Saturday, October 13, 2012

Women's Views on News

Women's Views on News

Sporting heroes honored at Inspiration Awards

Posted: 12 Oct 2012 07:30 AM PDT

Of the many awards ceremonies that we read about in the glossy magazines there are not many that celebrate real successes in everyday life.

The Inspiration Awards for Women took place on the October 3, at the iconic Cadogan Hall in London and celebrated all the wonderful things that women have achieved this year.

The annual event celebrates women from all walks of life, from celebrities to sporting heroes and charity fundraisers.

It can easily be said that 2012 has been a fantastic year for women and Team GB have had an outstanding year thanks to London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics.

The athletes were given four inspiration awards on the evening, celebrating a incredible year for women's sport.

Team GB's Olympic cycling team won five medals in London 2012 and added an inspiration award to their growing pile of honours.

Rebecca Adlington won the Next Generation Award for her inspiring performance in Swimming during this year's games where she took home two bronze medals for 400m freestyle and 800m freestyle.

The Great Britain Paralympics swimming team were also given an inspiration award for their combined efforts during the games; the most successful event in the Paralympic games.

Seventeen-year-old Paralympian Ellie Simmonds, was given an inspiration award for her swimming achievements this year. In London 2012 she took home four medals- two gold, one silver and a bronze. She also set a new world record for 400m freestyle.

Founder of the Inspiration for Women Awards, Sky Andrew, said the aim of the awards are  "Giving the next generation role models that show it is possible to have a sense of status, achievement and success by conducting one-self in a manner that is inspirational."

As well as highlighting inspiring women the event also raises money for Breakthrough Breast Cancer charity as part of October's Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

The full list of winners on the night:

Lifetime Achievement Award: Gloria Hunniford

Most Inspirational: Claire Squires

Inspirational Celebrity: Jacqueline Gold

Most Aspirational: Kate Farnell

Inspirational Fundraiser: Claire Lomas

Style & Elegance: Donna Air

I.A.S. (Inspiration, Aspiration & Style): Fiona Bruce

Inspirational International: Aung San Suu Kyi

Inspirational Determination: Katherine Grainger

Next Generation: Rebecca Adlington

Inspirational Achievement: The Spice Girls

Inspirational Award: Claire Horton

Inspirational Award: Audrey Flash

Inspirational Award: Erin McNeill

Inspirational Award: Ellie Simmonds

Inspirational Award: GB Paralympics Swimming Team

Inspirational Award: GB Olympic Cycling Team

 

Adult stem cell eggs could cure infertility

Posted: 12 Oct 2012 07:00 AM PDT

Japanese scientists raise hopes for curing infertility after successfully breeding mice from adult stem cells.

Scientists recently reported that they had successfully created viable eggs using normal embryonic cells from adult mice.

This is a significant breakthrough as it is the first time anyone has managed to create eggs that have resulted in healthy babies.

The team have gone one step further however, managing to breed healthy mice from eggs created from another type of stem cell known as induced pluripotent stem cells.

According to a Boston's news station WBUR these cells look similar to emryonic stem cells but don’t come from embryos. Instead, they can be extracted from adult cells found in skin or blood.

This means that many of the ethical and moral concerns associated with embryonic stem cell research, which results in the destruction of the embryo, don’t apply.

Religious conservatives, amongst others, object to research on human embryonic stem cells because they believe that the resulting destruction of a foetus is wrong.

The recent experiments however combined adult stem cells and a number of altered genes to create cells very similar to the primordial germ cells that generate sperm in men and eggs in women.

They then developed these with cells that would become ovaries and transplanted the mixture into living mice, where the cells matured into fully-grown oocytes.

They extracted the matured oocytes, fertilised them in vitro in a test tube and implanted them into surrogate mother mice.

AFP reported that the mice pups were born healthy and had the ability to reproduce once they matured.

The development raises the possibility that women who are unable to produce eggs naturally could have them created in a test tube from their own cells and then implanted back into their body.

In a current issue of Science, adjunct professor at Kyoto University in Japan, Mitinori Saitou said: “This is actually the first time to make eggs from embryonic stem cells and then produce eggs [that] become healthy offspring.”

The team at Kyoto University believe that this success could eventually be re-created using human cells.

Such use, however, brings a whole new set of issues. Dr Bryce Vissel, an Australian stem cell expert stated that such work on humans would be 'fraught with scientific challenges and hurdles, including major questions relating to viability, reliability and safety'.

Even without the involvement of emryonic stem cells, this research is also not without other ethical and moral challenges.

Some experts have noted that the potential of such work could have far-reaching consequences, noting that it could eventually lead to parents being able to pick their children’s physical characteristics and talents with far greater ease than is currently possible.

