Australia Day Honours: Where are the women?

Only two of the 23 Australia Day Honours in the Jewish community went to women. MELINDA JONES discusses how to address this inequity.

As a Jewish women's group dedicated to promoting gender equality for the past 100 years, the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJWA) is disheartened by the recent Australia Day Honours list. Only two of 23 awards given to members of the Jewish community were given to women.

This constitutes a mere 9% of the Jewish recipients and is a clear indication that, despite progress in other areas, there is still much work to be done in terms of promoting gender equality within the Australian Jewish community.

The inclusion of Jewish women in the Australia Day Honours has been similarly lacklustre for a number of years. In 2021, only three of 22 awards to Jewish recipients were given to women, and in 2020, the number was two out of 21. This trend is concerning and raises important questions about the barriers preventing Jewish women from being recognised for their achievements.

Notably, the failure to acknowledge women’s contribution in the Jewish community is out of step with the general trend. The percentage of overall female recipients grew slightly in 2023, up two percent on the previous year to 48%. This is the highest percentage of female Order of Australia recipients since the introduction of the Australian honours system in 1975 and is approaching a just and proportional representation of women in the population.

The low representation of Jewish women in the Australia Day Honours highlights a broader issue within the Jewish community. Women continue to face significant challenges in reaching leadership positions and being recognised for their contributions. Plus 61J Media’s survey of the NSW community last year and the ACJC survey in Victoria the previous year showed women still face bullying, exclusion and harassment. This is despite the fact that the Jewish community has a rich history of female trailblazers and leaders who have made a significant impact in a variety of fields.