Strengthening connections and investing in women is good for society

Every year, around this time, the spotlight turns to recognising the contribution of women around the world – and rightly so. While it may seem unfair to some to focus on women when so many other people play an important role too, it’s a reminder that women need to be proactively supported for society to thrive.

Women keep the wheels turning in so many ways - in their personal lives? – as mother, sister, aunt, grandparent, friend, carer etc – but also in the ways that women keep the wheels of our communities turning, when contributing as volunteer, colleague, CEO, entrepreneur, politician, advocate, ambassador – the list goes on.

The ability to fulfil these multiple roles is even more critical in remote, rural and regional communities. At FRRR, by far the majority of people that we deal with in the community groups that we support are female. That’s not to say that men and other gender-diverse people don’t play a critical role but in our beneficiary communities especially, it is women who form the core of the committees – the ones who put forward the applications, manage projects and generally spearhead getting things done – often all while holding their families together and contributing economically to boot.

Yet, they often don’t have access to training or to the support networks that are so crucial to their success and their wellbeing.

Investing in women leaves a lasting impact

At FRRR, time and again, we have found that when we invest in leadership training or in events and activities that bring women together – whether that’s to learn, to share their experiences or even just to meet others in a similar boat – communities as a whole are stronger, more vibrant and sustainable.

A great example of this is the Central West Farming Systems in NSW. During the 2018/19 drought, many women were looking for a ‘side hustle’ to support the family business. While many had corporate careers prior to moving to rural communities, a lot of them had lost confidence in their ability and skills to rejoin the workforce. FRRR, with support from our partners, funded a program of mentoring and networking events. Around 20 women completed the training over three months,?which was described as life-changing for all of the participants, building their confidence, boosting the economy in their community and supporting one another through tough times by sharing their experiences, frustrations and practical tips.

We saw a similar outcome when we supported the Western Riverina Arts Inc to run a series of workshops, as part of producing Mona Women’s Magazine. As they wrote in their acquittal,

“Mona is a MOVEMENT, not just a magazine. We were able to imbue rural women with confidence that their stories matter. By attending the workshops, women are given time and space to discuss their experiences in a safe and supportive environment. They can gain validation about their concerns about being a woman in modern Australia and in a rural setting and meet like-minded others who they can form relationships with and learn from. We are proud of creating this space for women.”

In another example, we supported the Charters Towers Women of the Outback Shed to build additional space to accommodate the demand from local women to come together and learn new skills. "The (construction) work is part of our everyday training for the women and they work under the supervision of our Coordinator and the training provided by our male mentors and those women who have become more proficient at these tasks. Other women who are not into woodwork make concrete artifacts and mosaic tiling. The external covered area in this new shed is magnificent compared to our original limited space."

Following times of disaster – such as fires, floods or in this case COVID – coming together and supporting one-another is even more important. In Murray Bridge, the Community Centre was funded to run a series of activities, mostly attended by women. They wrote: “This project has had an immense benefit on the social cohesiveness of our community. We’ve been grateful to witness the development of some wonderful friendships and the increase in self and social confidence. The Workshops to Wellbeing journey brought 133 women together and we strongly believe this project has enhanced their connectivity, capacity and personal resilience.”

Tailored support

As with everything, these investments are not one-size-fits-all. The projects need to be tailored to the needs of the community, by each community – such as the Happy Boxes Project – Nyami Gawbarri. They were supported to create a community hub especially for First Nations Women in their community. “Nyami Gawbarri stands as a testament to the significance of creating dedicated spaces for (First Nations) women to access a range of services and programs tailored to their unique needs. It is a symbol of community strength, unity, and empowerment.”

Similarly, for the Buloke Women’s Network, the need to come together to recover from COVID isolation and respond to the challenges wrought by that event – coming on top of drought, floods, climate change, rising farm costs and declining commodity prices - is how the Celebrating the Women of the Buloke Shire project started. The co-founder told us that she could see these impacts but there was nothing to support women in the area.

“(Women) wanted to meet other people from other places and connect with them and hear what was happening for them, and if they had the solutions to some of the problems that they had, and just to share their stories.” The result of them doing so is a far stronger, more vibrant and sustainable community that has the skills and networks to ensure they can tackle whatever is thrown at them.

Building social cohesion

These stories resonate strongly with our team – led and driven by amazing women themselves . In most cases, they themselves are actively involved in their community – whether serving on the local kinder committee or pony club; taking leadership role in their community bank, P&C or local school; volunteering in the SES; or coordinating entries in their local show, for example.

The stories also highlight the importance of physically coming together in creating social cohesion. We recently did this ourselves for the first time in a couple of years, gathering in Bendigo to spend time talking about our strategy and about our ways of working, especially as the team has grown and is now operating in a hybrid environment, with people based all around the country.

It was a chance for people to connect, some for the first time, and for others to strengthen connections that will mean that they can support one-another, no matter where they are working.

So why am I sharing these stories?

As we celebrate International Women’s Day, I want to reinforce the importance of investing in women, so they can be the best they can be. The community as a whole will be all the stronger for it.

I look forward to FRRR continuing to invest in the capacity and capability of women in remote, rural and regional communities and in projects that strengthen these communities, so that our nation as a whole can prosper. I’d encourage you to consider how you can invest in women in your giving and accelerate progress for all of us.

Natalie Egleton, CEO