In 2014, after 40 years of production, the Commonwealth government stopped producing the Women’s Budget Statement. The absence of gender-based analysis which defines the ways in which public policies affect women & men differently through the systematic use of data is a travesty.

This gap has been dutifully – and voluntarily – filled each year since 2014 by the @NFAWomen A team of 36 subject matter specialists work – voluntarily – to produce the NFAW Gender Lens in the days & weeks after the Budget is handed down.

That the most expert, detailed analysis of the budget’s impact on women compiled outside government is exclusively undertaken by a team of female volunteers, all of whom juggle other jobs & various caring responsibilities, is telling and shocking.

When you consider that –on average– each of these women will be undertaking 2/3rds of the unpaid care work in their respective domains & earning 14% less than their male peers, that they're willing to do this critically important, substantive work FOR FREE is pretty gobsmacking.

This year, overall, the experts believe the budget is a lost opportunity for women with the failure to invest in a care led recovery - in Aged Care, Disability Care and Child Care - particularly disappointing.

But it doesn’t stop there. It illustrates a compelling alternative. The @NFAWomen recommendations are comprehensive & illustrate the scale of initiatives & policies needed to make a meaningful difference in the lives of Australian women. https://womensagenda.com.au/latest/the-expert-detailed-analysis-of-the-budgets-impact-on-women-is-here-its-not-pretty/