7 7.2 Submissions From organisations (a) Dominance of men and the diversity of women’s roles FVTOC and FNLRS both noted the ongoing underrepresentation of women within leadership and governance in Victorian native title spaces, including in their own organisations. FVTOC noted that higher level processes and instruments within native title legislation are likely to be needed in addition to their organisation’s commitment to advertise specifically for women to apply for particular governance positions. Women in Native Title Anthropology (WiNTA) was a three-year project from 2019 to 2022, conducted by two anthropologists, Dr Cameo Dalley and Ms Diana Romano, who made a submission to this project. WiNTA addressed women anthropologists’ experiences including gender-based discrimination, pay inequity, sexual harassment and abuse. WiNTA submitted to this Native Title Report because these issues for women anthropologists have implications for the supply of anthropologists available to undertake native title work, and also for the involvement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women in native title processes. Both affect the integrity of the native title system. WiNTA noted the significant attrition of women anthropologists in native title, with very few ‘progressing to become “exemplary”’. The supply and demand side of this for women anthropologists in native title is difficult to counter – if lawyers believe judges will give more credibility to men, they will hire men as part of their duty to do the best by their client. Paradoxically, limited supply has not resulted in a widening of pool of anthropological expertise and instead has concentrated prestige and gravitas in a small cohort of older, male anthropologists. Women anthropologists that we interviewed reported struggling to be recognised as senior within the field, and routinely being overlooked for work opportunities in favour of men. Our research participants identified lawyers and judges as particularly complicit with this process, noting prejudices against contracting women anthropologists. WiNTA This is relevant to First Nations women’s experiences in the native title system because women anthropologists ‘arguably improve the access that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women have to native title processes’.57 WiNTA also noted the connection between an overemphasis on gender-restricted knowledge in the native title system and an entrenchment of biases towards the elevation of men’s knowledge. A major finding from our interviews has been that within the native title system and particularly in connection reports, the inclusion of gender-restricted knowledge (men’s knowledge) continues to be overemphasised … these kinds of performed authenticity had the potential to entrench pre-existing biases towards the elevation of men’s knowledge. WiNTA However, WiNTA also noted that a significant number of their research participants had reported that across many settings, ‘it is Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women who are the most senior holders of knowledge’. WiNTA cautions that the ‘diversity of relationships to land and systems of land holding across Australia … should not be underestimated in drawing conclusions about women and native title in Australia’. Australian Human Rights Commission 53