Women's Views on News |
| One university taking on harassment Posted: 30 Oct 2014 04:46 AM PDT
You probably know that sexual harassment can include unwanted groping, pinching or smacking of your body, uninvited kisses or bodily contact – but isn't just physical. Other examples of sexual harassment include wolfwhistling and catcalling, inappropriate sexual comments, and sexually-based insults, jokes, songs or taunts. It can be emotional, verbal, suggestive… Anything that makes someone feel uncomfortable. It can happen on campus, in halls, in bars or nightclubs, on public transport or online in Facebook groups or on Twitter. It can be someone you know well or it could be from somebody completely anonymous. Most people don’t report harassment as they think it’s not serious enough, or they feel embarrassed and ashamed. But students and staff have the right to study, live and socialise in a safe, supportive place and the University of Manchester is now taking all forms of sexual harassment very seriously. You never have to put up with it, and there is now always someone to talk to – click here for information on speaking confidentially to trained Harassment Advisors, as well as to access other support services. And the Students' Union operates a ‘Zero Tolerance to Sexual Harassment’ policy – click here to read it – and is an NUS accredited zero tolerance union: Should you experience sexual harassment on Union premises, please report it to any member of staff who will refer you to the Duty Manager. All of Duty Managers are specially trained and will deal with the situation immediately, and provide you with the support you need. And there is an Advice Service open to all students for confidential support during opening hours. Or if you have been affected by sexual harassment and need someone to talk to you can contact – email – the Women's Officer, Tabz O'Brien-Butcher. The Students' Union also has an active Women's Campaign which all self-identifying women students are able to take part in. And as part of the Women's Campaign, the Union runs a Students Against Sexual Harassment group which is open to all students (including non women) to develop campaigns and tackle sexual harassment on campus and in society. Click here if you want to get involved. Everyone deserves to be part of a learning community that they feel safe and secure in, staff and students alike – and can all play a role in ensuring that University of Manchester is a sexual harassment free zone. So: Think about your actions. Even if you would never knowingly harass someone, anything that creates an intimidating, humiliating or offensive environment, interferes with a student or staff member's learning, working or social surroundings or makes someone feel stressed or anxious is harassment, even if it's unintentional. What one person thinks is harmless 'banter' can have a real impact on many others' enjoyment and safety at University. And no one should have to feel uncomfortable for the sake of a joke. So if you see any form of sexual harassment taking place, and you feel safe to do so, challenge it. Or even if you don't know who was involved, report it. It's important that we know when, where and how sexual harassment takes place so that we can tackle it together. Talk to your mates about sexual harassment. What it is, how it makes people feel and why it's not OK. Encourage them to sign up to the We Get It pledge. Practice a culture of Zero Tolerance in your student societies and sports clubs. The Students' Union has policy on Zero Tolerance to Sexual Harassment, so make sure you've read it and that you're implementing it in your meetings, socials and online spaces. The Union will be running Zero Tolerance training for societies throughout February, so you can sign up. Join the Students Against Sexual Harassment group. And you could also tell the staff at the Union what else they can do to tackle sexual harassment; share your ideas by emailing.  |
| Look at women’s work – and their pay Posted: 30 Oct 2014 03:00 AM PDT
This week saw the highest recorded figures of women in work since records began in 1971, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The figures say that 67.2 per cent of women are now in work – approximately 14 million women. This represents the smallest gap between employment rates for men and women since the start of the recording period. So what is this women's work? The style of women's work has always been significantly different from that of men, women often due to caring responsibilities are found in jobs at the lower paid end of the spectrum, with part-time hours, less in terms of pension rights and less security. A report published by the TUC back in September 2012 expanded on these well-known truths by stating that the recession impacted on the way that women were working and how content women were with their working life. The report found that women accounted for more than a third of those in self-employment and over half of the increase in self-employment since the recession. The number of women who work part-time but would prefer a full-time job was on the rise, and the numbers who didn't want a full-time job falling. Women make up the majority of underemployed workers – and the number of underemployed women workers has risen by 40 per cent since the start of the recession. Women are still not paid equally for their labour. In August the TUC raised the issue of women workers again, pointing out that the majority of women who work part-time hours actually earn less than the living wage. They pointed to 50 local authority areas where the majority of working women were earning less than the living wage by a pay gap of 34.2 per cent. And it's not just the public sector. The issue of women's pay is notorious. A poll commissioned by a third sector recruitment agency found that on average women fundraisers were paid 12 per cent less than their male counterparts. Estimates from the NCVO that women make up 73 per cent of the fundraising workforce. And then Asda hit the headlines – again – recently with an equal pay claim. Lawyers are currently arguing that although men and women work in different areas of the store their roles were similar enough that they should be paid at the same rate. The law firm representing the women is question said that in the private sector equality for women was still in the 1970s and more claims needed to be made. Frances O'Grady, talking at TUC Women's Conference in March 2014, also had no illusions. "With a record number of women now in work, we're absolutely right to talk about what kind of jobs women are doing," she said. "Research we [at the TUC] are publishing today shows that the best-paid occupations are dominated by men – and often no-go zones for part-time workers – underlining the devastating occupational segregation that continues to scar our labour market. "The upshot is we are simply not being fairly rewarded for the work we do. "Almost a third of us are in low-paid work, nearly double the proportion of men. "Four in ten part-time women earn less than the living wage. "And the gender pay gap costs full-time women over £5,000 a year." So although we are ‘working’ in record numbers we are still doing it for less. And according to the TUC and the private sector law firms we should be shouting about it. Lets hope Made in Dagenham provides the inspiration we all need.  |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Women's Views on News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States | |