Congratulations to Nikkita Venville, from the Class of 2005, who was the recipient of this award at our 2018 International Women’s Day Breakfast.
Nikkita is an industrial relations lawyer and recently ran the National Equal Pay Case as a Senior Industrial Officer for 80,000 Child Care workers at Australia’s industrial relations tribunal, the Fair Work Commission. Her commitment to Equal Pay saw her move from Melbourne to Sydney, where she took carriage for 5 years and given the difficulties with the current legislation, was recently dismissed. Consequently, early education and care workers remain undervalued. Nikkita is an advocate for Equal Pay and for work of equal or comparable value and lectures, appears on panels and at governmental inquiries advocating the need to change the Fair Work Act in respect to equal pay and making it a priority in our industrial relations system for Australia to be truly gender equal.
Nikkita has specialised in gender employment issues. This has recently seen her take a position with the Police’s union where she continues to work on empowering women in the Victorian Police Force and advocate on their behalf in respect to returning to work after maternity leave, discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace. Nikkita is committed to progressing gender equality in Australia. Her work embodies Mary Ward’s hope that “women in time will come to do much” and she consistently strives for workplace equality and justice knowing that we still have a long way to go.
Nikkita values education and in her (little) space time, is completing her Master in Law at Monash University and is writing her thesis on gender employment issues.
Congratulations Nikkita, this award is well deserved!
