Our Equal State Conference

Striving to break down gendered barriers 

Last Thursday, the Victorian Government held a conference for the Our Equal State strategy and action plan, which aims to break down the gendered barriers impacting our society. An example of these policies enacted at a Federal level is equal parental leave for both mothers and fathers, additionally Our Equal State aims to cater and acknowledge how gendered barriers change with age and life experience. I was generously invited to act as a student representative and answer the questions ‘What does gender equality mean to you?’ and ‘How can education be a change agent for gender equality?’. The minister of education and the minister of women, Natalie Hutchins MP introduced myself alongside two other secondary school students to answer the given questions to the 300 attendees at Melbourne Town Hall. 

I am so incredibly grateful to VicSRC, the organisation who invited me, and The Hon. Natalie Hutchins for being considered for this opportunity and the open arms they met me with. Everyone at Our Equal State was overwhelmingly supportive, kind, and congratulatory to me. I was able to have conversations with Minister Natalie Hutchins along with many other members of parliament. Overall, being able to attend was such a fantastic opportunity for me to meet new people in politics and social justice and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Again, I’d like to thank Minister Natalie Hutchins for making it such a positive experience for me, and acknowledge the hard work put into making the event run flawlessly. 

~Brenna Stojcevski, Year 10