An Uncertain Future for Women as we Wind Down from IWD

This week I caught up with a friend who is in her mid 50's, a creative who sews and works three jobs related to her craft to survive. Money and stability came up in the conversation, as it usually does when I speak with other creatives who understand the hustle to survive.

Like myself, my friend is worried about where she will be financially in five to ten years due to a number of factors in our government, which is creating a divide between the well off and the middle class. We live in a country where having a roof over our heads is a luxury, as is earning an income that allows us to eat well and afford basic health cover. Attaining a full time or steady job without a qualification is tough and means that you risk being unemployed for long period of time and forced onto welfare or you take on a job which can't guarantee you longevity or stability. A scary thought for us middle class creatives.

This week I attended a local International Women's Day event held by the City of Port Phillip to celebrate women from all walks of life, the motto for the night and IWD this year is Be Brave for Change. This term 'bold' is something that women must be to make change and be a voice that will be listened to.

What stuck with me besides that inspirational motto was what guest speaker Haleh Homaei, who works for the Community Housing Commission of Australia, chose to base her conversation around. It brought up some staggering statistics about the current situation Australian women are facing due to lack of support in many sectors, which makes women over 50 years old a large part of the homelessness percentage pie.

According to the Homelessness Australia website, and I quote directly, recent research suggests that there are a growing number of older single women who are experiencing homelessness for the first time later in life. For many of this group, a lack of financial resources and assets has meant that they are unable to sustain their housing. Reasons identified from the research included: being forced out of the workforce early, having insufficient superannuation/savings to fund the costs of living, discrimination in the housing market, the death of an income earning spouse, poor health or serious illness often resulting directly or indirectly from abuse, and separation/divorce. (i)

I turned 36 in January and a couple of weeks ago I quit the first stable part time job I have had in who knows how long. I did so for a few reasons which include my health, both mentally and physically. My body has been fighting the fact that as a filmmaker and a writer I sit on a chair for a long period of time writing and producing my projects, which has caused me to sustain a reoccurring back muscle strain. Coupled with my part time job which had me sitting in a bad chair for long periods, this was very painful.

The other reasons were more obvious, I quit to keep following my dreams. As La La Land the movie would declare, I am one of those fools who dares to dream. I am a writer and a filmmaker, not a Showroom Consultant who enjoys going to work and helping customers with their product orders. I don't enjoy customer service and the verbal abuse and stress that comes with the job was killing me, so I refused to be unhappy any longer.

While I worked my part time gig I would day dream about my film project Daughter, which I am very much passionate about and want to push into the education department Australia wide with the hope to start discussion on gendered violence and victim blaming in our society. Now that is a bold step for change.

I felt frustrated because I had no time to dedicate to my creative projects, so I quit my un-creative job to work on pushing Daughter and to also work on a two month feature film contract which came along. Having time to write my blogs regularly and develop my short stories I want to get published one day was another aspect of my creativity I wanted to spend time on.

Beats what I was doing last month hands down, however freelancing is not for the timid.

With my decision came the anxiety of not knowing where I will be working after this film gig. How will I pay rent when my money runs out? How will I eat and what if I need more physio on my shoulder or basic doctor and dental visits, how will I fund these basic needs? Will I become dependent on my husband? Looking into the future, in 10 years if I find myself unemployed will my Superannuation be enough for a comfy retirement or some sort of retirement at all? Will I end up homeless due to these factors?

Unfortunately these questions are ones that so many people, including women my age and more so my friends age ask themselves often.

My situation wasn't always like this, I once worked full time hours in a casual job and was making money and saving at a rapid rate, enough so that in my mid twenties I had savings for a deposit on a home. However as a single woman working casually I was not eligible for home-loan due to not having guaranteed hours. I was also miserable, so I decided to, at 31 years old 'come out' as an artist and live the dream. The dream, 5 years on has me broke most months but personally content and kicking goals in my field, even though I am not making a ton of money.

I have accepted that my husband and I will never own a home, we will probably rent for the rest of our lives, unless someone buys out one of our production companies films and it magically happens to turn our lives around. The way I look at is that what I do have right now is a blessing compared to most.

With the Australian governments recent cuts to penalty rates for and homelessness on the rise, practically for women who are seeking assistance in droves, according to Jenny Smith, CEO of the Council to Homeless Persons Australia, (ii) there really is a lot for women to worry about. A troubling reality as we finish off celebrating International Women's Day, but a social problem that together as a society we can work on to make change now that we are aware that there is an issue to address.

References -

(i)http://www.homelessnessaustralia.org.au/images/publications/Fact_Sheets/Homelessness_and_Older_People.pdf

(ii)https://probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2017/03/two-three-people-seeking-homelessness-help-women/