Women's Health
Grampians
Annual Report
Women's Health
Grampians
Annual Report
Women's Health
Grampians
Annual Report
Welcome
Chair’s Report
Shani Cain
Chair
Our collective experience has shown that when women have the power to make their own choices, good things happen. –Madeleine Albright
I’m so pleased to present to you the 2023 Annual Report, my second as Chair of WHG. The pages ahead highlight the growth and expansion that has taken place, the commitment to diversity and inclusion embedded in our programs and the absolute dedication of staff and Board to improve the lives of women and gender diverse people in our region.
It was with great pride we “soft launched” our four-year Strategic Plan in February 2023. I believe it embeds our commitment to intersectionality and self-determination. Board members reflected that every word in the plan is considered and important. Our vision – A Gender Equal Society Where Everyone Can Flourish – is a simple but powerful aspiration.
The Board has also engaged strongly in the development of the WHG Reconciliation Action Plan which is close to completion and in design stages. A huge thank you to the internal staff team and external First Nations women who so meaningfully contributed to this process.
Following the news of our funding uplift in 2022, it has been a year of significant growth and excitement as we see the realisation of the uplift materialise. For the Board it is very rewarding to witness aspirational strategic goals coming to life. This growth has of course resulted in increased demands on governance, especially around risk and financial oversight, which I believe we have accommodated well. Our thanks go to our Accountant Jennifer Preston Associates for ensuring we are well informed and confident that finances are in order.
The Board maintained a strong focus on delivering good governance and took time away together during the year to work with Helga Svendsen to reflect on our roles and responsibilities and review our risk appetite to assist us in managing these with confidence. For a Board whose members are spread across a wide area, this is also a wonderful opportunity to connect in person and build relationships. Many of us feel our lives have become overwhelmingly busy in the aftermath of Covid but I’m proud of the leadership that Marianne, and the WHG Board, has continued to provide, focused on supporting a fantastic team and working for the best outcomes for women in our region.
I’m privileged to lead this Board of thoughtful, intelligent and passionate women and am always grateful for their support. Jennie Courtney has been a tremendous Deputy Chair and Onella Cooray took on the task of Treasurer with great diligence and care. We sadly bid farewell to some Board members during this year. Amy Rhodes finished her 6-year term in November 2022, Jessica Grimble did not re-nominate due to work demands but gave us over two years of commitment. Carly Myers stepped down after two years to take up a staff position and lastly, Di Thomson who after four years also stepped down due to new work commitments. We wish them all well in whatever comes next, thank them for their service and will continue to welcome them into WHG spaces wherever we can. We welcomed Sarah Jane Hall as a full member in November 2022 and also recruited two Board observers, Pauline Rogers and Peta Maskell who have since became full members.
I thank our growing membership, our staff and stakeholders for seeing us through the year and walking with us to improve gender equality in the Grampians.
CEO’s Report
Marianne Hendron
Chief Executive Officer
The key word that comes to mind in relation to WHG over the past twelve months would have to be growth. The increased funding we received for 2022-24 from the Victorian government has been well and truly put into action with a more than doubling of our staff. The new programs this has enabled, which you will read more about in these pages, are well aligned with our strategic plan and bolster the primary prevention workforce across the state. The growth unsurprisingly necessitated a restructure of staffing roles to ensure we have adequate support and resourcing in place. We now have a senior leadership team, along with additional administration capacity and extra coverage across the whole region. We are making do with space, assisted by hybrid working!
As well as the opportunity to deliver more effectively, the uplift has also led to strong collaboration with government as we work together to refine our guidelines and develop a robust evaluation framework, with targets and measures that demonstrate the impact of our work and its benefits for the whole community. Other key regional partnerships continue to be supported including the Grampians Public Health Unit who along with Community Health and local government work with us in advocating for our region’s health needs and delivering for public health and wellbeing. The CoRE Leadership Group continues to provide invaluable support and vision in prevention of gendered violence, we are the now in the eighth year of the Alliance.
Women’s Health Services across the state continue to work closely together, collaborating on projects, collective advocacy and shared strategic vision and goals through the Women’s Health Services Network, our motto being ‘Stronger Together’. A very tangible example of this was the development of ‘Small Change, Big Impact: Women’s Health Services Network Collective Impact Report’ which captures the combined impact of the women’s health sector to advance Victorian women’s health and equality – a key part of Victoria’s public health infrastructure for four decades.
The post Covid environment is still playing out in various ways, including on mental health and wellbeing. We were given the opportunity to participate in a pilot health safety and wellbeing program called PERMAH, auspiced by Family Safety Victoria. This provided insights into issues that were a source of stress or concern for staff in the workplace and identified strategies to address these.
I cannot speak highly enough of the WHG Team, they are a passionate, committed, professional and supportive group focussed on progressing the needs of women and communities across the Grampians. It’s a privilege to work with them. I also express my gratitude to the WHG Board, and our Chair Shani Cain, who lead with vision and commitment. Their workload has also increased with the extra demands on governance that this year has brought and they have risen to the challenge.