Australian innovators in person-led mental health services, Flourish Australia invite you to meet Australia’s first indigenous Psychologist graduate, and help #break the bias, in celebration of International Women’s Day 2022. Be inspired by Professor Pat Dudgeon’s remarkable life and career journey at this free, webinar event, on Friday March 11, at 12 noon.
Once short listed for a Human Rights Medal, Professor Dudgeon has a heart for the empowerment of all people. A proud Bardi woman from Western Australia, her quest to be a catalyst for far reaching change to the mental health and societal wellbeing of her own people, has given rise to paradigms that break the bias of inequality in all its forms, across all communities.
Pat is Lead Investigator of the national research project Transforming Indigenous Mental Health and Wellbeing. Her vision is for services that leverage cultural values and strengths, to empower users. “I want the legacy I leave to ensure the wellbeing of not only my people, but communities everywhere, well into future generations,” Pat says. “Pride in who we are is vital for personal and social wellbeing to thrive.”
Researching gender bias in indigenous communities, and the way values were imposed in the course of colonisation, formed the foundation of Pat’s PHD. “At the time of my education, we were still in recovery from the influences of male Anthropologists who deified men as holders of knowledge, while women were seen as holding little value.”
The advent of female Anthropologists was among factors to have shifted that narrow perspective according to Pat. “The rise of reverence for Elders, both male and female has been brilliant! Men’s business and Women’s business are equally acknowledged now, and while it would once have been unheard of for a woman to sit on bodies such as Land Councils, today’s boards are very much balanced, and our women’s voices are genuinely valued.”
Gender equality is a very healthy foundation for moving forward with policies and support services according to Pat. “It’s encouraging to see positive modeling by all genders working in unity, flow right down through a community.”
Contemporary culture gives Pat hope for continuing reform; “It thrills me to watch Netflix and see so many women warrior archetypes, and women in positions of political influence, accepted as holding power and respect.”
Breaking the bias has therapeutic implications in Pat’s work, “For example, our recommendation that there must always be access to male and female therapists, because there are still some things about women that women want to do for themselves, while I see the groups that come alongside men as fathers, as a very positive development for the future wellbeing of all communities.”
Pat’s pursuit of a university education in the 1980’s entailed breaking through the barriers of an “older, white male oriented culture,” which shaped her critical approach to life and learning. “It instilled my firm, anti-colonial stance and compelled me to do my bit to shift that bias.” Pat believes it’s imperative for women who have a voice of influence to continue to educate people, citing the Me Too movement of a case in hand.
“I look to the strengths and knowledge of the individual and what they bring to the whole, as the basis for effective healing and interrelating. We must create environments where each person has every opportunity to strengthen who they are, and that includes their spirituality and ecological influences, because we are a part of this Earth. All of these aspects are inextricably linked. You can’t separate one from the other, and each person forms part of a greater whole, so to be our best, there can be no bias.”
Let’s Do Lunch with Professor Pat Dudgeon
Hosted by Flourish Australia, in celebration of Internation Women's Day 2022
Friday 11 March, 2022 at 12 noon
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