Tuesday, 18 November 2025

 Sonja TERPSTRA (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (13:39): I rise to speak about the first working-class women’s round table as part of a very important and exciting series of upcoming round tables that I not only have the absolutely privilege to be involved in but have the privilege of chairing. The national round table titled ‘Led by us: working-class women talk’ places women with lived experience at the centre of a national dialogue to examine the impacts of class bias on working-class women, their economic independence and labour mobility. The first round table created a safe space for women to speak, listen and build solutions, covering wages, safety, caring responsibilities, training and cultural respect, with a call to action that includes research and campaigning efforts to ensure the issue of class and how it holds women back is elevated to national significance. It was exciting and energising to see so many women from diverse backgrounds and lived experiences gathering to speak about the hidden and overt impacts of class bias on women, with a need to label it and to work with industry employers to eliminate its impact.

For far too long class has not been spoken about as a factor that impacts women’s employment, and it is time to change that. I would like to thank all the women who were involved in this very important round table but also significantly Professor Noreen Young, associate dean of Indigenous leadership and engagement and professor of Indigenous policy at the Jumbunna institute at UTS; Professor Jane O’Leary, research director at the Jumbunna institute; and also Emma Dawson, CEO of the Chifley Research Centre. I look forward to the continuing work of these round tables.