Policy Forum Pod Podcast: Women in politics and policy
Last week, the world celebrated International Women’s Day with an outpouring of inspiring stories and recognition of the female heroes in our families, communities, and politics. But it also saw a speech from Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison where he said “we want to see women rise, but we don’t want to see women rise only on the basis of others doing worse.” This week on the pod, our panel – Kim Rubenstein, Helen Machalias, and Caitlin Figueiredo – take a look at women in policy and politics, the power of diversity in building good policies, and what roles gender quotas can play.
Our presenters – Sharon Bessell, Sally-Anne Henfry, and Julia Ahrens – also discuss ABC’s new soap-opera The Heights, Theresa May’s never-ending Brexit nightmare, and the excellent The Familiar Strange podcast. On top of that, they take a closer look at several of the interesting comments and suggestions you’ve left us – so keep them coming!
This week we’ve welcomed:
Kim Rubenstein is Professor in the Law School in the ANU College of Law and an ANU Public Policy Fellow. She is a former Director of the Centre for International and Public Law and was the inaugural Convenor of the ANU Gender Institute. Kim is Australia’s leading expert on all matters around citizenship in law and practice and the author of Australian Citizenship Law (2nd ed, 2017).
Helen Machalias is Director of Communication, Advocacy and fundraising at the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) Canberra. Her career has encompassed roles in media relations and corporate communications, policy, fundraising and partnerships across the transport, arts, regional development and social policy sectors.
Caitlin Figueiredo is the founder of Jasiri and is an Australia Global gender equality activist. She was named 2018 ACT Young Australian of the Year and was recognised on the Forbes under 30 list for her work on parliamentary gender equality through the Girls Takeover Parliament Program. On top of being a Task Force Member of the UN Agency Network on Youth Development’s Working Group on Youth and Gender Equality, she is also a student at the ANU studying a Bachelor of Laws (Honours)/ Bachelor of Development Studies.
Our hosts are:
Sharon Bessell is the Director of the Children’s Policy Centre at Crawford School, the ANU lead on the Individual Deprivation Measure Project, and Editor of Policy Forum’s Poverty: In Focus section.
Sally-Anne Henfry is the Executive Director of the Sir Roland Wilson Foundation. She was, until recently, the Deputy Chief of Staff and Special Adviser at the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) in Washington D.C. Prior to that, her career had included working in international development for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (formally the Australian Agency for International Development) and the World Bank. Sally-Anne has worked in Australia, the Asia Pacific, and the US.
Julia Ahrens is a Communications and Engagement Coordinator at Crawford School and a presenter for Policy Forum Pod. She is also an Associate Researcher at the European Institute for Asian Studies in Brussels.
Show notes | The following were referred to in this episode:
Brexit: What happens now? – Peter Barnes (BBC)
Upcoming US presidential elections
The Familiar Strange podcast and blog
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