Jenni's blog
Talkback feminism
I hope to prod, poke and probe current thinking about what it is like to be an Australian woman. I also believe that by sharing our experiences and our thoughts, we can enhance our lives as women, and empower each other.
Viewing entries tagged with 'women'
A sorry story
Tony Abbott may be disappointed to learn that Pauline Hanson is moving to the UK, but on reading the findings of the Review into the Equal Opportunities in the Workplace Legislation I am almost tempted to go with her.
Hanson says in her defence that “the land of opportunity is no more applicable” and maybe she is right. No - I haven’t quite gone to Planet Pauline – there are just too many differences - but I also feel disappointed with the way Australia has changed, specifically in regard to the treatment of women.
Deeply disappointed.
I find it difficult to understand why half the population continues to experience discrimination, and why our political masters think it is OK to continue to ignore the evidence.
And the depressing evidence is there under their noses.
The description of the current trends and characteristics of women in the labour force provided in the government’s Consultation Report on the Review of the Equal Opportunity Legislation has really brought me down.
The report states that the following sorry story (be warned, it is a long list):
- The Australian paid workforce is highly gender segregated, and female dominated industries have been historically undervalued;
- Occupational segregation between men and women continues to exist, and male-dominated occupations continue to attract higher remuneration than female-dominated occupations;
- Women are less likely to be in leadership positions within organisations;
- Only 10.7 percent of executive managers in the ASX200 are women;
- At the board director level, there are more than 10 men to every one woman;
- At CEO level, there are 49 male CEOs for every female CEOs in the ASX200;
- Australia has a lower participation rate for mothers with young children than the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries of Canada, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States;
- Women are much less likely to work full-time than men (54.9 percent compared to 84.1 percent), and comprise over 70 percent of the part-time workforce;
- Despite gains in participation rates over time, women's earnings remain persistently lower than men's…Over a lifetime, pay inequity places women at a considerable disadvantage compared with men;
- Studies suggest that about 50 percent of the pay gap cannot be fully explained by differences in these factors and can be attributed to discrimination in the workplace;
- Long and inflexible working hours may preclude many workers with family responsibilities from pursuing particular career paths or job opportunities;
- When the combined impact of paid and unpaid work is considered, overall, women work longer hours than men;
- Maintaining a connection to the paid workforce following the birth of a child is a determinant of future employment patterns and earnings;
- Experiences of sex discrimination and sexual harassment, fuelled by discriminatory stereotypes about gender roles, continue to pervade women's experiences of paid work… The Australian Human Rights Commission conducted a national telephone survey in 2008 and found that 22 percent of women aged 18 to 64 years have experienced some form of sexual harassment in the workplace during their lifetime;
- Nearly one in every five pregnant women experiences at least one difficulty in their workplace in relation to being pregnant;
- Australia lags behind many other developed countries in terms of women's workforce participation rates;
- When compared to other OECD countries with similar tertiary education levels, Australia has the fifth largest pay gap;
- Australia's ranking in the Global Gender Index of the World Economic Forum (a framework for capturing the magnitude and scope of gender-based disparities and tracking their progress) has slipped from 15th place in 2006 to 20th place in 2009…On these measures, Australia is significantly behind New Zealand (5th place), South Africa (6th place) and United Kingdom (15th place)
The report also tells you why it is important to change all this:
- Australian women's increased workforce participation has been a major factor in leading to better economic security for women. Paid work gives women the opportunity to ensure their own financial security, contribute to the family budget and secure their economic future into retirement.
- While paid work improves women's choices and independence, it is also fundamental to workplace productivity and economic growth.
Paid work is also widely recognised as key to addressing disadvantage and to contributing to social inclusion.
So there it is. A very sorry story indeed. No wonder I feel like running away sometimes. But not with Pauline.
Women's rights are human rights
Securing a more equal footing for women in Australia cannot occur in isolation. I strongly believe that we need a Human Rights Act to strengthen the position of women and at the same time to address human rights abuses.
The reasons for this lie in the following two facts.
