The MULSS has a number of portfolios which are set up to ensure that you feel safe, supported, and connected on campus. One of these portfolios is the WAGDI portfolio, which provides support and advocacy for Women and Gender Diverse Individuals at MLS.
The Portfolio is led by the Women’s Director, Eliza Dean, who is supported by three amazing Women’s officers: Tiah Mepani, Olivia Tregambe, and Eibhlin Mithin. The team has been hard at work over the summer to organise events and initatives for the MLS in 2023.
What do MULSS WAGDI do?
The WAGDI Portfolio is set up to support Women and Gender Diverse individuals on campus. You can go to the WAGDI Portfolio with questions about the law school, complaints about something you’ve experienced on campus, or even an idea to improve the way support is provided to students. The WAGDI team will work with you, and support you, to escalate your issue and achieve a desired outcome.
The Portfolio is proudly intersectional, and is open to any suggestions or feedback on how the Portfolio can be improved in order to better assist students at MLS.
One important focus for the Portfolio during 2023 will be improving the way that the Melbourne Law School, and the Law Students’ Society, prevents and handles incidents of sexual misconduct on campus, or at events related to students’ studies.
What’s in it for me?
For Women and Gender Diverse individuals on campus, the WAGDI portfolio has a range of events and initiatives which will operate in 2023 to help you feel safe, supported and connected to the broader community.
Eliza Dean recalls that, during the Covid lockdown in 2021, the Portfolio was an important way for her to ‘sustain some form of connection throughout law school’ during that incredibly difficult period of online learning, and isolation.
The WAGDI Portfolio’s Facebook page is well known to be one of the MLS’ most wholesome support mechanisms. The page runs a Q&A every week of the semester, and people ask questions on topics ranging from their torts essays, reviews of elective subjects, or even the best place to get your eyebrows threaded in the CBD.
The Portfolio also runs a range of professional, career-related events, such as their Women’s Networking Night, and Careers Skills Workshops. These events often involve rubbing shoulders with inspiring professionals – such as Kristen Hilton, the former Victorian Human Rights Commissioner, and Meena Singh, the Victorian Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People – who share their experience as leaders in their respective fields of practice. The Women’s Leadership Program will have their first workshop on 16 March 2023, so make a note in your diary and keep an eye on the JD 2023 Facebook page for more information.
The Portfolio is also running a range of more casual, connection-based events and initiatives during 2023. Life Skills Workshops, and Women’s Wellness sessions, focus on your holistic health during your JD studies. The First Year Women’s Wellness Session will run on March 3 2023, and is not to be missed.
Outside of their events and initiatives, the WAGDI Portfolio also aims to be a touch point for women and gender diverse students to escalate complaints or concerns. The Portfolio provides students with the necessary resources and support, and empowers them to make informed decisions about how to handle a difficult issue. This could involve escalating or investigating a plagiarism claim, talking to a teacher about the use of inappropriate gendered language, or filing a report of sexual misconduct. Women and Gender Diverse individuals can contact the Portfolio via email at womens@mulss.com if they want advice or support.
How do I get involved?
The best way to get involved with the Portfolio is to join the MULSS WAGDI Portfolio’s Facebook page – updates, information and important announcements will be posted through the page throughout the semester.
You can also sign up for the Portfolio’s upcoming events – including the First Year Women’s Wellness Session, or the Womens’ leadership program, via the Facebook page.
Additionally, consider hanging out in the new WAGDI Room – located on Level 5 of the Law School – for tea and coffee, comfy couches, period products, handy resources and all-around good vibes throughout the semester.
Purely Dicta 