Our five-year strategy—the YWCA Evolve Strategy, or as we like to call it, YeS 2026 was launched in 2021 and will ensure that we continue to advance gender equity and maximise our social impact for young women, women and gender diverse people.
A Future Where Gender Equality is a Reality
Young Women and Women Experience Increased Wellbeing, Safety and Security in their Homes
Making Young Women’s Leadership and Women’s Housing our Priority for Gender Equity in Australia
Young Women Lead Policy and Systems Change for Effective Housing Pathways and Social Supports
This is how we implement our strategy.
We will work towards recognition that we are a leading provider of solutions that achieve sustainable housing outcomes for women. In recognition of the fact that the risk factors for housing insecurity are gendered, we will grow our national housing presence and bolster referral pathways to ensure wraparound support for our clients and residents.
3–5 year delivery outcomes
We can become Australia’s only national women’s housing and homelessness organisation through an uplift in service delivery capability, tailoring services to meet our beneficiaries’ specific needs and progressively incorporating our intersectional feminist approach. We can deliver high-impact services and progress towards our long-term outcomes by piloting programs and partnerships that grow our evidence base and incorporating those insights across housing and service delivery. We can achieve growth by offering specialised evidence-based services and strengthening our government relationships
This recognises that young women with lived experience have unique and valuable knowledge and expertise to share. It recognises the principle of ‘nothing about us without us’, and ensures the organisation is informed and grounded by lived experience in our planning, delivery and impact.
Our reputation and credibility are tied to and advance our purpose, strengthened by focused advocacy to inspire and drive systemic change. To support the change we want to see, we listen and learn from young women with lived experience of homelessness and housing risk, build active member communities to amplify our reach, deliver consistent brand positioning and communications and develop a strong evidence base.
We are true to our values, culture and purpose, delivering impact and sustainability for a strong and enduring future. Intersectional feminism will be our culture in action, and we will maintain financial viability and self-sufficiency. We will increase our impact and achieve our long-term social outcomes.
Young women, women and people of marginalised genders disproportionately experience housing stress and instability, challenges accessing safe and affordable housing, and the risks of homelessness. The majority of people accessing specialist homelessness services are women (60%) and they are most frequently aged 25 – 34 years old (AIHW 2020).
There is a critical need for specialist feminist housing responses and supports that understands intersectional housing pathways and address existing and unmet needs. This includes a deep understanding of how family and domestic violence affect housing needs and pathways, support requirements and wellbeing. Targeted early intervention is required.
This must be led by young women in all their diversity and gender diverse people, who can integrate their lived experiences into their advocacy and leadership activities.
In 2019 YWCA National Housing conducted a study with 1,040 women across regional Australia, including 190 women from Victoria (18.3%). The study highlighted the challenges for women on low to moderate incomes in regional areas:
Every organisation seeks to contribute to change and impact. In the context of social change, where influences are many and outcomes are not straightforward, what’s the problem we are addressing, what’s our role, and what’s the impact and change we want to achieve?
The Theory of Change is big picture, future-focussed, and sets up the how (the Strategic Plan). A Theory of Change starts with the organisational WHY – the problem we are responding to, and our role in making a difference. It tells a story of change, identifying short, medium and long-term outcomes for impact.
Young women, women and gender diverse people disproportionately experience housing stress and instability, challenges in accessing safe and affordable housing, and the risks of homelessness. In 2021-22, the majority of people accessing specialist homelessness services were women (60%). Almost two-thirds of adults aged 25-34 experiencing homelessness were women. While the numbers of women aged 55 years and over were small (about 8% of all female clients), they were increasing at a greater rate than men aged 55 years and over (AIHW 2022).
In 2021-2022, 37% of clients accessing specialist homelessness services had experienced family and domestic violence – of those aged over 18 years, 76% were women and nearly half were living as a single parent (AIHW 2022). Women were more likely to present with children, be housed privately (including temporary and unsafe accommodation), with safe and secure housing an immediate priority. They are twice as likely as men not to receive assistance. The challenges are compounded for First Nations women, women with disability, migrants and asylum seekers, and people of marginalised genders, due to lack of appropriate housing and supports, economic disadvantage and institutional and structural discrimination.
Insecure and temporary tenure, overcrowding, an unsafe environment and lack of choice and control over living conditions, may all render a woman effectively homeless. Our 2020 research with women on low to moderate incomes across regional Australia found: 1 in 5 said their housing was not suitable for them; 1 in 3 who live in unsuitable housing did not feel safe in their home; 2 in 3 were experiencing housing stress; 1 in 8 had been homeless in the last 5 years, and 1 in 4 of them hid their homelessness from others. One in 5 knew at least one woman who is currently homeless (YWCA National Housing, 2020).
In 2017, there were an estimated 1.3 million households in housing need (unable to access market housing and households requiring rent assistance to avoid rental stress). This is projected to rise to 1.7 million households by 2025 (AHURI, 2017). The lack of safe, secure, accessible and affordable housing has been identified as a key issue in blocking exits from crisis and temporary accommodation and specialist homelessness assistance.
Existing supply is often limited by traditional typologies that do not cater to the needs of women and gender diverse people, and may not be appropriately located with connections to community and required social supports.
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