Fact#1:
Women are more likely than men to experience poverty, abuse and discrimination.
Fact#2:
Women are over-represented in Australia among the poor, the disabled, the marginally employed, the sick, the isolated, and those whose responsibilities for caring for others exclude them from community life.
Now is the time to act!
Support for a Human Rights Act or Charter is high - in March 2009, over 80% of Australians supported the introduction of a new law to protect human rights, 85% of them believing that this should be a high priority for government.
However, call me a pessimist, I can't help feeling that if we don't make a lot of noise about this right now, it will slither away from us in the same way that so many other grand ideas have slithered away over the past few years.
I strongly support a Human Rights Act. If you do too, why don't you state your support by signing our petition.
Educating girls and eradicating poverty
October 17 2009 is set aside by the United Nationals as International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. This year is the twentieth anniversary, and we still have a way to go.
The day is set aside to highlight the effort and struggle of people living in poverty and to promote awareness of the need to eradicate it. But how?
The data tells us that educating girls increases economic productivity and improves family nutrition. It reduces infant mortality. For every year beyond fourth grade that girls go to school, family size drops 20% and wages rise by 20%.
That’s why a whole lot of non-government organisations, including 2020women, have released a statement organised by UNIFEM Australia supporting action to ensure girls’ rights during childhood; giving girls access to quality education and to the knowledge skills and opportunities they need to realise their full potential.
We can’t achieve gender equality without these things, and without giving girls a good education we won’t eradicate poverty.
So much to do, so little time!
It’s not often that I get upfront and personal in this blog, but lately I have been busier than a lizard being chased by a cat in a room full of rocking chairs, if you’ll pardon my addled adages!
It’s just that so much is happening, and it is all exciting. There’s the most recent 2020women survey, the women’s conference in Manila and the book of working mothers’ stories. They all require action of some sort. It is time to stop and set some priorities.
First, the survey: we received over 700 responses to our first survey on pay equity, and then another 90 or so women shared in more detail what they think about the problem. Amongst other things, they tell us that pay equity is still out of their reach, and they are losing out in pay negotiations. We just have to get this information incorporated into our submission to the EOWA review to make sure that the point is driven home.
Secondly, Manila: Asia Pacific Women’s Watch are conducting an NGO forum on Beijing+15, and in spite of the floods, I will be there.
Beijing+15 was an exciting time for women. It was the Fourth UN Conference for Women, held in 1995. At that Conference 12 areas of concern were identified: poverty, education and training, health, the economy, power and decision-making, human rights, armed conflict, institutional mechanisms, the environment, violence against women and the girl child.
Actions were to be taken in all these areas, and the conference in Manila is bringing women from the Asia Pacific region to discuss progress on these issues and to share stories about what is happening for women throughout the Region.
Lastly, there is the great book I was sent by an EMC, an international consulting and IT company. It tells the stories of the working mothers that they employ.
Just take a look at the following excerpt from the introduction, and you will see why it has inspired me:
If the professionals at EMC are star performers, the company’s working mothers are superstars who glide along the tightrope stretched between their work and family lives, deftly juggling responsibilities, demands, and interests. They’re the ones who make it look easy, consistently turning in top performances at work and home, doing it all with style, grace, and that ever-necessary safety net – humor. Sometimes a crowd of adoring fans cheers them on as they skillfully move across the high wire of their lives. But, all too often, they act in silence, their audiences unaware of the skill, strength, commitment, and perseverance it takes to move through their days with such agility.
You can see why we really need to get more stories from Australia’s working mothers, can’t you? And you can see why, on a scale from busy to out of control, currently I am at the too much to do and frustrated because I want to do it all now stage… aaaargh.
By the way, EMC have given me permission to share their stories with you.
You can download the book if you want to read the stories.
Australian women at the front
There has been quite a bit of chatter in the media recently because the Minister for Defence suggested that the current physical employment standards for the Australian Defence Forces might be changed in a couple of years time.
