Ms THEOPHANOUS (Northcote): My adjournment is to the Minister for Women, and I ask the minister to update me on the work our government is doing to make our state safer and fairer for women and girls in my electorate of Northcote. Next Monday, 8 March, we will recognise International Women’s Day. This year the date also falls on Labour Day in Victoria. This is an opportunity for us to pay tribute to the immense contribution women make to our economy and to acknowledge the continued barriers women face in participating in the workforce, in taking on leadership roles and in being free from violence in the workplace. Every woman has the right to feel safe, respected and equal. I encourage every member of this Parliament to be part of the solution—to reflect on, call out, and stand up and challenge gender inequality in all its forms.

I know I am not alone in feeling shocked and angry at alleged events in Canberra, which have made it clear just how far we have to go to make women safe. Violence against women is a shadow pandemic, one that we cannot ignore or accept. It is also preventable, and that is why our work to promote gender equality is so important. I thank the Minister for Women and all the strong women in our Labor cabinet who are reforming our state for the better every single day. I am also extremely proud to be contributing to our efforts in my new role as co-chair of the recently formed Gender Equality Advisory Committee, alongside the member for Wendouree.

The COVID pandemic has laid bare the many ways that women continue to be disadvantaged—in the workforce, in their homes, in our communities. Women have always borne an unequal burden of caring responsibilities and the economic sacrifices that come with that. It is indicative of how much work we still have to do that it has taken a pandemic for there to be a deeper awareness of the entrenched inequalities that this produces. You only have to speak to any working mum in my community of Northcote to understand just how difficult the last 12 months have been for women.

This week we have participated in a historic moment for our state: the tabling of the final report of the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System. The importance of perinatal mental health; of integrated infant, child and family health and wellbeing hubs; and of more support for carers, many of whom are women, are key features of the findings. I am proud that in Victoria we are leading the nation in removing barriers for women, driving economic equality and addressing the unique mental and emotional load that women carry as we juggle and persevere in a society that is not yet built to treat us as equal.

Finally, I want to wish all the women and girls in my electorate a very happy and fierce International Women’s Day. This year’s theme is ‘Choose to Challenge’, and I encourage every one of us to challenge our perceptions, our assumptions and our systems. I look forward to hearing from the minister about the work our government is doing to improve the lives of women and girls in my community.