Winning for Women

What was it like to be involved in the heady days of ‘second wave’ feminism in Australia, when the role of women at home and at work changed decisively?

Iola Mathews was one of the founders of the Women’s Electoral Lobby, a journalist at The Age, and later a leading ACTU advocate for women workers during the ‘Accord’ with the Hawke-Keating Government. She was one of the first generation of women trying to ‘have it all’ with a career and children.

In this honest and revealing memoir, she takes us inside the day-to-day groundwork required to bring about reforms in areas like affirmative action, equal pay, superannuation, childcare, parental leave and work-family issues. This is an important record of a pivotal time for women in Australia’s history. Iola brings wisdom and experience to it, reflecting on where we are today, with suggestions for further reform. It’s a vital source for policy makers and all those interested in women, work and families.

About the Author

Iola Mathews is a former Age journalist, author, and a founder of the Womens Electoral Lobby. Later she worked at the ACTU as an industrial officer and advocate, specialising in womens employment, for which she was awarded an Order of Australia Medal. She was the advocate in the parental leave case and equal pay cases for child care workers and clerical workers. More recently, she established writers studios in the National Trust property Glenfern in East St Kilda. She lives in Melbourne with her husband, Dr Race Mathews.