Women's Views on News |
| Julia Gillard: a woman of influence Posted: 17 Dec 2012 07:56 AM PST
Australia is not exactly a country which is known for its record on equality and sexual parity, at least not historically. But there may be a sea change sweeping the country as women enter a new era of political, social and economic empowerment. Last week, Fairfax Media’s 'Daily Life' website announced their top 20 most influential Australian female voices, and heading the pack was, probably unsurprisingly, Prime Minster Julia Gillard. Ever since her infamous and now globally viewed dressing down of opposition leader Tony Abbott, a generally acknowledged misogynist - at least among Aussie women - she has become a bit of a poster girl for feminism. Her diatribe against Abbott's history of comments about abortion, women’s roles in the home and their ability to wield authority has now been viewed by millions upon millions of people across the world. Among her many choice comments, came this jewel: “I will not be lectured about sexism and misogyny by this man, I will not. And the government will not be lectured about sexism and misogyny by this man. Not now, not ever. “The leader of the opposition says that people who hold sexist views and who are misogynists are not appropriate for high office. Well, I hope the leader of the opposition has got a piece of paper and he is writing out his resignation. “Because if he wants to know what misogyny looks like in modern Australia, he doesn’t need a motion in the house of representatives, he needs a mirror.’ The Daily Life website, which has previously referred to Gillard as ‘a 'badass' champion for women around the world', called it 'a watershed moment for Australian women'. The top 20 finalist were selected from 2000 nominations offered up by readers of the website, and there are some impressive names blazing the trail for Australian feminism. The list includes ABC anchor Leigh Sales, known for a recent interview where she also took down a very unprepared Tony Abbott, (no, don't feel sorry for him); Elizabeth Broderick, Australia's Sex Discrimination Commissioner who campaigned for paid maternity leave in Australia, something they are still sorely lacking; Nicola Roxon, Attorney-General; Nareen Young, CEO of the Diversity Council of Australia and of course Australian super-feminist Germaine Greer. Exceptional company, indeed, but once again it's Julia Gillard who is making the headlines. Talking about 'Abbotts-gate', Gillard said that she had no idea that her speech would have the effect it did. After she delivered her head turning diatribe, she says she intended to take her seat and unobtrusively get on with the business of being the Prime Minster. It took her Treasurer Wayne Swan to suggest to her that she had, in fact, done something quite spectacular. ”I said to Wayne, ‘Oh, we’re going to have to sit here now and listen to all these bloody speeches in reply. I should get my chief of staff to bring some correspondence so at least I can be getting on with something.’ ”And Wayne, with a slightly odd look on his face – and he is not someone known for the most demonstrative facial expressions – said, ‘Yeah, you can’t really give the I Accuse speech and settle back and do your correspondence’.” It didn't take long for her to realise that he was right. Not only did Australia sit up and take notice, but so did the rest of the world. When she started to receive letters of support as well as gifts from women across the country, the reality of the impact of her speech really began to hit home. A few short months later, and she is still garnering praise and accolades for her forthright and unflinching put down of sexism. Commenting on the top 20 most influential female voice awards, Australian media outlet Pedestrian TV said 'The sheer number of female voices identified as having ignited debate and inspired change is a promising indication of where our country's future is headed.' Now, isn’t that nice?  |
| Posted: 17 Dec 2012 04:12 AM PST
In 2010 the UK government introduced the Equality Act, bringing together laws like the Disability Discrimination, Race and Sex Discrimination Acts. A year later, David Cameron announced that this Act would be the target of the Red Tape Challenge, a Cabinet Office initiative aimed at ‘cutting unnecessary regulation’. Members of the public, businesses and industry experts were invited to scrutinise the Equality Act and put forward recommendations for regulations which could be simplified, scrapped or clarified. Last spring Home Secretary Theresa May announced that, as a result of that consultation, the government would scrap the Third Party Harassment Law which means employers will no longer be liable if a worker is harassed by a third party such as a customer. Public bodies would not have to consider the impact of their decisions on social class, and employment tribunals would no longer be able to recommend employers make changes to policies covering all staff if an employee successfully brought a discrimination case against them. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) had its remit curtailed and its budget halved. May also announced a review of the Public Sector Equality Duty which requires all public bodies to eliminate unlawful discrimination, advance equal opportunities and foster good relations between different parts of the community regardless of race, gender, sexuality or religion. And last month Equality Minister Maria Miller announced the steering group and Terms of Reference for the review. The steering group will have just four months to gather evidence, reach its conclusions and write its report. It can recommend the scrapping or amendment of parts of the duty if it feels they are too costly to administer. The Fawcett Society is extremely concerned about this, and said that cutting red tape should not be at the expense of women's equality. "The Equality Act is an extremely important piece of law that brings together all preexisting equality law, including all the provisions enshrined in The Equal Pay Act 1970 and the Sex Discrimination Act 1975. "Without this law, public bodies would have no duty to consider how to eliminate unlawful discrimination, including between women and men, and women would not be legally protected from unequal treatment in the workplace", it said in a statement. Fawcett and other organizations representing groups protected by the Act, are urging the public to visit the Red Tape Challenge website to register their comments in support of the Equality Act. Because – as Fawcett says - any backwards step, let alone a full repeal of this Act, would represent a transgression on the rights of women in the UK today and would severely undermine efforts to achieve equality between women and men in all spheres of life.  |
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