Two steps forward

Get to know our new AEU SA Women’s Officer, Jaki Heim.

'The younger boys don’t respect the girls. The senior students are selected to be bus monitors. The boys always act up on the bus and won’t do what the girls say and call us names. They do what the boys say because the older boys intimidate them. You just have to accept it.’ –

Year 11 student

In my first week at the AEU, I found this quote in a box of old resources and had to check the year of the publication. If it weren’t for the aged, cream paper, I would have believed this was written last week. The quiet rage expressed by this student will be familiar to many women who attended Australian schools.

In this article

+ Get to know our new Women's Officer, Jaki

+ What does a Women's Officer do in 2023?

+ How to be an ally when your workload is high

It’s a refusal to accept quietly these daily oppressions of women that have shaped who I am today. I pride myself on fighting for a more equitable world, and that starts in childhood. I hope my new role as your Women’s Officer will allow me to continue that fight, which ultimately benefits all genders.

I’ve often been asked what I do as a Women’s Officer. Some view the role as outmoded in the face of equal pay in education. Yet women, non-binary, and gender non-conforming people continue to be underrepresented in leadership, decision-making, and union roles, and misogyny continues to flourish amongst both educators and students.

As a proud South Australian public school student and teacher, I know how difficult it can be to fight the good fight when you’re busy putting out spot fires or marking that ever-expanding pile. This year, I’ll be working to educate our members on why the Women’s Officer role exists and how you can be an ally even when your workload is high.

I know our profession is bursting with women and allies who continue to mobilise for a more equitable society and many more who want to join us. If you’re one such educator, I would like to hear from you.

And the excerpt from the beginning of the article? It’s from 1991.

JAKI HEIM WOMEN'S OFFICER, AEU SA

WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT WOMEN'S PROJECTS?

Contact Jaki, AEU SA Women's Officer at womensofficer@aeusa.asn.au