On Thursday, October 21, Dr Niki Vincent attended an online forum to discuss the structural issues of gender equality in the Wimmera, with various women from across the region in attendance.

Dr Vincent spoke with the women, who shared stories on how a lack of childcare options disadvantaged their career and family life.

She also spoke about the role of the Gender Equality Commissioner and how to drive change in a rural setting.

Dr Vincent said it was an "extraordinary" meeting, which improved her understanding of women's issues unique to regional Australia.

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"We talked about the really rigid gender stereotypes in rural areas about what is perceived as women's work and what is men's work," she said.

"All of the women spoke about going to events, parties and functions and there are all of the men in one area usually drinking and partaking in activities, and then all of the women are in another looking after the kids.

"They are doing all of the emotional labour, the cooking, the cleaning. They are the designated drivers and they do lots of volunteer work in the community. There is no childcare support for them to have careers."

In one specific example, Dr Vincent heard how a mother from Edenhope was forced to forego participation in the workplace due to a lack of child daycare options in the town.

She said the Gender Equality Commission was looking to collect similar stories and data to gain insight into the challenges facing regional women - which will be published in a report in 2022.

"Ruralness is a compounding factor to inequality. I think that is probably the most powerful statement. It is a beautiful dot point of what I came to understand in this forum," she said.

"I think what was obvious from today, is that if you haven't got childcare you are so restricted. You can't work unless you have got family members who can support you with childcare.

"A lot of people talked about their grandparents lived a long way away. If there is no childcare you will not be able to have a career when your kids are small.

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"That means a huge amount of years out of what is mostly women's careers.

"It shouldn't be a women's problem, it should be a problem for families and all genders, but because of the rigid gender stereotypes and expectations that I have heard about in regional areas, it means that it is mostly a problem for women in regional areas."

Federation University's Dr Cathy Tichler hosted the event, which built upon her earlier research into the "market failure" to provide adequate childcare for the region.

She said it was great to see Dr Vincent show an interest in regional women's issues, and hoped to work towards some investment into structural issues into the future.

"The event went well, I think it was a really good opportunity to showcase how rural communities can be different and how our opportunities for change are different too," she said.

"A key issue for us was to make sure the differences for rural communities are understood.

"We are really excited by Dr Vincent's willingness to explore rural issues independently because we think that will give us a picture of some of the differences that can happen in rural communities."

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