Thursday, September 6, 2012

Women's Views on News

Women's Views on News

Quotas proposed for women on EU company boards

Posted: 05 Sep 2012 08:45 AM PDT

Emma Davis
WVoN co-editor

Companies in Europe could face fines or sanctions if their boards are dominated by men, according to draft proposals by the European Commission.

The introduction of a new quota, which says that no more than 60 per cent of a company's non-executive director board can be made up of the same gender, is expected to be formally proposed next month by Viviane Reding, European Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship.

Publically listed companies with more than 250 employees or revenues of at least €50m would have to meet the quota before 2020 and state owned organisations would have until 2018, if the legislation is voted in.

According to The Financial Times and The New York Times, who have both reportedly seen the draft directive, the proposals highlighted the limited progress that had been made in the representation of women within top management.

It stated: "Progress in the share of women on company boards is very slow, with an average annual increase of just 0.6 percentage points over the past years The rate of improvement in individual member states has been unequal and has generated highly divergent results."

The EU Observer reported that earlier this year Ms Reding had said she was not a fan of quotas, but believed they may be necessary to help address the severe gender imbalances within the EU.

She expressed her disappointment that voluntary action schemes had only limited success after an EU commissioned report using data from January this year showed that women represented 13.7 per cent of board positions in large companies; an increase of just 1.9 percentage points since 2010.

Ms Reding said: “I regret to see that despite our calls, self-regulation so far has not brought about satisfactory results.” Later on, she added: “The economic case for getting more women into the workforce and more women into top jobs in the EU is overwhelming.”

Some the 27 EU member countries have already adopted their own quotas, with France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands all at different stages in implementing minimum thresholds. Other countries, such as the UK and Sweden, have been against quotas in the past.

Statistics from France back Ms Reding's claim that countries that have quotas "bring the results". The number of women on boards increased by 10 percentage points to 22 per cent following the year after it introduced quotas in January 2011, the Financial Times reports.

However, an official in the UK's business department said: ""Our position will still stand – we are opposed to legislation for quotas."

Other business organisations expressed their concerns with the proposals, including Pedro Oliveira, legal adviser at Business Europe, the EU's largest employers group, who told the Financial Times: "One-size-fits-all quotas interfere disproportionately with the freedom of companies and shareholders to organise their own affairs.

"They disregard the highly diverse conditions in different sectors/companies and do not take into account the way corporate boards function and are renewed."

Kimberley Lansford, a senior policy adviser at the European Round Table of Industrialists, a forum for the chairmen and chief executives of major multinational companies, echoed these sentiments when they told the New York Times: "Big divergences among sectors and national traditions mean any measures must remain voluntary."

An EU official who spoke anonymously to The New York Times said that companies would still have the freedom to chose among the best qualified executive directors to help run the business.

UK cabinet reshuffled against women

Posted: 05 Sep 2012 07:54 AM PDT

Sarah McAlpine
WVoN co-editor

UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, reshuffled his cabinet yesterday in a series of moves widely considered have the hand of George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer, at its heart.

The shuffle saw Jeremy Hunt promoted from Secretary of State for Culture, to that of Health. His successor is Maria Miller, who not only takes on the position of Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Sport and Media, but also Minister for Women and Equalities.

What we at Women’s Views on News are not quite sure about, is what precisely qualifies Hunt for Health or Miller for Equalities.

Hunt, most recently remembered for his embarrassment in front of the Leveson Inquiry, which led to calls for his resignation, has come under fire for his record on voting to reduce access to abortion, his support of homeopathic medicine and his calls for the National Health Service to be dismantled.

Hunt has voted in favour of several unsuccessful bills regarding abortion including one that would have the legal limit halved from 24 to 12 weeks despite the 24 week limit being widely supported by scientific evidence and the medical community.

Diane Abbott, shadow health minister, has said that Hunt's, “record on women's right to choose is really concerning.” She believes that a key test of Hunt's appointment will be if he moves to drop current plans that would, "allow anti-choice organisations to give counselling to women.”

Maria Miller's promotion to her post has also been under scrutiny. As well as voting for a reduction to a 20 week limit for abortion, the MP for Basingstoke has voted in favour of denying counselling to women with unwanted pregnancies. Miller has also voted against gay marriage and gay adoption rights.

Despite David Cameron's pre-election pledge to appoint a third of top jobs to women, the number of women in his cabinet has slipped from 5 to 4 in a total of 31 positions available. So far, David Cameron has secured the UK’s poor ranking of 57th in the world when it comes to women’s representation in government.

The reshuffle was neatly summed up by Labour MP Pat Glass, who tweeted: “Cameron's new cabinet – 85% men, 100% white, 70% Oxbridge, 100% wealthy. #wereallinthistogether.”

