‘Used against them’: Major issues facing Australian women

As she marks more than a year as Australia’s Sex Discrimination Commisioner, Dr Anna Cody explains why there’s still a lot more to do to achieve equality.

Australia’s sex discrimination commissioner Dr Anna Cody. Picture: Steven Chee for Stellar

Living and working in New York City remains a defining time in the life and career of human rights lawyer Dr Anna Cody, Australia’s Sex Discrimination Commissioner.

“I really enjoyed living in New York,” Cody tells Stellar of her stint in the early 2000s, when she worked at Manhattan’s Center for Economic and Social Rights.

During her two years as an adopted New Yorker, she attended speeches by prominent thinkers such as the late African American author and social critic bell hooks, who wrote The Will To Change. “The work was incredibly stimulating,” Cody recalls.

“The people you got to meet, the talks that were on all the time … very intellectually stimulating.”

In fact, just walking the streets of her neighbourhood in the East Village influenced her. “As soon as you were there, you were a New Yorker,” Cody recalls. “Everyone had an accent … No-one was asked, ‘Where are you from?’ It was just assumed you were a New Yorker, and I really liked that approach to life.”

Dr Anna Cody’s role as Australia’s Sex Discrimination Commissioner is about ‘creating a society where every woman can live free from fear, discrimination and harm’. Picture: Steven Chee for Stellar

During other periods abroad, Cody worked in countries as diverse as Mexico, El Salvador and East Timor. Every time, “working cross-culturally has had a big impact on me”, she tells Stellar.

Cody’s interest in human rights is reflected not only in her globe-hopping career, but also her academic resumé: she studied a law degree at the University of New South Wales, has a Master of Laws from Harvard Law School in the US, and a PhD. She has served as director of the Kingsford Legal Centre at UNSW and dean of the Western Sydney University law school, as well as chair of Community Legal Centres Australia and director of the NSW Legal Aid Commission Board and Advisory Committee of Law Access.

Her career has centred on advocating for women and more broadly fighting against discrimination, leading her to be appointed as the nation’s Sex Discrimination Commissioner in September 2023.

As she marks more than 12 months in the role, Cody reflects: “I’ve heard some really powerful stories of how women’s cultural or racial backgrounds get used against them by drawing on old stereotypes. Something we heard regularly was harassers trying to minimise what they have just said by saying ‘It’s just a joke, don’t you get the Australian sense of humour?’

“Listening to [women’s] experiences in hospitality has been really concerning,” she adds of recent exposés about sexual harassment in that industry.

Picture: Steven Chee for Stellar

“To meet incredibly strong, resilient women who have fought back [against sexual harassment] and tried to protect their co-workers, and who are trying to make our society fairer.”

The commissioner role falls under the Sex Discrimination Act 1984, a piece of legislation established by the Parliament of Australia that, Cody explains, “makes it against the law to treat someone less favourably on the basis of their sex, sexual identity, gender identity or sexuality”.

With the LGBTQIA+ community part of that purview, Cody supports the decision to include questions about sexual orientation and gender identity on the 2026 Census.

“We need to be able to measure the needs of every community and group,” she says.

At the core of Cody’s work is overseeing enquiries into the discrimination or less favourable treatment for women in particular.

That means “things that affect women on a daily basis, like domestic and family violence or sexual harassment at work, that we’re aware of what’s happening – and what needs to change in our society”.

Those issues are as relevant as ever, and particularly around the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, which was held in November. “For Australian women, this day is about recognising the deep-rooted inequalities that drive gender-based violence,” Cody says.

“And reaffirming our collective commitment to creating a society where every woman can live free from fear, discrimination and harm.”

To address these challenges, Cody is focused on safety for victim-survivors of domestic violence and ensuring they have better “access [to] refuges, to be able to get legal help from a community centre or legal aid – and how can we intervene, as well, for men who use violence,” she says.

“What are the steps we can take to prevent that? And what other ways that we can use to ensure they’re also stopped from continuing to use violence?”

While such issues are now more openly discussed, Cody admits there’s still a lot of stigma attached to domestic and family violence. “[There’s] a lack of understanding of how pervasive and how harmful it can be from a very early age,” she says.

“We hear of girls aged 15 or 16 who are experiencing violence in their first relationships – there’s still a lot of work to do in this area.”

With such a demanding day job, Cody finds balance through yoga and meditation. “I love to read – I’m a voracious reader. I have a strong family life with children. It’s really ifmportant to look after yourself.”

When Stellar asks for her advice to women today, Cody reflects: “Stand up against injustice, and connect with others”.

“Recognise that we have a shared humanity – even if someone seems different, try to find a point of connection with that person and think about what it is in our society that needs to change … and work towards that.”

If you or someone you know needs support, call 1800 737 732 or visit 1800respect.org.au. This article was originally published in Stellar. For more from Stellar and the podcast, Something To Talk About, click here.

Originally published as ‘Used against them’: Major issues facing Australian women