The Oct-Nov 2015 British First Film Festival includes pre-screening of the new movie "Suffragette" due for release on Boxing Day.  This is your opportunity to be one of the first to view this compelling movie set in the UK before it is released on 26th December 2015.  Check details for your city.

I was lucky enough to share with other 21st Century Suffragettes of Perth at a special screening on Wednesday.  The movie is both powerful and humbling but most of all an inspiration to continue the work done by these dis-empowered yet stoic and feisty women who paved the way for many of the benefits we enjoy today. Don't miss it!

Families struggling to access childcare and who require more flexible arrangements can apply to participate in the Australian Government's new Nanny Pilot Program.

The two-year pilot will begin in 2016 and provide fee assistance to help eligible familes with the cost of using a nanny in their family home.

This is a great opportunity for parents, particularly those who live away from existing child care, or those who work shifts - like police officers, nurses, firefighters and other emergency workers, or those in the hospitality industry.

Families are eligible if they earn less than $250,000, both parents (or in the case of a sole parent family, the sole parent) work, train or study at least eight hours per fortnight, and at least on parent is an Australian citizen or permanent resident.

Families have until 5pm AEDT on 5 November 2015 to apply.

To find out whether you're eligible and to apply, go to www.dss.gov.au/nannypilot.

The national gender pay gap for 2015 stands at 17.9%. It has hovered between 15% and 19% for the past two decades and has been resilient to change in the 21st Century!. The gap is calculated annually by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency using the Australian Bureau of Statistics' labour force data: it is the difference between women’s and men’s average weekly full-time equivalent earnings, expressed as a percentage of men’s earnings.

WGEA also nominates the annual Equal Pay Day,  this year as 4 September. This means that if women work seven days a week from 1 July 2015 to 4 September 2015, they will catch up with the pay earned by men in the previous financial year.

BPW Australia has partnered with the ACTU and eS4W to initiate the Equal Pay Alliance. The Equal Pay Alliance represents Australian employer and employee organisations, including business, union and community groups who have joined together to pursue practical action to ensure women’s work is properly valued and that decades of inequity are brought to an end.There are now more than 50 member groups who have joined to take action for women's equality at work, on boards, and in leadership.

Find out more about Equal Pay Day, the Equal Pay Alliance and how you too can make a difference at http://www.equalpayday.com.au. 

It is with great pleasure that BPW Australia congratulates BPW Cessnock's President, committee members and other club members  on achieving their 60^th anniversary.

The longitude of a club depends so much on the commitment, enthusiasm and plain hard work of its managing committees and its members, and so to achieve a 60 year  milestone is a credit to all those who have contributed to the club over the decades. We particularly wish to thank Miss Mary Campbell who has been a member of BPW Cessnock since its foundation year, and to acknowledge the significance of such long term commitment to the club and to BPW nationally and internationally. After all, even at the local level BPW efforts reach out across Australia and globally.

Forwarding the report from Arzu Oryol,  BPWI Vice President UN which includes BPW's activity at the recent UNESCO Forum in Paris.

Susan Jones
BPW Asia-Pacific

Economic Security 4 Women have published a succinct summary of how the budget affects women today and in the future. It includes Family & Jobs Package, Education & Training, Retirement Savings, Small Business, Employment, Housing & Homelessness and Violence Against Women.

Click here to read more.

• Last weekend, 78 BPW Australia members representing every BPW Club, plus four past National Presidents, gathered in Adelaide for the Leadership Summit
• The conference room was resplendent with new club banners in fresh branding lining the walls and Clubs went home with a new banner from BPW Australia 
• Delegates at the Special Conference voted to support the National Board’s actions in filling vacancies in between conferences 
• Fast-paced discussion groups generated good ideas for policy action and the workshop summaries will be circulated next week followed by detailed reports on the website in the coming weeks
• Keynote speaker Sarah-Jayne Flatters from Trade Up Australia inspired members
• The new website was launched and members were enthusiastic about the changes and new functionality for club management
• Members celebrated the day's success with a dinner and a fun BPW Quiz night
• Congratulations all round went to BPW Adelaide for hosting a great event and arranging a venue with excellent service from the management and staff

The Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, announced yesterday that his Government would develop a family policy and a family package focussed on childcare. BPWA welcomes the announcement and also advocates for the continued government supported scheme for paid parental leave that separates its funding from the individual workplace. Support for improvements in access to high quality childcare for all Australian families should not detract from properly funded parental leave. BPWA welcomes any investment in childcare as a career pathway for women, the increase in qualifications and higher wages for staff that should lead to increased satisfaction of employees, retention of quality staff and reduced turnover. However, concerns continue about the restrictive nature of childcare options and we advocate for careful consultation by the Government in developing the new policy and family package.