In this episode, we speak to Fiona Dorman, President of the National Council of Women South Australia and National Vice President of the National Council of Women Australia about current issues women are facing, like how climate change is affecting women more than men, and why our society is allowing women to become invisible once they reach age 50.
The Invisible Woman Project is a social partnership between Just Gold and the City of Melbourne.
Find out more about The Invisible Woman project at justgoldwomen.net or on our socials @justgoldwomen.
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Grace Packer
This is a Just Gold podcast.
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Carley Bishop
Captured on the lands of the peoples of the Eastern Kulin nation., we pay our respects to the elders past, present and emerging. In this episode, we speak to Fiona Dorman, president of the National Council of Women, South Australia, and National Vice President of National Council of Women Australia. About current issues women are facing, like how climate change is affecting women more than men, and why our society is allowing women to become invisible once they reach age 50. Here's Fiona.
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Fiona Doorman
I'm seeing a doorman on the president of the National Council of Women of South Australia and also the National Vice President of the National Council of Women Australia. But really, I mean, I have lots of roles in that area, but really it's because of my passion of human rights and gender equality. And I'm really very lucky to to use my skills and knowledge across a variety of roles.
00:01:09:19 - 00:01:34:18
Fiona Doorman
The Council has a really important, really important role in the community and has done for many years. We're about to turn 120 years old. And so over that entire time, we've been a voice for not just social issues, but issues internationally as well as locally and and federally. Looking at gender equality and in all its forms that have happened over the many, many decades.
00:01:34:18 - 00:01:45:14
Fiona Doorman
So for us, it's about advocacy. We wouldn't call it lobbying as such, but it is advocating for specific issues that really are about inequality that still exists in the world now.
00:01:45:21 - 00:01:50:06
Carley Bishop
We asked Fiona what the dominant themes are at the moment in regards to women's issues.
00:01:50:14 - 00:02:27:15
Fiona Doorman
It's a really interesting question about the dominant things at the moment, and we're just working through with our membership to understand what is really important. And of course, we've had elections at the state and the ancient and the national level recently, and we've had a great opportunity to talk about the breadth of issues that touch us all as women and women in all our diversity really high on the priority at the moment is housing, homelessness, public housing, and just having that security of having a roof over your head and and all that that means for you as it may be, a single woman and older woman, a woman with family or extended family, a woman
00:02:27:15 - 00:03:06:09
Fiona Doorman
from a diverse background. And also climate change is really emerging as a really significant issue. And the effect of climate on women specifically and there is internationally a recognition that climate and climate disasters affects women disproportionately to men. A really interesting topic at the moment. So you were saying a number of countries across the world and I suspect in many ways will be the same in Australia, that especially from countries where there is a high proportion of agricultural subsistence farming, when there might be a situation of climate disaster or climate change affecting the natural resources of the agricultural process.
00:03:07:17 - 00:03:35:16
Fiona Doorman
A lot of the women get left behind, know that they are the people on the field taking their produce to market and if that doesn't exist, then they can't provide for their family. And that really compounds the effects of poverty that might have been on the brink, harmful, already existing. So it is a really significant concern internationally. So climate change, we might not think that we can do much about it, but if we don't start now, if we don't do something now, then we never, never make that change.
00:03:36:06 - 00:03:42:03
Carley Bishop
We asked Fiona why she thinks disaster so often affects women disproportionately to men.
00:03:42:03 - 00:04:16:11
Fiona Doorman
And I think that's inherent to so many cultures across the world. So whether it might be Australia or it might be Nigeria, it might be an island nations in the Pacific. Women are really at the forefront of the caring role. So caring and frontline working roles, whether it's education or health care. So when all of these things happen, not only are their families affected and we've seen that expressly, haven't we, during the COVID pandemic, that women take on those caring roles at home, but we also have those roles in our communities.
00:04:16:11 - 00:04:26:01
Fiona Doorman
So it's that double whammy, really. Isn't that where where your frontline worker and your work is impacted and there's so much expectation and and compounded at home.
00:04:26:04 - 00:04:32:17
Carley Bishop
We asked Fiona how she feels about the issue of women becoming invisible from society once they reach age 50.
00:04:32:20 - 00:04:58:03
Fiona Doorman
Yeah, it's a really important discussion to have, actually, because any, any person, probably any young people I have small children going through different times of your life. You could never imagine that at some point you might start to disappear, your voice might start having less power, and eventually it might be the case that you become invisible to policymakers, lawmakers and in the community around you.
00:04:58:04 - 00:05:25:05
Fiona Doorman
So, I mean, certainly with the National Council of Women and my personal philosophy is that every single person's voice counts, doesn't matter what your age, your ability, your social or cultural background. It should be the case that we respect each person for their contribution or just simply for being at every stage of their life. And so it's a really important discussion to have because there does still exist.
00:05:25:05 - 00:05:44:02
Fiona Doorman
Of course, this still exists ageism, where people think about you differently. They expect that your contributions will be different or that your ideas might be not worthy or current. But it's so far from the truth. Everybody's set of experiences and help to inform every aspect of the work that you do.
00:05:44:13 - 00:05:51:21
Carley Bishop
We asked Fiona where she thinks society is going wrong. If a woman can go from being invincible to invisible almost overnight.
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Fiona Doorman
I wonder if there is a suddenness to it or if it's just so gradual that nobody can put their finger on it. And I wonder whether that might actually be the case. Of course, there's different points in so many people's lives, men and women and men and women in all the diversity where you might leave the workforce or you come for retirement or for family, or simply just to do something different with your life.
00:06:14:19 - 00:06:39:23
Fiona Doorman
Where if you're not engaging with different groups that are seen and I heard more than maybe you do get lost. And I think that it's a really important point, especially about this project, is to recognize and to start having those discussions and saying, how can we connect more? There are many cultures around the world that really connect with their with their older generations because they are valued.
00:06:39:23 - 00:07:16:23
Fiona Doorman
And I think having that discussion generally about how to value each and every person will mean that hopefully that doesn't happen. So it's a really exciting moment right now to to have this project in place so that we can see every single person's work and continue to count every person's voice equally. I've just returned from Avignon in France for the International Council of Women General Assembly, at which there were many countries from around the world and all national councils of women in their own countries representing at the International Council of Women General Assembly.
00:07:16:23 - 00:07:36:24
Fiona Doorman
And it was very exciting because Australia pitched to hold the 2025 General Assembly and we were successful in our beat. So we are looking forward to it in a few short years time. Welcoming women and communities from around the world to be in Australia to really talk about the issues that are ongoing and the issues of the future.
00:07:36:24 - 00:07:58:09
Fiona Doorman
We know we're thinking about issues for young women right now and even the children of the young women know this is really for our future generations of what we can put in place now to ensure that security and peace for the women and girls in the years to come. It's very exciting. Australia will be hosting. We're not sure what state in.
00:07:58:09 - 00:08:06:18
Fiona Doorman
Yes, but we'll really be looking forward to welcoming people from everywhere for that event.
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Carley Bishop
The Invisible Woman Project, funded by our Social Enterprises Impact Program, promotes awareness and actions for women and gender diverse people to age with dignity, security and safety. Find out more on just gold women dot net or on our socials at us gold women.
00:08:36:13 - 00:08:43:05
Kyriakos Gold
This was a just gold podcast. Find out more about our social enterprise at just Gold Dot Net.