Ideally: A Grants and Mentoring Program Addressing Gender Inequity

YLab partnered with the Victorian Government’s gender equality department Women Victoria to empower young Victorians to promote gender equality and address violence against women through the Ideally grants and mentoring program.

THE CHALLENGE

We need gender equality urgently.

Not only does it prevent violence against women and girls, it’s essential for economic prosperity. But we won’t achieve it overnight. People from all walks of life play a part in promoting gender equality. With the Victorian Government, we co-designed and delivered Ideally – a grants and mentoring program supporting young Victorians to generate ideas promoting gender equality and to address gender-based violence.

WHAT WE DID

In partnership with Women Victoria (formerly the Office for Women), we co-designed Ideally. Along with the disbursement of $8,000 grants, we designed and facilitated capacity building workshops for young participants. Engaging a community of external subject matter experts, evaluation partners and a cohort of mentors, these workshops supported young people in developing their skills, abilities and ideas. Our support continued throughout the program, with co-working sessions and one-on-one project support ensuring participants had the wrap-around support necessary to build the confidence and capabilities to successfully deliver their projects.‍

THE IMPACT

Support was focused on the young people who had experienced or were at higher risk of experiencing gender inequality or gender-based violence. This included people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, Indigenous young people, those identifying as LGBTQI+ or young people living with disability. The impact of Ideally continues to be felt, with several projects still operating or helping women and girls in Victoria today.‍