‘Historic opportunity’ for gender equality warrior Kate Jenkins

Kate Jenkins had one simple message to the powerful men gathered to hear her — you must stand shoulder to shoulder with women to challenge gender inequality.

Turning theories into action … Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins. Picture: Aaron Francis

Kate Jenkins had one simple message to the powerful men gathered to hear from her — this cannot be about riding your white stallion to rescue helpless women. It must be about standing shoulder to shoulder with women to challenge gender inequality.

As Victoria’s Equal Opportunity Commissioner, Jenkins tapped two dozen of the nation’s most influential male bosses from ­gaming, banking, government and even policing to become Male Champions of Change.

At the time, the high-powered recruits included NAB’s Andrew Thorburn, Australia Post’s Ahmed Fahour, Crown’s Rowan Craigie, AFL’s Gill McLachlan, Court of Appeal President Chris Maxwell, Toll’s Brian Kruger, Australian Super’s Ian Silk, PwC’s Luke Sayers, Victoria’s top public servant Chris Eccles and Victoria’s police commissioner Ken Lay.

That was back in 2015, and even though she was just a state-based agent of change, through skill and grit she was already ­influencing the national debate by convincing these private and ­public sector chiefs to act.

Jenkins has been dealing with the toxic scourge of sexual harassment and gender inequality for decades, firstly as a partner at Freehills and later as the VEOC. It’s almost as if her life’s work was preparing her for this moment.

As the nation’s Sex Discrimination Commissioner at a time of unprecedented community focus — in large part because of the courage of former Liberal staffer and alleged rape victim Brittany Higgins — Jenkins acknowledges she has a historic opportunity.

“In Aus­tralia, it has been a slow build, rather than an immediate ‘we have to fix this’ ­moment,” she says. “Men and women are starting to recognise that this is systemic and continuing.

“I think we’re at a tipping point. More and more people are understanding that our society isn’t equal, particularly for women. More men in positions of power are finally seeing the ­issues and recognising them as being both unjust and also not good for our community.

“This creates the moment for us to do some things — to build to a point where the corporate world recognises that gender equality is good for business and good for society.

“The political world, across the parties, recognises that this is something that is important for society. And the community, through marches and so on, also recognises that.

“You add that up and that gets us to a tipping point where we can make the changes and bring people along.”

On Thursday, Scott Morrison released the federal government’s response to her earlier review of sexual harassment in the workforce. Now Jenkins’ next job is to fix the toxic workplace of federal parliament.

She describes parliaments as risky environments for women. “There are a lot of risk factors in how parliaments are constructed and work that create an increased risk of sexual harassment and possibly sexual assault,” she says.

“Things like power at the highest levels, men still holding most of the senior roles, insecure or temporary work that goes on the election cycle or the minister, and fly-in, fly-out arrangements.

“It’s like a 22-week annual conference. The idea you’re away from home, you don’t have the supports, you’ve got drinking, socialising, and the press gallery looking over the top,” she says.

Jenkins agrees that parliament is lagging the community when it comes to tackling gender issues. “The community conversation has really influenced the political leaders, and I think that is really encouraging,” she says.

As commissioner, she has ­displayed a rare skill to blend ­theories about tackling gender ­inequality with practical answers to deliver real operational and cultural change.

Women’s economic security, the gender pay gap, retirement savings gap, everyday sexism, sexual harassment, flexible work, and workplace responses to domestic violence were all on the top of her agenda, as she led the Male Champions of Change program.

AFL chief executive Gill McLachlan occasionally reaches out to Jenkins, who spent three years as a director of the Carlton Football Club, to help him steer the AFL through its gender issues. Clearly, he is a big Jenkins fan.

“She is able to understand the broader issue and overlay the ­theory with the practical issues. She is unbelievably well positioned to take the ball forward ­because of that balance,” he says.

Former Australia Post chief Ahmed Fahour says this of her: “She is not a do-gooder as a woman working in a woman’s area. She is highly educated, incredibly well equipped with both social and moral understanding, but also an understanding of the legal framework of our country.

“She has an ability to translate the issue into practical actions, the ability to talk to somebody and convince them that this is good for society and good for them, and good for the people who work for them,” he says.

Elizabeth Broderick, sex discrimination commissioner from 2007 to 2015, says sexual harassment has always been a focus of the commissioners, and it was daunting seeing the huge number of “dust-covered” files of complaints when she took on the role.

“Sometimes a moment in time comes when the culture shifts, and there’s no better example than now when the whole context has shifted,” she says. “We’re in a different moment now and the nation is galvanised in a way it wasn’t when I did that work.

“I’ve loved seeing subsequent commissioners thrive. I’ve loved seeing Kate thrive as she leads one of the most important reviews this country has ever seen.”

Pru Goward, who preceded Broderick and went on to become a senior minister in the Berejiklian government, says she too is heartened by the “big mental shift” of the recent months.

She remembers a time in the not-so-distant past when female rape victims were probed about their sexual history and asked what they were wearing on the night of their assault when being cross-examined in court.

“I sometimes feel disappointed when young feminists call us out for not speaking out ­before, but the support was not the same,” she says. “These young women have been very brave, particularly Ms Higgins, and fortunately they have been well supported as they should be and should have always been. The scab has finally been picked.”