Key architect in Australia’s compulsory superannuation scheme and tireless advocate for women Mavis Robertson has passed away at age 84.
Robertson dedicated her 60-year career to promoting equality for women in a variety of ways. Her success in making the compulsory superannuation scheme a reality means that women now retire with more savings than ever.
Her work for women’s super lead her to establishing Women in Super, an organisation advocating for policy and legislation that would promote greater equality for women in retirement. On top of this, she also helped found the Conference of Major Superannuation Funds, the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees, Industry Funds Super and the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors, all of which she used to improve the super industry.
“Mavis was driven by the fact that the industry we were working in was so heavily male-dominated and there were so many aspects of it that didn’t really include women,” Mother’s Day Classic co-founder Louise Davidson told Women’s Agenda.
“Mavis established Women in Super to create opportunities for women in the industry to form their own networks and learn from each other.”
But soon after establishing Women in Super, Robertson decided there was another cause they needed to devote their energy to as well, and joined with Louise to make an impact on funding for breast cancer research.
“We were doing all of this great work for women’s super to promote equality for women in retirement, but we were looking around and seeing so many women not even making it to retirement because the fatality rate for breast cancer was so high at that time,” Davidson told Women’s Agenda.
“So we decided we had to do something about the lack of funding being put towards breast cancer research.”
The pair went on to create the Mother’s Day Classic, a fundraising walk that is now Australia’s largest fundraiser for breast cancer research.
When the Mother’s Day Classic began in 1998, it was a small, “walk in the park” event, according to organisers. It has now grown to a national fundraiser attended by 130,000 people.
The event has made the largest financial contribution to breast cancer research of any fundraiser in Australia: so far it has contributed $24.3 million to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.
Robertson’s achievements for women have been widely recognised throughout her long career. She was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1994 and in 2001 was named one of the first women to be entered onto the Victorian Women’s Honour Roll. The National Breast Cancer Foundation has also established a fellowship in her name.
In addition to this, Robertson was a role model and mentor for younger women in the industry.
“There are senior women in the industry now who got their firsts jobs and their first promotions because of Mavis. She has been pivotal in so many women’s careers,” Davidson said.
“In my early days, Mavis was a great role model and mentor for me. She was an incredibly intelligent woman, she was very strategic and she always had an idea you hadn’t thought of. She was strong and determined and was never afraid of a challenge, but also an incredibly compassionate person. She was always thinking about what she could do to help others.”
Robertson’s humanitarian achievements do not end with her work for women in super or breast cancer research.
She also campaigned in support of Chilean refugees earlier in her career and fought to restore democracy in the region. For these efforts, she was named one of Australia’s defenders of human rights on the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights.
She was also a nuclear disarmament activist and an active member of the Nuclear Disarmament Coordinating Committee and People for Nuclear Disarmament. She campaigned for an established the Peace Bus in 1982, which travelled throughout Australia promoting global nuclear disarmament and world peace.
She was heavily involved in the women’s movement in Sydney in the 1970s, fighting tirelessly for women’s rights.
“There are a lot of people in life who are great innovators, and a lot of people who are great implementers. Mavis was one of the very rare people who was both, and that’s what drove her enormous success,” Davidson said.