Resource gaps holding back gender equality

Resource gaps holding back gender equality

Despite strong commitments to gender equality, many women‑dominated sectors continue to fall short on delivering equitable outcomes. An RMIT expert is available to comment ahead of an International Women's Day panel. 

Dr Kathryn Daley, School of Global, Urban and Social Studies 

"Gender equality is not about forcing organisations to treat women the same as men. But about people not being disadvantaged because of their gender.

"There are whole sectors of women-dominated organisations who are committed to gender equality, yet despite this commitment are not achieving this.  

"Here is where we see good intention and good policy are not enough. Not-for-profit organisations as well as start-ups are typically very committed to providing excellent working conditions including gender equity and flexible work arrangements.  

"However, they are also hamstrung by limited resources and consequently may have meagre parental leave and return to work provisions that are not able to compete with the private sector.   

"Good policy is a start, but it is not enough. We need to reconfigure how we do work and family to enable women, and men, to have more options." 

Dr Kathryn Daley is Assistant Associate Dean of Social Science, Research, and Policy Studies at RMIT. Her work is focused on improving the wellbeing of people living on the margins, particularly children and young people. 

 

Kathryn Daley will be speaking at an International Women’s Day panel discussion on 4 March 2026 at RMIT University, Provocations: Why are we still talking about gender equality? 

The panel will be hosted by Sushi Das and feature Dr Niki Vincent, Hannah Ferguson and Leonora Risse.  

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General media enquiries: RMIT External Affairs and Media, 0439 704 077 or news@rmit.edu.au

27 February 2026

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