The federal government’s recent Women’s Budget Statement recognises that “gender inequality is holding Australia back”. It commits the government to “advancing gender equality as a national priority and closing the gender gaps in our community”.

The government promises significant investments to support structural changes in favour of women. Key topics include women’s economic equality, safety, health and wellbeing. Better financial access – to housing, child care, health care and so on – is a recurring theme of the statement.

This is all highly desirable. What the federal budget fails to explicitly recognise is that poor urban planning causes, or makes worse, so many of the difficulties facing Australian women. In future, the women’s budget might benefit from being structured around the concept of gender mainstreaming.

Read Dorina Pojani’s full commentary in The Conversation: https://theconversation.com/the-challenge-for-chauffeur-mums-navigating-a-city-that-wasnt-planned-for-women-193392

The story has been reposted by The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/nov/08/the-challenge-for-chauffeur-mums-navigating-a-city-that-wasnt-planned-for-women