Category: Popular Culture, Women & the Creative Economy

Examining how gender, identity, and women’s work play out in the media, arts, and the broader creative industries.

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Arts & Culture Creative Business & Leadership Creative Capital Creative Survival Economic Independence & Women's Enterprise In Real Life | IRL. Innovation & Ideas Insight Intermission Legacy & History Popular Culture, Women & the Creative Economy Power & Privilege Smart News Stories The Almanac The Architecture of Women's Health The Future of Women's Work: Creative, Economic & Cultural Power The Reading Shelf Wellness Work & Money

Certification Is What Creates a Workforce

Australia’s creative sector is stalled not because of funding scarcity, but because no national certification system exists to turn practitioners into a recognised workforce. Using national data, this article explains why certification — not grants — is the foundation of a functioning creative economy, and how the CWA model provides the missing infrastructure.

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Creative Business & Leadership Creative Health & Wellbeing Creative Survival Economic Independence & Women's Enterprise Health In Real Life | IRL. Insight Intermission Legacy & History Popular Culture, Women & the Creative Economy Power & Privilege Science & Research Smart News Stories The Almanac The Architecture of Women's Health The Future of Women's Work: Creative, Economic & Cultural Power The Reading Shelf Wellness Work & Money

The High-Performance Load of Women

Women operate at elite-performance load every day while systems continue treating their strain as personal pathology. This evidence-based analysis exposes how society gives men high-performance infrastructure and gives women diagnostic questionnaires—and why systemic accountability can no longer be avoided.

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Blogs Creative Health & Wellbeing Creative Spark Creative Survival Field Notes, Observations & Case Studies Health In Real Life | IRL. Innovation & Ideas Insight Intermission Play Popular Culture, Women & the Creative Economy Smart News Stories The Almanac The Architecture of Women's Health The Future of Women's Work: Creative, Economic & Cultural Power The Reading Shelf Wellness

If Life Were Golf, Women Would Be Starting Four Suburbs Back

A humorous, relatable exploration of the Domestic Load Handicap (DLH) — a new model that uses real-world data to measure the domestic and mental load carried by women. This piece reframes women’s overwhelm as a predictable structural outcome, not a personal weakness, highlighting how DLH can transform women’s health, economic security, and daily life.

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Creative Business & Leadership Creative Capital Creative Survival Economic Independence & Women's Enterprise Field Notes, Observations & Case Studies In Real Life | IRL. Innovation & Ideas Insight Intermission Legacy & History Popular Culture, Women & the Creative Economy Power & Privilege Smart News Stories The Almanac The Future of Women's Work: Creative, Economic & Cultural Power Wellness Work & Money

This Is Not a Workforce Gap — It’s an Abyss

A national data review shows that 76% of unpaid labour performed by women creates an unmeasured economic abyss rather than a workforce gap. The CWA argues that Australia’s largest structural deficit is invisible creative and care labour, and proposes a certified creative workforce to transform and formalise this missing sector

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Arts & Culture Creative Business & Leadership Creative Capital Creative Survival Creativity Economic Independence & Women's Enterprise Field Notes, Observations & Case Studies Historical Contributions & Women's Science In Real Life | IRL. Innovation & Ideas Insight Intermission Legacy & History Popular Culture, Women & the Creative Economy Power & Privilege Smart News Stories The Almanac The Future of Women's Work: Creative, Economic & Cultural Power Wellness Work & Money

Australia’s Creative Economy Is Running on Empty

Australia’s creative economy is being held back by the collapse of its textile manufacturing base. With less than 1% of apparel textiles milled onshore and no national provenance certification, Australia risks losing its cultural, economic, and creative sovereignty. A real creative economy requires structure, manufacturing, and protected provenance — not symbolic celebration days.

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Creative Capital Creative Survival Economic Independence & Women's Enterprise In Real Life | IRL. Innovation & Ideas Insight Intermission Popular Culture, Women & the Creative Economy Power & Privilege Smart News The Architecture of Women's Health The Future of Women's Work: Creative, Economic & Cultural Power Wellness Work & Money

Not a Hobby Course.

Australia has 0% national certification for creative work, despite women forming the majority of creative and care-based labour. Global evidence from UNESCO, WHO, and WEF shows that creative practice requires structured pathways and professional accreditation to become a recognised workforce. The Creative Women’s Association proposes a national certification model to address this systemic gap.

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Creative Business & Leadership Creative Capital Creative Health & Wellbeing Creativity Economic Independence & Women's Enterprise Health In Real Life | IRL. Innovation & Ideas Insight Intermission Popular Culture, Women & the Creative Economy Power & Privilege Smart News The Future of Women's Work: Creative, Economic & Cultural Power Work & Money

Australia Has 0% Creative Workforce Standards

Australia is the only major economy with 0% national standards for its creative workforce, leaving creative practitioners without accreditation, pathways, or structural support. The Creative Women’s Association introduces Australia’s first national framework for creative excellence, transforming creativity into a recognised and accredited professional field.

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Creative Business & Leadership Creative Capital Creative Survival Economic Independence & Women's Enterprise In Real Life | IRL. Popular Culture, Women & the Creative Economy Power & Privilege Smart News The Future of Women's Work: Creative, Economic & Cultural Power The Power Source: Women’s Mental, Sexual & Creative Health Work & Money

If It Ain’t Broke… Then Why Are Women Still Hauling It?

Across every economy, women do 76% of the world’s unpaid labour yet control less than 20% of wealth and leadership. The system isn’t “broken”—it’s built this way. “If It Ain’t Broke… Then Why Are Women Still Hauling It?” exposes the 80/20 illusion and asks why, in 2025, women are still carrying the weight of progress that refuses to arrive.

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Creative Business & Leadership Creative Capital Creative Health & Wellbeing Economic Independence & Women's Enterprise In Real Life | IRL. Insight Legacy & History Popular Culture, Women & the Creative Economy Power & Privilege Smart News The Future of Women's Work: Creative, Economic & Cultural Power Work & Money

The System Won’t Change Itself

The Creative Women’s Association never set out to talk about God or politics. But to fix a broken system, we have to name the architecture. From the 80/20 global wealth gap to the Vatican’s 5% female leadership, it’s clear: silence is the oldest form of control. Equality begins when women start talking about what they were told not to.

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Creative Business & Leadership Creative Capital Creative Health & Wellbeing Economic Independence & Women's Enterprise In Real Life | IRL. Innovation & Ideas Insight Legacy & History Popular Culture, Women & the Creative Economy Power & Privilege Smart News The Future of Women's Work: Creative, Economic & Cultural Power Work & Money

Creative Excellence Program

The Creative Women’s Association has launched the world-first Creative Excellence Program, a 10-month leadership initiative certifying women as creative authorities and reshaping the global creative economy.