Systems Change

Global Sisters works at a direct programmatic level to “beat the odds” and a systems change level to “change the odds” for women experiencing barriers to economic participation and security.

Impact Roadmap

Women’s Economic Security

Systems Change Impact Domains

Global Sisters exists to remove barriers to women’s economic security. As described above, our direct “programs support women to participate economically and improve their financial resilience through self-employment. The barriers to women’s economic security are rarely personal circumstances, but rather a complex web of government, corporate, and societal structures, systems, beliefs, and practices that hold women back.

Systems change is “shifting the conditions that are holding the problem in place” (Social Innovation Generation).

Global Sisters has four systems change interventions that are integrated to our Impact Roadmap© that will shift the dial on the foundational conditions for women’s economic security: 1.Financial security, 2. Housing security, 3.Health & Wellbeing and 4. Recovery from Violence.

This diagram illustrates, at a high level, our four Systems Change Impact Domains and how we will shift the conditions that are preventing women’s economic security.

Systems Change Strategic Priorities

Global Sisters has 4 strategic systems change interventions:

Priority 1

Welfare Reform for women’s self-employment

Reforming the welfare system to support women’s employment in micro business. Create evidence base for welfare reform via three demonstration projects.

Demonstration Projects:

1 Solo Mums on Parenting Payments (national)
2 Women with disabilities (national)
3 Women on Government Payments who have experienced violence (Geelong, Victoria)

Evidence Base & Advocacy:

• Collect evidence base
• Continue policy change advocacy

Priority 2

Women’s Financial Pathways

Women’s Business Financial Education and Financial Product & Service Pathways

Creating a pathway to economic security for women in micro business. Enabling access to affordable, appropriate business financial education and financial products and services designed with women in micro business in mind.

Focus on:

1 Bank partnership for micro business loan product
2 Mortgage product (for Little Green Houses for Her and all Sisters)
3 Superannuation, savings or investment product
4 Financial Advice

Priority 3

Housing ownership for women

Little Green Houses for Her

Pilot: Access to home ownership via affordable housing and accessible finance designed for solo, low-income women. Micro community model with two single mother, and older woman household on one block with small houses and individual land titles.
Pilot the Little Green Houses for Her in 2 regional sites with 6-8 houses in total.
Develop the scale model for replication all over Australia.

Read about our:
Little Green Houses pilot

Visit our:
Little Green Houses website

Priority 4

economic Recovery from Violence

Health and wellbeing recovery from violence

This action R&D project aims to determine the necessary health & wellbeing support for women and their children to achieve recovery from violence. Recognise the effects of DFV on women’s health and wellbeing – and establish the link with its long-term economic impact for women. The goal of this research is to establish the networks and support needed to get women back on their feet. Recognising the period of time where women are prohibited from economic participation (system barriers that are being encountered that are stopping women from economically participating) during this period of their life.

Systems Change Strategy Paper

demonstration projects

For Priority 1 – Welfare Reform for Women’s Self-Employment

Global Sisters is leading 3 major programs of work in collaboration with Government, Philanthropy and Corporate Australia. These projects are demonstration projects with direct and systems change outcomes. Through this work we can collect the evidence base and proof of concept to create lasting systems change that will not only make women’s micro business a genuine alternative to underemployment and unemployment but support women’s long-term economic security and ability to break cycles of poverty, prevent homelessness, stay out of DFV and improve their mental health & wellbeing. The purpose, outcomes and expected impact of each of these programs of work are described below.