Ronald Green, a bioethicist at Dartmouth University, went further, noting that “Any skin cell that you can find on the edge of a coffee cup theoretically could be induced back to being an egg, and a baby could be produced.”

However, the big differences between mice and people and the need for extensive safety testing mean that test-tube eggs are still at least a decade away from use in fertility clinics.

The news is still exciting scientists. Researcher Katsuhiko Hayashi said that those who could benefit in the future included young cancer patients and post-menopausal women, the DailyMail reports.

The work could also lead to new fertility drugs, but a change in the law is needed if the treatment is to be used in the UK.

Four things women can take from the Tory party conference

Posted: 12 Oct 2012 06:00 AM PDT

It doesn’t look like things are going to get much better for women following this week’s Conservative party conference.

-Women hit hardest by benefit cuts

It is well documented that the cuts are hitting women's pockets hardest, and there is huge concern that the further £10 billion in reduction to benefits funding announced by George Osborne at conference this week will again leave women worse off than men.

The Fawcett Society has demanded that the government is more transparent in terms of the impact on women: "If the government pursues yet another massive swath of welfare cuts it will be critical, and a legal requirement, that they properly assess and are upfront about how this could further disadvantage women far more than men".

- White Van Man Conservatism

In the Guardian's article "10 things we've learned from the Conservative party conference" it is noted that "White Van Conservatism" is the new dominant ideology within the party – replacing the dead-in-the-water Big Society. But where do women fit in to this picture? Curbs on benefit claimants, the “stab-a-burglar” law and tougher punishments for offenders  are all policies which cater for this "Tabloid Toryism". The phrase and its ideology do nothing to move the party away from it’s record of dismissing and damaging the needs of women, and paint a glum picture for gender equality. "White Van Man Conservatism" may perhaps more accurately refelct the priorities of this government.

- Hunt proved that the cabinet is truly out of touch with the electorate

The Tories weren't able to come up with a series of comprehensive policies to win women over after Jeremy Hunt made some badly timed and inappropriate comments on abortion. The new Minister for Health was instead forced to keep a low profile at conference whilst other Conservative MP's were forced to scrabble for a defence of the Conservative record on women. What was exposed was an overwhelmingly white, male, middle class cabinet which is completely disengaged from the people they are supposed to be representing.

- It's not all bad news: tougher laws to be introduced for sex offenders

Campaigners to end violence against women will welcome a new  ”two strikes and you’re out” automatic life sentence for serious sexual offences, announced by the Justice Secretary Chris Grayling at conference this week. The change, which will be brought in during December, will mean rapists and other criminals who commit a second serious violent or sexual offence will get a mandatory life sentence. This change could prove to be a big stepping stone in moving towards an end to rape and sexual violence culture in this country. The move comes as part of a wider move to ‘toughen up’ the justice system by the government.

Women on boards debate heats up

Posted: 12 Oct 2012 05:30 AM PDT

Viviane Reding, Justice Commissioner, European Parliament

Prominent panel to debate the introduction of quotas for women on company boards

Few issues divide women quite as much as those raised by mandated gender quotas on boards. So when Viviane Reding, vice-president and commissioner responsible for justice, fundamental rights and citizenship at the European Commission, proposed a 40% quota by 2020, it's little surprise that the reaction was swift and severe.

The debate will get an airing on 19 October, when a panel organised by the European Parliament Information Office in the UK and the National Alliance of Women's Organisations will discuss whether the European Union (EU) should legislate on quotas for women on the boards of public companies.

The Information Office explains that some countries, both inside and outside the EU, have already gone down this route in an effort to improve women’s representation at the top in business.

But is this the best approach and should it be adopted across Europe?

The debate is timely as it is just days ahead of the announcement of a long awaited European Commission's proposal which might kick-start legislation in this area.

On the panel, chaired by Financial Times management editor Andrew Hill, will be Mary Honeyball (MEP London, Labour), Anthea McIntyre (West Midlands, Conservative), Helena Morrissey, CEO Newton Investment and founder of the 30% Club as well as Petter Sørlien, Mission of Norway to the European Union.

The players, the reports

Garnering support during a speech in Munich in July, Viviane Reding laid out the statistics supporting mandates and said: "I am aware that many companies and policy-makers are opposed to mandatory quotas. Well, I do not like them either. But I like the results they bring."

The sentiment is shared by organisations such as UN Women, as outlined by John Hendra, the Assistant Secretary General for the UN's gender entity, at a meeting attended by WVoN members in July 2011. But when WVoN co-editor Polly Trenow questioned UK MP Andrew Mitchell, then secretary of state for international development and now the current Conservative chief whip embroiled in the "Gategate pleb" scandal, whether the British government agreed with the sentiment and would follow suit, the response was decidedly fumbling.

