Gender impact assessments in rural and regional hospitals and councils

Executive summary

This report talks about how gender impact assessments (GIAs) are used in hospitals and councils in regional and rural areas. GIAs are tools for identifying and addressing gendered impacts. GIAs also consider how factors such as gender, race, and disability intersect.

The goal of the research was to find out what challenges there are and how things can improve. The Commission and Right Lane Consulting did the study between May and November 2024. The research is based on a framework by Right Lane Consulting, which looks at four main factors for success: capability, organisation, culture and ways of working, and enabling infrastructure. The framework helped shape the study, recommendations, and consultation.

The researchers heard from about 44% of councils and 30% of hospitals in regional and rural Victoria. They also consulted other relevant stakeholders. They ran a survey and held focus groups and interviews. The findings show that while there are good GIA practices happening, there are some challenges too. The report recommends actions that the Commission, councils and hospitals, and peak bodies should take.

Some strengths found in rural hospitals and councils are:

access to communities of practice to share and learn about GIAs
visits from the Commissioner that raise awareness about GIA requirements
leadership teams that understand the importance of gender equality and GIAs
tailored GIA resources made by other organisations that are helpful.

But there are also problems, like:

people don’t always know when or how to do GIAs, especially when considering how gender and other factors like disability intersect
there isn’t a clear system for managing GIAs and they are not embedded in daily work
hospitals and councils don’t have enough money or resources
leaders don’t always support GIAs or fully understand what GIAs require
GIA resources from the Commission are not easy to use or tailored.

Regional and rural hospitals and councils face unique challenges. They are far from big cities, so they don’t have easy access to training and support. It’s also harder for them to work with other groups and share ideas. Also, the local communities have different needs, like different cultures and economic issues, which makes doing GIAs harder.

The report suggests that the Commission should help councils and hospitals to do GIAs better by providing improved support and guidance. Regional and rural hospitals and councils can improve by: