14 September 2026

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Thanks to today’s partner IDA+S

Women’s gambling harm is still mostly discussed as a footnote to men’s.

But look more closely, and women often turn to gambling to escape pain linked to grief, trauma, isolation and family violence. Despite this, any kind of gendered analysis is still largely missing from Australia’s gambling reform debate. Rita Nasr takes a closer look.

Mary Gaudron was a trailblazer in every sense of the word; her career defined by a series of historic firsts. None more so, of course, than becoming Australia’s first woman to be appointed to the High Court. A champion for marginalised groups and the disadvantaged, Gaudron sadly passed away yesterday at the age of 83. Her legacy will live with us for generations to come.

In other news, students in public schools across New South Wales will soon be limited to as little as 15 minutes of screen time per day, under new guidelines designed to encourage more “pen and paper” learning and address a backward slide in academic results. The move was announced by NSW Education Minister Prue Car today.

And also in tech, we’re celebrating a recent government pledge that will see us being able to opt out of digital algorithms. But will this actually hamper the manosphere’s influence?

Finally, with evidence showing that the loneliness epidemic is reaching all corners, it’s time to look at the invisible mental load that’s specifically making mums feel unseen and isolated. (Thanks to Medibank for supporting this series).

Lots to get into!

Tarla Lambert-Patel
Editor in Chief & Co Founder

The Key Quote

But how do we live in a world where monetising a woman's body and sexualising women's sport is still a thing? To take the mickey like this, I thought we were genuinely moving past this bullsh*t.

Ariarne Titmus

4 time Olympian took to Instagram, responding to a controversial ad featuring Sydney Sweeney where she promoted women’s sports using sexualised positions and language. Titmus was one of many athletes who spoke out against the ad, with many women left misrepresented and outraged.

On Women's Agenda Today

The boys get the field. The men get the boardroom. Sport is still a BS place for women and girls in 2026.

Women and girls continue to be overlooked in Australian sport, from local clubs and playing fields to boardrooms. Read more +

A consultant paid 10k a month for a ‘mum’s perspective’, and ’20-something guys dreaming big’ about taking the Liberal Party to the right. ICAC delivers, again

Consultant Anita Perrottet was paid a $10,000 monthly retainer to offer a “mum’s perspective”, according to evidence provided at the ICAC. Read more +

Men as money trees? The reckless stereotype behind BIG W’s latest social media post

An outdated stereotype about men being the ones to earn money while women recklessly spend it is behind a recent BIG W social media post. Read more +

Women are gambling to escape pain. Australia’s gambling reforms need to understand why

Gambling harm can be linked to trauma and family violence, yet the experiences of women are often missing from the conversation. Read more +

The government’s own review said protect minority groups from online hate. Why has the proposed digital duty of care dropped it?

Marginalised communities face greater harm online, yet proposed safety laws leave key protections against racism and religious hate behind. Read more +

The Key Figure

$33 billion

The amount that Australians lost to gambling in 2024–25, with many of them citing personal issues as a root cause. This affects women as much as men, a new study suggests.

The win

Celine Dion has returned to the stage after years of battling with a rare neurological condition known as ‘Stiff person syndrome’

Saturday’s concert, held in the suburbs of Paris, marked her first full concert in 6 years to an audience of 35,000. Whilst performed predominantly in French, The show did include some of Dion’s biggest English-language hits, like “My Heart Will Go On,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “I’m Alive”.

On The Women's Agenda Podcast

Check out our weekly podcast

This week at Women's Agenda: the women quietly holding the system together, and the men billing it. We start with two wins: the boys' school principal with a strong message on violence against women, and the federal government finally taking aim at social media algorithms — a decent step forward, if not yet done and dusted.

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