About the VMWS

No matter where you are in your medical career, Victorian Medical Women's Society (VMWS) is here to support you.

Statement of Purpose

We envision a society that maintains good health and wellbeing and has access to safe, equitable and culturally-appropriate healthcare at all levels

We envision a medical workforce that maintains good health and wellbeing and is empowered to achieve its fullest potential in order to provide the best care possible to society

We seek equitable health and wellbeing for all Victorians, with a particular focus on marginalised communities and vulnerable populations

We seek equitable health and wellbeing for all women and non-binary doctors throughout all stages of their personal and professional lives

Together, we can create and maintain better
health, better healthcare opportunities, a better
workplace, and a better world

What We Do

We deal with the hard issues. The VMWS seeks to advocate for vulnerable populations in a sensitive manner, often behind the scenes to avoid negative public relations

What Makes Us Remarkable?

As the only Victorian organisation exclusively representing the female medical workforce, the VMWS is well placed to advocate for changes that will benefit all Victorians – women, men and children.
We tackle the issues others won’t
We are not politically aligned
We act in the interests of people whose rights and welfare need defending, and we do so without fear or favour
We make changes happen – our actions speak louder than words
We work collaboratively with local, national and international women’s organisations (including those we have strong affiliations with) to address issues of importance to women.

Our Affiliations

We are a state medical women’s society, and are affiliated with the Australian Federation of Medical Women, which is in turn affiliated with the Medical Women’s International Association.

Through these organisations, we have direct links to the United Nations, the World Health Organisation, and the World Medical Association.

We also have members on multiple national women’s lobby groups, particularly in relationship to women’s health. VMWS works closely with the Australian Medical Association to professionally develop medical women and advocate for gender equity in the medical profession.

Who We Represent

Community Representation
Of Victoria’s 5.9 million population:

50.9% are female (2)
18.2% are children aged 0-14 years (2)

Professional representation
Of the 17,000 medical students in Australia (4000 in Victoria) 51.8% are female (3)

Of the 35,000 fellows in Victoria, 36.8% are female (approximately 12,800) (5)

In 2015-2016, there were 35,934 GPs in Australia, 45.4% of whom were female (approximately 16,300) (6)

(To view references, click Read More)

Our Strategy

We intend to achieve our goals by using a collaborative, inclusive effort and approaching advocacy with an intersectional lens.

Seeking equitable health and wellbeing for all Victorians with a particular focus on marginalised communities and vulnerable populations

Raise awareness of health inequities affecting marginalised communities and vulnerable populations, both within the public sphere as well as within the medical community
Partner with the community at both local and regional levels to achieve shared goals
Spearhead and support educational initiatives geared towards dismantling systemic biases leading to health inequities

Seeking equitable health and wellbeing for all women and non-binary doctors throughout all stages of their personal and professional lives

Raise awareness of inequities affecting the personal and professional development of women and non-binary doctors
Coordinate and consolidate engagement within the larger medical community and focus efforts on attaining shared goals
Spearhead and support personal and professional development opportunities for women and non-binary doctors
Strengthen community amongst medical women; provide a safe space for support, friendship and networking