This would result in the removal of gender and age criteria from their recruitment processes. When and if this happens, women will be eligible for all categories of employment in the military, including jobs like working in tanks, and firing some heavy duty artillery.
Good. If a woman chooses to do jobs such as these, and is fit enough and strong enough to be selected, why not?
Can someone please just make sure that they are paid on an equal basis to the men doing the same work?
Okay?
Feminism is not a popular word
My dictionary defines feminism as the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social and economic equality to men. In 2006 I discovered just how negatively this word is regarded by many young women through a survey conducted for a feminist organisation. I was recently reminded of this when 2020women’s youngest Board member suggested that we refer to ourselves as a women’s organisation rather than a feminist organisation.
I confess that my first reaction was defensive. I am a feminist, and proud of it, so why should I agree to use different terminology? After a little more thought I climbed off my high horse and started thinking.
Early Australian feminists were ordinary women who fought to gain women’s basic rights, including the right to vote and to own property.
In the 1970s feminism took a sharp turn. Women at that time were unhappy with their lot, and wanted change. Feminists were middle-class, highly educated and willing to tackle more difficult issues affecting the equality of women. These more controversial issues included reproductive rights, equal rights at work, and the right to be more than just someone who was an accessory to men functioning in a male-centred society.
Many things taken for granted now were won at that time. For example, women no longer have to leave work when they get married, equal pay for equal work is a no-brainer. It is also no longer legal for men to beat their wives.
In the battle to win these important gains some feminists became highly radicalised as they fought against a system of male power that was used, consciously or unconsciously, to oppress women. The media loved them, but their black and white approach to egalitarianism challenged more conservative women. Around this time, unspoken rules developed about what a good feminist could do.
Could you shave your legs and be a feminist? Could you wear lipstick and be a feminist? Could you be heterosexual and be a feminist? Could you be a good mother and be a feminist? Could you be uneducated, working class, and a feminist?
Well actually to all of the above the answer is, yes! yes! yes! yes! and yes! But for some time, you did these things at the risk of being scorned by the women who had become institutionalised by the media as the feminist movement.
No wonder young women have negative connotations with the term.
I would like to redefine feminism for these young women. I would like the so-called feminist movement (is there one?) to move away from academic debate and more into action.
I would like to see women joining together to help each other achieve political, social and economic equality to men.
This would mean finding out how women define their problems. Ordinary, every day women. Women like me. Women like you. Then, to take those problems, work together and fix them. Is this too much to ask? Am I dreaming? I think not.
It can be done if young women join in the discussion. I will willingly reject the term feminism if it is a barrier to this goal.
Plus 63: women work 63 days more than men just to keep up
On September 1, 2009 it will be Equal Pay Day again. The first Equal Pay Day was set by the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency (EOWA) in 2008.
The way EOWA set it up, the date for Equal Pay Day changes each year as it is calculated by counting the extra days many women would have to work after the end of the financial year (30 June) in order to earn the same as men.
In 2008, Equal Pay Day fell on August 27. That was 58 days extra that EOWA estimated most women worked in 2008 to earn the same as most men.
In 2009 the gender pay gap increased to 17.2%, so five extra days will be added to the gap between the end of the 2009 financial year and Equal Pay Day.
Equal Pay Day 2009 will fall on 1st September: 63 days after 30 June. In 2009, women worked on average 63 days just to earn the same pay as men.
Not long to go till September 1 - and Australian women are counting the days. Is anyone else?
Who remembers Mr Ed?
I couldn't help thinking about Mr Ed (you know, the talking horse from the '60s) the other day when I read that not only is 1st August the horses' birthday, it is also the 25th anniversary of the introduction of the Sex Discrimination Act in Australia.
Now I understand what a Horse Laugh is all about!
Try this for size....
If the Rudd Government was true to its promise, on 1 August this year we would be celebrating a Sex Discrimination Act that truly empowered the Sex Discrimination Commissioner and eliminated sex discrimination in Australia!
