a vital role in representing the unique challenges of refugee, migrant and multicultural women, to deliver expert advice and work with Government on the solutions and policies required to create an Australia where all women are safe, treated with respect, and have access to the resources, support and opportunities they need to live happy and fulfilled lives, says Peter Doukas OAM, Chair of FECCA.
The Alliance will draw on the expertise of FECCA’s Women’s Advisory Group, Rural and Remote Advisory Group and the Ageing and Aged Care Advisory Group, along with members and partner organisations such as SSI, Media Diversity Australia (MDA) and many others, to conduct online forums and consultations, participate in advisory groups, make policy submissions and provide capability building activities to marginalised groups of women, including young and older women, and women from the LGBITIQA community.
An essential part of working respectfully with refugees and migrants is to understand how traumatic experiences and overlapping forms of marginalisation might impact them. Through the Alliance, FECCA looks forward to championing an intersectional life-course approach and engaging with women in all their diversity through our robust, trauma-informed protocols, explains Jill Morgan AM, FECCA’s Senior Deputy Chair – Women.
Migrant and refugee women, in particular, face barriers in the labour market which, in turn, increase their economic dependence on a partner and reduce their ability to build their own assets. They often lack the safety net of intergenerational wealth transfer. When they approach retirement, they are more likely to experience higher economic insecurity and inequality, adds Mary Ann Baquero Geronimo, CEO of FECCA.
Working alongside the Minister for Women, Senator The Hon Katy Gallagher and Assistant Minister for Women, The Hon Kate Thwaites MP, FECCA will collaborate with four other organisations also appointed to the NWA including:
- YWCA Canberra: gender-based violence and women’s economic equality and leadership themes
- National Rural Women’s Coalition: Women living in rural, regional and remote areas of Australia theme
- Women with Disabilities Australia: Women with disability theme
- National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women’s Alliance: First Nations women theme
The NWA will commence operation in early December 2024, with all funding and work to be allocated and completed over the next five years.
As the national peak body for multicultural communities and organisations, FECCA brings more than 45 years of experience in working successfully with Government, multicultural communities and people with lived experience, and advocating for inclusive policies that reflect multicultural Australia.
FECCA’s work including the recent release of an Anti-Racism Framework: Experiences and Perspectives of Multicultural Australia Report is underpinned by a strong commitment to the establishment of a Human Rights Framework in Australia.
ENDS
Read the Office for Women’s (OFW) announcement HERE.
Read more about the Working for Women: A Strategy for Gender Equality HERE.
Download photos of FECCA spokespeople HERE.
