6 Survey results In comments provided within the survey, women described being given a lack of cultural authority compared to their male counterparts in the native title system. Some women reported that this issue is exacerbated by non‑Indigenous (often male) lawyers who do not engage with or listen to the women involved in native title processes. Many of the women described being excluded from native title decision-making processes, including because of their gender. These descriptions were accompanied by comments regarding gender discrimination and bias that is felt to be enabled by a ‘gender-blind’ native title system, which struggles to deliver equitable access. Several comments referred to the impact of Western patriarchy on cultural Law via the native title system. That is, they spoke of a belief that one impact of native title has been that our own understandings of our First Nations cultures have been impacted by Western patriarchy. One example is that cultural knowledge relevant to native title is often assumed to be men’s business when that is not universally the case. Unpaid time was one of the starkest differences in respondents’ views between the impact of barriers on First Nations men compared with women. Figure 1.2 depicts the quantitative results from the survey that echo many of the substantive comments made by respondents referencing the compounding family and community responsibilities of women. These responsibilities present another gendered barrier to participation. They result in reduced capacity to participate in processes that require (significant) unpaid time and learning. Several comments referencing this barrier drew parallels with the financial benefit that motivates some of the men in their communities to engage in the native title system where it involves payment, rather than the volunteer aspects. Figure 1.2: Giving unpaid time to the preparation of native title claims: men and women 50 Percentage 40 44 30 27 20 24 20 20 16 12 10 8 5 0 4 5 8 4 2 Women give significant unpaid time to the preparation of native title claims Men give significant unpaid time to the preparation of native title claims Strongly agree Agree Somewhat agree Somewhat disagree Disagree Strongly disagree Unsure/don’t know My team and I recognise that this survey’s depiction of gendered experiences of women is limited by a survey format. We also acknowledge that this discussion is a binary depiction of the experience of native title which is not the reality for many First Nations peoples today. It instead reflects the ‘traditional’ understandings and perceptions of connections to country that are required by the native title system. I also note that we did not hear about any experiences of native title with reference to First Nations people identifying as non-binary, but nor did we seek out those experiences. Australian Human Rights Commission 43