In early 2011, the Lord Davies report resulted in a list of recommendations in order to foster gender diversity on boards, among them that quotas should be imposed if publicly listed companies failed to increase representation of women on boards to 25% by 2015.

The UK government said in September this year that the proportion of female representation in FTSE100 companies went from 12.5% to 17.3% and is using the implied momentum to back up its campaign against the EU proposal.

Led by the UK, nine countries, including the Netherlands, Malta, and six central and eastern European countries, sent a strongly worded letter to the Commission's president, José Manuel Barroso, and Viviane Reding in an effort to dissuade the EU from going ahead with the proposal altogether. The joint effort may force Brussels to drop the legislation, according to an article in the Financial Times.

But there are powerful supportive voices in the UK as well. Notably, Royal Mail chief Moya Green, who cites her experience with Canada Post as a successful example of quotas working.

Get informed and involved

Mary Honeyball will be appearing as a panellist at the event next Friday in her capacity as Labour's European spokesperson on women and gender equalities. Aside from this, she is also a feminist and notes that her aim is to explain why quotas for women are so imperative and why EU legislation hasn't been designed to dictate to businesses but to help them make better, informed choices.

"The draft legislation is an essential step towards creating greater parity between men and women in the board room. I hope that the event will inform those who are hesitant about the EU adopting the legislation, but also encourage debate.

"It's important we aren't afraid to discuss the subject because sharing ideas helps us to better understand the problems women still face today within the workplace.

"Despite having better legislation to protect women at work there is still a significant gap in women achieving positions of authority, and we must address this, and legislation is the only sensible route.

"I also want to address the issue that the EU is dictating to business leaders or forcing them to appoint token women. I hope the legislation, when in place, will help to achieve better gender equality- after all women and men achieve equally as well in their early careers, so why shouldn't this be the case as they move up the career ladder?" she said.

Still, many women remain conflicted by the notion that they will be perceived as token board members. Helena Morrissey, who has had nine children while rising through the ranks of the fund management industry is a firm believer that quotas are unnecessary.

"Our belief is that, as more women join boards without the imposition of quotas, the more they can demonstrate the value they can add.

“By the time we get to 30%, the system will be self-perpetuating," she said.

The reality is that no matter what side women might be on, now is the time to pay attention and participate in the process.

An agreed proposal is expected near the end of October after which it will be handed over to a rapporteur as it makes its way to a vote in the European Parliament. Women and the organisations that represent them may not want to miss the opportunity to influence policy that could affect them so profoundly.

For starters, we hope you can join WVoN at the event at 10:30am to noon on 19 October Europe House, 32 Smith Square, London SW1P 3EU
RSVP: Agnieszka.PIELA@ext.ec.europa.eu, or participate in the liveblogging event on our website.

Hunt weakens Tory bid to win back women

Posted: 12 Oct 2012 04:00 AM PDT

Jeremy Hunt's comments on abortion this week expose the Tories’ real attitude towards women argues Faye Mooney

No matter what their opinion on the matter, I don't think many within the Conservative Party think that the new Minister for Health Jeremy Hunt's decision to impart his "personal views" on abortion  on the eve of their conference was particularly well-timed .

The revelation that Hunt believes that the legal limit for termination should be cut by half, from 24 weeks to 12 weeks, has in fact dominated coverage of the conference and may thwart efforts to win back  female votes lost since the party came in to power.

The debate that took place on Monday’s Woman’s Hour on BBC Radio 4  between presenter Jane Garvey, Conservative MP for Devizes Claire Perry  and  former political editor of the Observer Gaby Hinsliff, demonstrated how keen the party is to move the debate away from Hunt’s comments on abortion.

Perry’s attempts to quickly move the discussion on to other policy areas were telling,  and she even went so far as to suggest that the focus on the abortion issue is ‘deeply, frankly, patronising and insulting’, in response to Jane’s point that  The Royal College of Gynaecologists has stated that Hunt’s comments were ‘insulting to women’.

Perry's attempts to defend Jeremy Hunt's right to hold ‘personal views’, and the Tory record on women, show the Conservative party is as disconnected from the ideas and needs of women as the Minister for Health's comments suggest.

"[With regard to] Tories and Women… in the last year I have yet to meet any woman who thinks it is right to leave the last governments debt for our kids to pay off, and I have met hundreds of women who have benefitted from being taken out of tax…". We'll assume that you haven't met any of the women taken out of their homes, or who have lost their jobs, or their Incapacity Benefit, then, Claire.

And I'm not sure how Women's Hour listeners, Tory or not, will take to attempts from Perry and Hinsliff to argue that there is no such thing as the ‘women's vote’ – as Jane Garvey rightly pointed out – the ‘women's vote’ is historically a relative novelty. Have we really lost our right to be classed as a voting group less than 100 years after gaining the vote at all?

