A partnership for gender equality

A Partnership for Gender Equality: Women’s Health and Prevention of Family Violence in Melbourne’s South East

Women’s Health in the South East (WHISE) and Chisholm TAFE will team up to advance gender equity across the Southern Metropolitan Region of Melbourne as part of their formal partnership, announced today.

“Partnerships are a vital way that grass roots change occurs in the community, and the opportunity to partner with a leading employer and public provider in our region is a landmark opportunity for WHISE, our stakeholders and the region as a whole,” says WHISE CEO, Kit McMahon.

The partnership is formalised through a memorandum of understanding which aligns the work of the two organisations to collaboratively:

Build understanding of the needs of women’s health in the prevention workforce;

Implement recommendations of the Royal Commission into Family Violence;

Create support tools that will improve their capacity and capability to prevent violence against women in the region and improve women’s health outcomes;

Increase gender equality within TAFE and across the region;

Develop appropriate adult learning programs including micro-credentials, accredited courses, pre-accredited and short courses that address family violence prevention, intervention and education for the community.

“Chisholm has always looked to and benefited from great partnerships – and we are looking forward to realising the goals of this agreement,” says Stephen Varty, CEO of Chisholm TAFE.

“Great education comes from great education providers that work with industry and community to make sure that our students are getting the best outcome. Additionally, the shared legacy and values of WHISE and Chisholm will be a strong foundation to seeing this occur.”

Both Chisholm and WHISE have been a part of the Southern Melbourne Community for over 20 years and share a keen commitment to supporting the community, as well as being a key way for government to implement policy in the region.

The partnership will be enacted in the first instance by establishing working groups on the workforce planning and development needs for the region for prevention, women’s health and gender equality.

The partnership will also work to identify and create products and resources that can assist industry, potential and current workers understand what learning opportunities are available in women’s health, family violence prevention and gender equality as well as seek to understand how the growth of the region, impacts on these workforce needs.

“It’s a big mandate, but when you think of the reason why we are doing it and the combined knowledge and capability of both organisations, the potential is huge,” says McMahon.

“Together, we can play our part in creating a gender equal future for generations to come.”