On the back of this, UK Feminista have announced that they are building for a feminist lobby of parliament on 24th October 2012. See you there.

Forbes publishes list of world’s 100 most powerful women

Posted: 05 Sep 2012 07:31 AM PDT

Natalie Calkin
WVoN co-editor

Forbes recently published its annual list of the world’s most powerful women.

The list is dominated by women holding positions in politics, the media, business and technology and ranks women by factors including dollars, media presence and impact.

Germany’s Chancellor, Angela Merkel, tops the list for the second year running. Merkel has been widely credited with presiding over Germany’s thriving economy, despite other countries being in the midst of recession.

The top three spots on the list in fact all remain unchanged from last year. Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State, comes in at number two and Dilma Rousseff, President of Brazil, at number three.

Forbes said that it is no surprise that women in political roles feature so prominantly on the list because their influence, already strong, is growing year on year.

Women in the technology sector also fared well, contributing over 15 percent of the spots overall and a quarter of the top 20 positions.

Notable women in technology included Melinda Gates (four), Facebook’s COO Sheryl Sandberg (ten), with Yahoo’s new leader, Marissa Meyer, just missing the top 20.

Commentators have described some of the choices as “a tad odd” wondering why Lady Gaga has been placed at number 14, ahead, even, of the Queen.

The Guardian feels the list is “all about the money…the ability to earn it, control it, manipulate it, and influence how others spend it”.

This raises important issues about power and what kind of power women should aspire to. Has the time come to define women’s influence by other criteria? For example, the ability to affect change and to “stand up to dissenters and deliver viewpoints with clarity, bravery and authority”.

Aung San Suu Kyi at spot number 19 seems to be one woman who has achieved both – earning political power as well as being an inspirational, positive influence for often lesser-hailed values such as democracy, human rights and dignity.

Achievements of the women on the Forbes list should not be undermined. However, as long as power structures remain rooted in patriarchal values, certain lists, such as this, seem to serve to preserve the status quo rather than reflect the range of power and influence that women can demonstrate in all walks of life.

Saudi Arabia’s first female director breaks boundaries

Posted: 05 Sep 2012 06:03 AM PDT

Rachel Meehan
WVoN co-editor

Haifaa Al Mansour, Saudi Arabia's first female director, has broken boundaries with her full length feature debut at the Venice Film Festival this week.

Not only is it the first movie filmed entirely within the Kingdom, it is an authorised production in a country where cinema is banned.

"Wadjda" confronts the taboos of conservative Saudi society with the story of a rebellious young girl's quest to own a bicycle to beat a neighbourhood boy in a race.

However, Wadjda's mother refuses to buy her a bicycle, as society considers them to be dangerous to girls’ virtue. Undeterred, Wadjda decides to raise the money herself by entering a Koran recitation competition at her school to win the money.

The film was shot in Saudi Arabia's capital, Riyadh, with the permission of the authorities as well as support from within the Saudi royal family. Saudi entertainment company Rotana Group, whose studios co-produced "Wadjda," is owned by the Saudi prince Al-Waleed bin Talal.

Al Mansour encountered local hostility while filming. She said she was sometimes forced to direct via walkie talkie from a van in some of the more conservative neighbourhoods, where people would have disapproved of her mixing professionally with the men on set.

Despite this, Al Mansour has said that women's rights in the Kingdom are slowly improving and having a Saudi prince on board showed support from the officialdom.

“[Saudi Arabia]'s opening up, there is a huge opportunity for women now,” she said. “It is not like before, although I can’t say it’s like heaven. Society won’t just accept it, people will put pressure on women to stay home, but we have to fight.”

In Saudi, women have a lower legal status then men and require a male guardian's permission to work, travel or open a bank account. Saudi law also forbids women driving.

A number of reforms under current monarch King Abdullah have somewhat improved women's rights. He announced in 2011 that women will be allowed to stand and vote in the 2015 elections. Also, this Olympic games saw Saudi Arabia sending its first female representatives (see WVoN story).

Al Mansour cited the fact that the authorities allowed her to film in Riyadh as evidence that cultural attitudes are changing. It suggests Saudi Arabia, "is embracing art" and Al Mansour thinks the authorities "really want to see more films”.

Colombian army officer convicted of rape in landmark case

Posted: 05 Sep 2012 05:00 AM PDT

Catherine Scott
WVoN co-editor

In what has been described as a ‘rare victory’ by Amnesty International, a Colombian army officer has been convicted of the rape and murder of a 14 year-old girl during Colombia’s ongoing decades-old civil war.

On Monday 27th August, sub-Lieutenant Raúl Muñoz Linares was sentenced to 60 years in prison for the rape and murder of 14-year-old Jenni Torres, as well as the murder of her brothers aged nine and six and the rape of another girl in October 2010.