Religion and misogyny
Why is it that most people’s religions discriminate against women? This was the thought that occurred to me when I read Jimmy Carter’s recent article in The Guardian talking about the role of religions in encouraging discrimination against women.
Writing on behalf of the Elders, an independent group of eminent global leaders, brought together by Nelson Mandela, who offer their influence and experience to support peace building, help address major causes of human suffering and promote the shared interests of humanity, Carter bravely states that male religious leaders have had - and still have - an option to interpret holy teachings either to exalt or subjugate women. They have, for their own selfish ends, overwhelmingly chosen the latter.
According to his analysis, most religions have given men a reason or excuse to deprive women of equal rights across the world for centuries. He points out that the impact of religious beliefs on women ranges from boys being educated before girls through to female genital mutilation. But the main point of his article is that religious leaders have chosen to interpret religion to support misogyny.
He says: I understand that the carefully selected verses found in the holy scriptures to justify the superiority of men owe more to time and place - and the determination of male leaders to hold onto their influence - than eternal truths. Similar Biblical excerpts could be found to support the approval of slavery and the timid acquiescence to oppressive rulers.
At the same time, I am also familiar with vivid descriptions in the same scriptures in which women are revered as pre-eminent leaders. During the years of the early Christian church women served as deacons, priests, bishops, apostles, teachers and prophets. It wasn't until the fourth century that dominant Christian leaders, all men, twisted and distorted holy scriptures to perpetuate their ascendant positions within the religious hierarchy.
I can’t help but agree with Jimmy Carter when he says It is simply self-defeating for any community to discriminate against half its population. We need to challenge these self-serving and out-dated attitudes and practices - as we are seeing in Iran where women are at the forefront of the battle for democracy and freedom.
And like Carter, I can see no point in having a religion that encourages discrimination against women.
Child neglect and social isolation
Social isolation has been identified as the cause of quite a few problems, not the least of which are problems faced by women. Some research undertaken by WIRE in 2007 linked women’s social isolation and problem gambling. I thought of this research when I was reading Jenny Macklin’s statement on the 'Wellbeing of Australia’s Children’ in which she paints a pretty dismal picture of how well we are looking after Australia’s children.
After telling us that the number of children suffering child abuse and neglect in Australia is unacceptably high, and that if you think that is bad, it is even worse for Indigenous Australian children, Macklin goes on to say that “The best interests of children are a national priority - from the day they are born. If children are to have the best start in life, they need the time and space to bond with their primary care giver. This is absolutely vital for the emotional, cognitive and physical development that is the foundation of lifelong resilience.”
The focus is on the children, which is headline grabbing, but surely commonsense tells us that analysis of the family, and mainly of mothers, must be made if we are to fix this situation.
Raising kids to be physically and emotionally healthy can be a pretty daunting task these days, and the evidence is in that resilience is important. Resilient kids need caring relationships, positive and high expectations from their families, and opportunities for meaningful participation.
Why are we surprised that Aboriginal children are more at risk? The resilience of those communities and families must have been devastated when our ancestors destroyed their family structures. To make it worse, many of our Indigenous communities are completely socially isolated, with the women in those communities even more isolated than the men.
It's a bit difficult to be a model parent when your own problems and the adversity you face are unmanageable.
But it's not only Indigenous women who have few opportunities for meaningful participation.
Back to where this started, gambling. Apparently the design of gaming venues is particularly inviting to socially isolated women, where they can interact with friendly staff and no one interferes with them or sexually harasses them. It is a safe environment to ‘spend time alone’.
Interestingly, one study in the WIRE document found that women were not ‘driven’ to gambling by loneliness, but if gambling becomes a problem, they become lonely because they feel alienated. Other studies found that loneliness came before gambling, which was described by the women interviewed as a secret activity that they were ashamed of.
Resilient families need parents who can provide their children with unconditional love, rules that don't belittle or harm them, and who can model positive behaviour.
It’s a bit hard to provide unconditional love for your kids when you’re socially isolated.
Perhaps it is in the best interests of children to make it a nationally priority to help socially isolated parents, whatever the causes of their isolation.
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