It appears, then, that Jeremy Hunt, who is, incidentally, keeping a low-profile at Conference, may have blown the lid off the Party's attempts to convince us that the Tories have women's interests at heart, or indeed anyone's interests except their own, forcing other members of the party to fall head-first in to garbled and unconvincing attempts to prove otherwise.

Critically, what Hunt has managed to do, as indeed has Perry, is emphasise the pervasive sense that policy is being dictated by a cabinet which is overwhelmingly white, male, middle class and out of touch with the electorate.

The Conference has little chance of dispelling this perception as Cam & Co. announce a series of policies which will quite evidently hit women hardest, again, and the fringe groups generated even more right-wing policies which directly threaten the rights of women.

In this sense, we can almost be grateful to dear Jeremy Hunt.

His ill-thought out comments have weakened the Conservative Party's ability to use Conference rhetoric to disguise further attacks on the rights, roles and welfare of women. Attempts to do so appear hollow and meaningless. This is, of course not to condone his words, as they are deeply concerning, but to at least see a silver lining.

‘No excuses’ for sex offenders

Posted: 12 Oct 2012 02:30 AM PDT

West Midlands Police launches a campaign to target potential sex offenders.

The campaign, called ‘No excuses‘, aims to highlight the consequences of rape and sexual assault for offenders as well as encourage victims to report crimes.

Posters displayed in pubs, clubs and on public transport will demonstrate what constitutes sexual assault.

Detective Chief Superintendent Simon Hyde stressed that all too often offenders are not aware of what constitutes consent:

"They think because their victim doesn't say no or doesn't physically try to resist the attack, that they are therefore consenting to sex, but that is absolutely no excuse".

Hyde elaborates on the West Midlands Police website that the posters will show that sexual offenders can expect to receive "lengthy prison sentences, a restriction on future job opportunities and overseas travel, as well as the shame of friends and family discovering that you're a sex offender".

West Midlands Police said that about 40 sexual offences are reported to them each week. It is estimated that real number of sex offences is much higher.

The launch of the campaign comes at time when there is normally an increase in cases as nights become darker, students return to university and the Christmas party season commences.

Earlier this year, another Midlands police force, West Mercia, were forced to remove campaign posters that suggested drunk women are to blame for being raped.

One of the straplines said: “Don’t leave yourself more vulnerable to regretful sex or even rape. Drink sensibly and get home safely”.

‘No excuses’ does seem to go some way to shifting the blame from victims to perpetrators. But the suggestion, given on one of the posters, that offenders will be deterred from raping or sexually assaulting women by losing the prospect of "overseas travel" shows the police are still not adequately conveying that rape is a heinous crime that not only destroys the lives of women but damages society as a whole.

Coventry to quiz Commissioner candidates

Posted: 12 Oct 2012 01:00 AM PDT

Women in Coventry to hold Question Time for Police and Crime Commissioner candidates.

Coventry Women's Voices (CWV) is hosting a Question Time event at which the candidates for West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) will be expected to answer questions about their policies in tackling crime against women.

The new post is one of 41 created by the government, and on 15 November 2012 the general public will be able to vote for the candidates in their area.

The elected PCCs will be the physical representation of the government's crime and policing reforms, and their mission, according to the Home Office, will be to 'represent communities, understand regional crime and anti-social behaviour priorities and hold the force’s chief constable to account for achieving them.'

Scheduled for 31October, CWV has already received applications from over 40 Coventry people -mostly women – to attend, and they have been asked to put forward questions that will be tabled at the event.

One area which CWV is hoping that the elected PCC can influence is the reluctance of West Midlands Police to refer victims to a local sexual assault and referral centre (SARC).

Coventry City Council donated thousands of pounds towards the centre, which is to be built in Nuneaton, less than ten miles from Coventry.  However, because of existing police boundaries Coventry victims will continue to be referred to a centre in Walsall, over 30 miles away.

Mary-Ann Stephenson, the founder of CWV said: 'This seems a ridiculous state of affairs – to send traumatised sexual assault victims all the way to Walsall when there will be a perfectly good centre just down the road is surely compounding the distress of the victims.

This is a question that we will be asking the candidates for the new Police and Crime Commissioner role at our Women's Question Time event on 31 October.

It seems to us that the new PCC, when he or she is elected on 15 November, is in the perfect position to make a common sense decision that will support Coventry's victims of sexual assault.'

If you live in Coventry and would like to attend the Women's Question Time event, please email pccscoventry@gmail.com

If you wish to find out who your PCC candidates are, please go to the Police Federation website.

If you are holding a similar event, please contact us and we will update this article.