CINDY SHANNON PRO VICE CHANCELLOR (INDIGENOUS EDUCATION) Barriers to Women Work and Education.

CINDY SHANNON

PRO VICE CHANCELLOR (INDIGENOUS EDUCATION)

Barriers to Women Work and Education

‘White Apron, Black Hands’

Map of Australia by remoteness

ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER PEOPLES(a) – Indigenous Regions with largest counts ABS 2011

CRICOS Provider No 00025B

Indigenous Region Number % of total Indigenous population

Brisbane 53271 9.7

NSW Central and North Coast

52319 9.5

Sydney – Wolloongong 52171 9.5

Perth 25534 4.7

Cairns – Atherton 23466 4.3

Townsville – Mackay 22538 4.1

Adelaide 20761 3.8

Riverina – Orange 20172 3.7

Victoria (excluding Melbourne)

20122 3.7

Tasmania 19546 3.6

Australia 548370 2.5

Education Deficit of Indigenous QLD Students

From `A Shared Challenge: Improving literacy, numeracy and science learning in Queensland Primary Schools. Geoff N. Masters, Australian Council for Education Research 2009’

Unemployment Rate by Indigenous status by sex and age group (ABS 2006)

Health outcomes

Aboriginal women – across many health indicators – are faring worse than the Indigenous population as a whole: More likely to have at least one long term

condition More likely to have several chronic diseases More likely to have high or very high

psychological distress More likely to rate their own health as fair or

poor

Indigenous people as carersCarers Australia

12.4% of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population are carers, compared to 10.5% of the non-Indigenous Australian population

there is likely to be under-reporting of the caring role amongst Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders due to lack of carer self-identification.

There has been an increase in Indigenous Australians identifying as carers from 32,581 in 2006 to 45,328 in 2011

The average age of Indigenous Australian carers was 37 years; 12 years less than the average age of non-Indigenous Australian carers. This may reflect higher birth rates at younger ages and earlier onset of many chronic diseases for Indigenous Australians

Indigenous Australian carers were between one-and-a half and three times as likely as non-Indigenous carers to need assistance with self-care, mobility and/or communication

Incarceration rates

Indigenous women severely overrepresented

34% increase between 2002 and 2006 compared to a 22% increase for Indigenous men

Indigenous women 23 times more likely to be imprisoned than non-Indigenous women, while Indigenous men are 16 times more likely than non-Indigenous men

HREOC 2008

Other issues for consideration

StereotypesOrganisational cultureInstitutional racismTeenage pregnancyBurnout and premature promotionOpportunity and aspiration