The case was prompted when the tortured bodies of the children were discovered close to an army base in Tame, in the north-east of Colombia. This resulted in a high-profile investigation into 60 members of the Colombian army.

The 45-year conflict in Colombia has seen rape increasingly used a tool of war by both paramilitary and guerilla forces. In 2008, Colombia’s Constitutional Court described sexual violence committed in the conflict as "habitual, extensive, systematic and invisible”. Few perpetrators ever face justice.

Marcelo Pollack, Colombia researcher for Amnesty International, said: “Although the government and the prosecuting authorities have implemented measures to combat impunity in such cases, these have been ineffectual. More must be done to ensure that the right of survivors to truth, justice and reparation is fully respected.”

Campaigners for justice hope the conviction of Munoz will set a precedent for further arrests and convictions in the numerous cases of sexual violence committed by the armed forces. The case has been marred by attempts to intimidate the Torres family, who received so many death threats they were forced to move.

Sexual violence is a serious problem in Colombia, as Women’s Views On News has previously reported, with 51,000 women being attacked in 2011 alone.

Natalie Bennett elected leader of the Green Party

Posted: 05 Sep 2012 03:23 AM PDT

Natalie Calkin
WVoN co-editor

Natalie Bennett has been elected the new leader of the Green Party in England and Wales.

In a vote of more than 3,000 party members this week, Bennett, whose first politics is feminism, beat three other candidates, Peter Cranie, Romayne Phoenix and Pippa Bartolotti.

The new leader takes over from Caroline Lucas, who was elected the Green Party’s first MP in 2010.

Bennett was born in Australia and has been living in the UK for the last 13 years. She is a former journalist for The Independent, The Times, Bangkok Post and former editor of Guardian Weekly.

Bennett is the Chairwoman and founder of Green Party Women, a Trustee of the equality campaign group the Fawcett Society and has also acted as an advisor to the United Nations.

In her acceptance speech, she said she is “deeply honoured” to be elected as leader and stood because she believes in the party’s “radical vision”  for Britain’s future.

She outlined her plans as leader and vowed to fight the coalition government’s “economically illiterate” cuts.

“We need investment in homes, investment in jobs, investment in energy conservation, renewable energy and public transport.

“We are the only party that plans to invest in the future rather than cut. We will cut, but we will only cut Trident and end the UK’s costly military involvement in Afghanistan.”

It is also her goal to see a Green Party MP elected for every region and has set a target of acquiring ten seats in Westminster for the party.

Her first challenge will be to oppose the government’s proposals to build on the Green Belt and construct the controversial third runway at Heathrow.

Bennett feels that the Green Belt acts as a vital part of Britain’s landscape and that investment in rail infrastructure in the UK is a better alternative to increased numbers of flights.

The Green Party has elections every two years for the leader and deputy leader roles. The new Deputy Leader who, under party rules, must be a different gender to the leader, is Will Duncan.

Australia commended for promoting gender equality

Posted: 05 Sep 2012 03:05 AM PDT

Helen Thompson
WVoN co-editor

UN women executive director, Michelle Bachelet, issued a press statement at the Pacific Island Forum (PIF) Leaders' meeting last week in support of Australia's efforts to promote gender equality in the Pacific region.

Bachelet thanked the Australian government for its political and financial support of UN Women in the Pacific region and worldwide.

"From training the military and police to protect women's rights, to providing skills to women entrepreneurs, to providing services to survivors of sexual violence, Australia is supporting women's empowerment and equality on the ground," Bachelet said.

In the week prior to the PIF, Bachelet visited Canberra where she commended Australia for its support of female leaders, saying: ”Seeing women in powerful positions, it opens the sky for young girls who thought they could never become a powerful person in the future.

”[Australia] is living a very special situation. You have the first Prime Minister that is a woman, but also you have the Governor-General, the Attorney-General, you have a lot of important authorities that are women."

At the PIF Leaders’ meeting Bachelet highlighted the particular problems women in the Pacific face, from the lack of agency in Pacific governments, to limited economic opportunities and high incidents of gender-based violence.

The plans UN Women have for promoting gender equality in the Pacific include positioning women in climate change discussions to ensure that they become part of the policy-making process.

Pacific leaders at this year's forum endorsed a Pacific Leaders Gender Equality Declaration which commits Pacific governments to promote national policies that will improve the status of women in their nations, including implementing temporary special measures to facilitate women's participation in government and politics, senior management in private business.

Pacific leaders have also agreed to reform legislation to include equal employment opportunities and equal pay as well as providing financial support and training for female business-owners.

The Republican Party Needs YOU! (But do you want them?)

Posted: 05 Sep 2012 01:21 AM PDT

Suzannah von Strandmann
WVoN co-editor

The centrality of women at this year’s Republican National Convention will not have escaped the attention of even the most inattentive of onlookers.

