community equality and leadership
The Ballarat Foundation is committed to supporting leadership and addressing inequality in our community.
Addressing Inequity in Our Community
Ballarat faces persistent inequities that impact the lives and opportunities of many community members. Women remain underrepresented in senior leadership roles and experience a gender pay gap in line with broader state-level disparities. People with disabilities in Ballarat encounter significantly higher unemployment rates compared to others in the region.
Additionally, Ballarat has one of the highest rates of reported gender-based violence in Victoria, indicating systemic safety and equity challenges.
Ballarat Vital Signs Report 2025
Vital Signs data shows that equality and leadership opportunities remain uneven across Ballarat, with women under-represented in senior roles and certain communities facing deeper disadvantage.
Disadvantage is concentrated in specific suburbs, and cultural diversity is lower than the state average. Empowering more people to lead across gender, background and experience, will create a stronger, more inclusive city where everyone can contribute and belong.
snapshot
Close the Equality Gap
In this short video, Community Impact Manager, Nina FitzSimons, unpacks what the Vital Signs data tells us about equality and leadership in Ballarat, and why creating opportunities for everyone to lead matters.
How We’re Making a Difference
The Ballarat Foundation is committed to building a fairer, more inclusive community by supporting initiatives that grow equity and leadership.
Through the Ballarat Women’s Fund giving circle, we harness the power of collective giving to address local challenges. Programs like Great Women of Ballarat shine a light on role models whose leadership strengthens our community, while funds such as the Future Shapers Fund invest in the next generation of local leaders. Change begins with community, and every donation helps create opportunities that ensure all people can thrive.
Respect Victoria has partnered with the Ballarat Foundation to administer a grants program as part of Respect Ballarat.
Great Women of Ballarat celebrates and honours women’s leadership, impact and stories, inspiring equality and inclusion across our community.
Donate today
Change starts with community. Your donation helps fund programs that drive equity, leadership, and opportunity for all. Every contribution helps build a stronger, fairer Ballarat.
Donate today to one of our funds supporting equity and leadership development in Ballarat.
wendouree delacombe Fund
The Early Childhood Fund supports programs that give every child the best possible start in life. By donating, you are investing in brighter futures, ensuring that children in our community grow up healthy, confident, and ready to learn.
Donate today and help give every child in Ballarat the chance to thrive.
future shapers Fund
The Early Childhood Fund supports programs that give every child the best possible start in life. By donating, you are investing in brighter futures, ensuring that children in our community grow up healthy, confident, and ready to learn.
Donate today and help give every child in Ballarat the chance to thrive.
Wimmera PCP HEalth and Wellbeing Fund
The Early Childhood Fund supports programs that give every child the best possible start in life. By donating, you are investing in brighter futures, ensuring that children in our community grow up healthy, confident, and ready to learn.
Donate today and help give every child in Ballarat the chance to thrive.
ballarat women's Fund
The Early Childhood Fund supports programs that give every child the best possible start in life. By donating, you are investing in brighter futures, ensuring that children in our community grow up healthy, confident, and ready to learn.
Donate today and help give every child in Ballarat the chance to thrive.
in the news
We work on Wadawurrung land
The Ballarat Foundation acknowledges the Wadawurrung people, the traditional owners of the lands and waterways in our region. We recognise their diversity, resilience, and the ongoing place that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people hold in our communities. We pay our respects to the Elders, both past and present, and commit to working together in the spirit of mutual understanding, respect and reconciliation.
The Ballarat Foundation is committed to fostering a diverse, equitable and inclusive community where everyone is welcomed, respected and empowered to thrive.