Women’s participation in Indigenous land and sea management programs is a win-win. Ranger programs provide a unique opportunity for women living in remote communities to be empowered through employment. And their specific cultural and traditional ecological knowledge and skills means a more integrated approach is taken to land and sea country management.
Women now hold close to half of all casual ranger positions.
A strategy to increase the employment of Indigenous women rangers started in 2011, in particular through offering flexible working arrangements and creating specific women ranger groups. Now, Indigenous women rangers make up over a third of the Indigenous ranger workforce.
In 2018, Country Needs People published the report: Strong Women On Country: The Success Of Women Caring For Country As Indigenous Rangers And On Indigenous Protected Areas. This report highlights the environmental, cultural and social achievements of Indigenous women rangers and on across Australia.