From the delicate sensibilities of Ann Romney’s appeal to the “silent majority” of  mothers, wives, grandmothers and daughters, to the capable edicts of the former Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, women were important. Why so?

This manoeuvre, carefully orchestrated by the Romney-Ryan campaign, was intended to tackle a serious image problem that exists between female voters and their prospects’ high hopes for office.

In May, Mitt trailed Barack by 20 points with female voters – a situation undoubtedly compounded by Todd Akin’s infamous “legitimate rape” comments.

Though the Romney campaign would have us believe that Akin is an extreme right outlier, he and Romney’s new running mate have stood toe to toe on several issues that show sympathy for his opinions, including a bill that would have narrowed the definition of rape to mean ‘forcible rape’.

In the recent past, however, the Republican party did not have the same patriarchal tendencies that it appears to have now. The Grand Old Party was the first to mandate that women be equally represented in its national and executive committees – a move not followed by the Democrats until three decades later.

In like manner, Prescott Bush, progenitor of the illustrious Bush dynasty, was treasurer for the first national Planned Parenthood fundraiser. Ironic, then, that the Romney-Ryan campaign plans to cut federal funding for Planned Parenthood’s birth control programmes – a vital healthcare service for millions of women across the US.

Limiting the definition of rape and restricting access to contraceptive programmes – is it any wonder that they need the pragmatism of Condi Rice or the bathos of Ann Romney to provide a crutch to the campaign?

This, however, is the tip of the proverbial iceberg. The Democratic National Committee chair, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, has rued the consequences of the Romney-Ryan campaign’s intention to repeal Obama’s Affordable Care Act: “When breast cancer survivors like me have to choose between radiation or chemotherapy because they can’t afford deductibles and co-pays, that’s a thing of the past under Obama.”

The ideology of the Republican Party relies heavily on the ideal of individual actualisation of the American Dream – free from State intervention.

Unsurprisingly then, it is those most vulnerable sectors of society that are hardest hit by the Romney-Ryan intention to slash Medicare, Medicaid, Pell Grants and other programmes that women disproportionately rely on for retirement security and healthcare.

It is this disproportionately negative effect on those that are most vulnerable in society, that led to numerous protests outside the convention centre.

The social justice movement Code Pink: Women for Peace were in force for the duration of the conference. Twice their activists interrupted the opening night pageantry with the protestations: ”You only talk about business. You only talk about corporations, not people. We need to support people over profits.”

It was not, however, supporting people that was at the forefront of Paul Ryan’s mind when he voted against the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act earlier this year.

Although Mitt Romney has remained suspiciously silent on the issue, it was the Republicans that defeated the 2007 version of the bill. “Romney and the New Hampshire Republican Party should also consider this isn’t just about women. It’s all about families and their economic security,” said Ledbetter, the inspiration for the equal pay act.

Republican reticence towards State intervention in social matters does not extend, however, to women’s corporeality. “Get Your Mitts Out of My Pants” read one placard outside the convention centre, no doubt reacting to a Republican back proposed personhood amendment which would criminalise abortion nationwide.

This would offer no exceptions for incest, rape – “legitimate” or otherwise – or to protect a mother’s own life in those pregnancies where she was in danger.

Although Romney has flip-flopped on the issue of abortion, Ryan, once again, made his position clear by voting to support a ban on federal funding to any clinic that performs abortions and denying payment for abortions via federal insurance vouchers or Medicaid.

A recent poll showed that only 38% of women wouldn’t vote for a candidate who differed from them on abortion rights – maybe it’s the equal pay, or the reduction in healthcare services, or restricting access to contraceptives that’s the problem for the Romney-Ryan campaign?

State intervention may not be high on the political agenda for Republicans, but policing women, both their welfare and their bodies, seems to be.

No matter how coyly Ann Romney reaches out and reassures that her husband will bear the needs of women and families in mind, the eradication of female personal autonomy under a Republican government is being made abundantly clear to voters.

When taking the formal lid off their formal political language,  it is deeply disconcerting to see what lies in the Republican mind beneath.

One highly concerning example is that of the actions of two attendees at this years’ conference who sparked outrage by throwing nuts at a black female camera woman, jeering: “This is how we feed animals!”

The convention swiftly ejected them and publicly denounced the behaviour as ‘deplorable’, but it is important to see that the actions were not necessarily isolated from the arena in which they occurred. To borrow Jezebel’s take on it:

“(N)ow’s the time to take a shower and sober up because this is the sort of bullshit, however isolated this incident may be, that makes everyone realize that inflammatory GOP rhetoric is doing its part to herd voters away from the 21st century we’re all clearly now inhabiting.”

Mitt’s team may have realised that the female vote is central to their success, but control over the female body is the tip of the iceberg to that which is central in their ideas.