The campaign, launches on September 2, forms part of CWA’s annual Awareness Week, which this year centres around the changing face of families in the bush.

NSW CWA president Annette Turner and chief executive Danica Leys were at AgQuip Field Days in Gunnedah last week to help launch the campaign. 

“The focus for us this year is the changing faces of families in the bush,” Ms Leys said from AgQuip.

“The family structure is different and the challenges are difficult.

“Young people, parents, grandparents living, working and having a quality life in regional areas is different to how it was back in 1922 (when the CWA started).

“But in saying that, our aims and objectives back in 1922 are still in our constitution and are still as relevant today in terms of the lobbying and advocacy work for families and children in particular.”

This year’s campaign focuses on four key areas – the rights of grandparents as primary carers of their grandchildren; encouraging and assisting rural and regional women in starting their own small business; advocating for greater financial literacy amongst rural and regional women; and building resilience amongst teenage girls in rural and regional NSW.

Ms Leys, who took her trip to AgQuip as a chance to visit family at Goolhi, said CWA still had a huge role to play in advocating for rural and regional Australia.

“(CWA Awareness Week) is a multi-pronged approach, it’s all about increasing awareness of the CWA, letting the community know we’re still here, we’re still fighting, we’re still change agents,” Ms Leys said.

State president Annette Turner, who’s based 350km north of Broken Hill on a remote sheep station, shared the sentiment.

“People don’t realise that we do have our scones and we have a catering, but we also have our role as advocates, we have an international arm, agricultural, environment – there are so many arms of the CWA and it means different things to different areas,” she said.

“We’re very strong, we’ve been going for 95 years.

“The message is, we’re still as relevant today as back in 1922. The message I want to get out, we’re still here, we’ll remain, we’re lobbying for people in rural and remote areas.”

The CWA of NSW is also encouraging women to take up the challenge of starting their own small business, and also equip themselves and their families for a successful financial future.

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows women make up 34 per cent of all small business operators (668,670 women).

This represents a 46 per cent increase during the past two decades.

“However, for rural and regional women there are barriers including digital connectivity issues and a lack of support to realise their dream,” Mrs Turner said.

“We’re calling for the establishment of business hubs in major centres to allow women who want to start their own business or already have to come together for advice and support, as well as access a one-stop-shop for all the requirements and red tape involved in launching a business.”

Entrepreneur and Awareness Week ambassador Rebel Black, founder of The Rural Woman is based in Lightning Ridge and started her first business at 21. She says that now is the time for rural and regional women to make a go of that business idea they’ve been thinking about.

"I started my first business with no experience, no financial safety net, a clunky laptop, dial up internet and an office in a caravan on the opal fields,” she said.

“Being in business, as a rural women, represents true freedom.

“Rural women make great leaders and entrepreneurs; they are nimble, creative in their thinking, resilient and brave; they just need to surround themselves with like-minded people and back themselves.”

Wagga Wagga-based Simone Eyles, founder of 365cups agrees.

“If you have an idea in your head and it keeps you awake at night, you can start a business from your kitchen table at the touch of a button, in spare time. Many great businesses are born from a problem, just like 365cups – why wait in line when you can order ahead,” she said.

However, according to recent research by the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, almost a third of regional Australian women reported that they worry about money ‘weekly’ and 28% worried about money ‘daily’.

Those living remotely worried more frequently about money than those living regionally.

Single parents (40%) were significantly more likely to worry about money than other household types.

“Our focus is to help deliver resources and support to women to enable them to launch a small business if it’s something they’ve always thought about but never had the confidence to give it a try, as well as bridging the gap when it comes to personal and family financial management,” Mrs Turner said.

The CWA of NSW is partnering with 10 Thousand Girl, a non-profit organisation launched in 2009 dedicated to improving the financial well-being of Australian women through education that empowers and connects.

The organisation provides a wealth of online tools and resources, which will be accessible via the CWA of NSW website, along with workshops and seminars planned for 2018.

Founder and CEO Zoe Lamont said women in regional towns are natural investors when it comes to their families, schools, community groups and local businesses, however this investment doesn’t always extend to their own financial education and long term financial security.

“10thousandgirl wants to strengthen the financial outlook for women across Australia, and living in a regional area shouldn’t be a barrier. Our objective is to create the opportunity for women, no matter where they live, to learn the skills and build the confidence to become better at managing the money they have, so they have the financial acumen to achieve their dreams,” she said.

“We’re partnering with the CWA for Awareness Week to get the message out that there are tools and resources available to assist you, no matter how rural and remote you may be,” she said.

Future female entrepreneurs, managers, volunteers and mothers are also a focus this year, with teenage girls found to be more than twice as likely as boys to be in severe psychological distress, according to a recent Mission Australia report.

“We are encouraging the formation of new branches around the state that cater to the needs of younger members, as well as inviting teenage girls in the community to connect with our senior members for mentoring support,” Mrs Turner said.

“We’re also partnering with The Girls Academy for Awareness Week, who are dedicated to empowering and developing Aboriginal girls in regional NSW. “

Girls Academy founder, Ricky Grace, said the Academy’s mission is to ‘Develop a Girl - Change a Community’.

“As future community leaders, and as future parents, resilient and educated young women are critical to closing the unacceptable gap that exists between Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders and other Australians,” Ms Grace said.

“Over the past decade the Girls Academy has made great progress, helping thousands of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander girls realise their potential, but there is still much work to be done.

“With New South Wales home to 30 percent of the nation’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population, the state is a major focus for the expansion of the Girls Academy. We will have 800 girls enrolled in our program in NSW by the end of 2017.”

Mrs Turner encouraged everyone to get behind Awareness Week.

“For many decades the CWA of NSW has been lobbying the state government and industry bodies to ensure the right decisions are made for our state,” she said.

“All of this year’s Awareness Week key areas resonate strongly with our members, because they are central to what we do – improving the lives of women and children in regional and rural New South Wales.”