Our Story
From 1985 to Now
Forty years of feminist progress. And we’re just getting started.
Looking Back
Our Origins
In 1985, the Cain Government made a gift to the women of Victoria: $1 million. These funds led to the founding of the Victorian Women’s Trust. It was the first organisation of its kind in Australia, and globally. Over four decades on, it remains one of the few independent feminist organisations in the country with the scale, history and infrastructure to take on the big questions.
Fiercely Independent
From the beginning, independence was the point. Not aligned to government, not beholden to corporate interests. Free to follow the evidence, speak plainly, and back the causes that matter — even when they’re inconvenient.
Where we started
Our very first initiative set the tone. In the late 1980s, VWT convinced commercial banks to change their lending practices, making credit available to women to start their own enterprises without the obligation of a male guarantor. A practical intervention, a feminist one, and a sign of what was to come.
In the decades that followed, VWT explored every avenue available to it: public events bringing women together across generations; publications that broke the mould; policy submissions to government; podcasts, films and research; social change grant-making; and a relentless focus on women’s safety and their right to live free from violence and abuse.
Ideas. Effort. Delivery.
Where we are now
The work is far from finished. One woman a week is killed by a current or former partner. Women still carry the majority of unpaid work. Older women are the fastest growing group experiencing homelessness. The gender pay gap persists across every sector. These are not peripheral concerns — this is unfinished business.
VWT exists because women, girls and gender diverse people deserve an organisation that is willing to name it, research it, fund it, and act on it. Independently, persistently, and with care.
What can independent action achieve over 40 years?
1985
Our Community Grants Program
2024
Madam Speaker
2001
Ordinary Women, Extraordinary Lives
2013
Credit Where Credit is Due
So that in this lifetime we will be:
- equally paid for the same work
- safe on the streets and in our homes
- equally represented in our parliament and leadership positions
- in charge of our own bodies
- free to live the full breadth of our lives, without fear
