Assistant Minister Ged Kearney knows firsthand what it takes to raise four children alone, and it’s exactly why she wants the next generation of mothers to have it easier. We might be able to “do it all” but should we really have to?

In this piece, she argues that if we’re serious about women’s health, we need to get serious about supporting Dads too,sharing the mental and physical load of parenting and building homes where women don’t have to carry so much on their own.

Elsewhere in politics, some excellent news out of Victoria today, with the Labor government pledging (pluckily) to make abortion care free, if re-elected.

In other news, the Crown Prosecutor hardly minced words when she described Russell Brand as a “ruthless, calculated and manipulative sexual predator” in her opening address at his trial on rape and sexual assault charges today. Here’s what else we know.

And, what can one of the world’s most respected human rights advocates teach us about leadership? Reflecting on Navi Pillay’s recent Nobel Peace Prize win, Ange Priestley explores why humility, integrity and a commitment to justice matter far more than ego or power. (Can someone send the memo to Trump?)

Finally, after five years of infertility and the heartbreak of miscarriage, Sharissa Wooldridge found herself in a very dark place. In this deeply personal story, she shares what supports helped her keep going, and why she hopes others facing mental health challenges know they don’t have to do it alone. (Partner Content)

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Tarla Lambert-Patel

Editor in Chief & Co-Founder

The Key Quote

He is a ruthless, calculated and manipulative sexual predator…To the defendant, women were simply a means to an end.

Barrister Riel Karmy-Jones KC

How the Crown Prosecutor has described British entertainer Russell Brand in her opening address at his trial for multiple sex offences on Wednesday. He is accused of three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault, and one count of indecent assault relating to six women over a 10-year period from 1999. He has pleaded not guilty to all seven charges.

On Women's Agenda Today

The Key Figure

Two thirds

The amount of Victorian women that pay out of pocket costs in the private system to access an abortion. Currently, surgical abortion can cost more than $1000, while medical abortions before nine weeks involving blood tests, ultrasounds and medication, can cost almost $7000 even with a Medicare card. The Victorian government has committed to making abortion care free by eliminating out-of-pocket costs across the state if it is re-elected next month, alongside changes to make access easier for regional women.

The win

A Sydney ceramics expert has helped reveal the secrets of the "world's oldest known" shipwreck off Türkiye's coast

Karin Sowada was asked to study the artefacts of the wreck after being contacted by the director of the excavation. The discovery was made in shallow waters off Kekova Island in the country's south and dates to the age of the Great Pyramid of Giza's construction, about 4,500 years ago. Dr Sowada said the pottery was likely from a trade ship that had crashed against the rocks, abandoned by sailors who had jumped overboard in a bid for survival. "I do think that we can say that this is the oldest shipwreck," she said. "A lot of time and effort has gone into trying to understand the dating of the shipwreck, which we can do through the ceramics."

On The Women's Agenda Podcast