Established in 2013, the Fay Marles Equal Opportunity Sub-Fund honours the leadership and legacy of Victoria’s first Equal Opportunity Commissioner, Fay Marles AM. Following the passing of the Victorian Equal Opportunity Act in 1977, Fay was appointed as the first Commissioner that same year. For the next decade, she led the way in implementing reform on anti-discrimination, enabling women to take their place more equally in our workplaces and our community.

This fund continues her work by supporting projects that provide leadership training to increase young women’s working knowledge of equal opportunity legislation, structures, and processes. It fosters research that strengthens knowledge of gaps in equal opportunity legislation, with a view to systemic improvement and policy change, while supporting education and engagement on these critical issues in workplaces, organisations, and the broader community.