By Janette Bedwell
Women’s contact officer

Breaking the bias

Term 1 is over, and what a term it was. We celebrated International Women’s Day on Tuesday 8 March, with our members sharing how they “Break the Bias”. We heard stories from both sides of our educational settings – schools and TAFE.

I wanted to share a couple of the wonderful stories that were sent into us. We had staff standing up in a meeting to stop a fellow female teacher from being targeted – an unnerving experience but very necessary and we congratulate them for their strength of conviction – as well as Natalie Yan, the women’s contact officer at South Metropolitan TAFE Thornlie, who created an emergency menstrual hygiene pack. These are just a couple of examples of how our members stand up and push back against established gender biases.

Get to know your women’s contact officer

Term 2 has only just begun and the plan this term is for me, as your women’s contact officer (pictured top right), to get out and about and start meeting you all. I have sent out invitations and been invited to several schools already, I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible.

If you would like me to come out to your school, then feel free to send me an email and we can arrange a visit.

Scholarships news

Lynette Virgona Scholarship – The annual scholarship of $1,500 will be available to assist a member of the SSTUWA to take up training or professional development opportunities to develop their own skills and abilities in the areas of student behaviour and/or instructional strategies.

Anna Stewart Memorial Project – Each year the Anna Stewart Memorial Project is coordinated by UnionsWA. The first project was held in Victoria in 1984 and in Western Australia in 1986. Over the week, participants see how unions are organised, become involved in current union issues and campaigns and visit workplaces. The emphasis is on practical experiences – seeing the union in action rather than reading or hearing about it in theory.

Keep an eye on eNews for opening dates (mid-2022) and more information on the above scholarships.

Rosemary Richards Scholarship – The applications closed on Friday 6 May for the Rosemary Richards Scholarship. We congratulate the winner of this scholarship and look forward to hearing about her exciting project. For those who are not aware, Rosemary Richards was a proud feminist, unionist and educator. A trailblazing leader, she was committed to advancing gender equality across the AEU. The scholarship in her name continues her legacy by building the capacity of women as activists and leaders. The scholarship is available yearly – check out the scholarship information on our website for further details.

Please feel free to email me at jbedwell@sstuwa.org.au if you have any questions, concerns or if you’d like to meet for a chat!