Working women in NSW now have access to free legal support if they’re facing discrimination, harassment or unfair treatment at work, following the launch of the Working Women’s Centre NSW (WWC).
NSW is the last of the states and territories to re-establish a dedicated service to gendered workplace injustice, filling a major gap for women who cannot afford private legal help or safely challenge their employer alone.
“Our work matters not just because we provide legal services, but because we honour and amplify women’s voices. We’re here to ensure that women never have to speak alone,” said CEO of Women’s Legal Service NSW Katrina Ironside.
“When the working women’s centre was defunded in NSW in the early 2000s, Women’s Legal simply picked up the work, because women were still being harassed while underpaid and pushed out of jobs,” she said.
“The need did not disappear when the funding did.”
The Minns Labor Government has committed $8 million over four years to the centre, which will be delivered by Women’s Legal Service NSW.
The centre will also receive $8.1 million in Commonwealth funding as part of a national plan to implement recommendations from the 2020 Respect@Work National Inquiry on workplace sexual harassment.
The Hon. Jodi Harrison, NSW Minister for Women, spoke at the centre’s launch.
“By delivering and coordinating information, advice and assistance to women experiencing workplace issues, the centre will help drive the systemic change that we need to ensure a more equitable society,” she said.
“We’re specifically focused on supporting women from priority groups … including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, women in regional and remote areas, young women and from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.”
The Australian Human Rights Commission’s 2022 Time for Respect report found that 41 per cent of women have experienced workplace sexual harassment, with Indigenous and LGBTQIA+ workers at a disproportionately higher risk.
The report also found that two-thirds of workers thought their organisation weren’t doing enough to combat harassment. The WWC aims to directly address this by providing education and training to businesses and staff.
For those who have spent years fighting for women’s legal empowerment, the launch of the WWC marks an overdue and necessary win.
“It is commitment, it is solidarity, and it is how we end gendered violence through systemic change,” said Ironside.
“Change begins when women speak.”
