Friday, June 5, 2015

Women's Views on News

Women's Views on News

New study suggests women drive better than men

Posted: 04 Jun 2015 07:14 AM PDT

women drive better than menIs this the proof we've all been waiting for?

A recent study by Privilege Insurance suggests that women are in fact better drivers than men.

It has been a well ingrained societal belief that women are not only bad drivers but generally of an inferior standard in comparison to men for many years. Jokes about terrible women drivers used to be a reliable part of any male stand-up routine, alongside mother-in-law and wife jokes.

Like so many sexist norms, the notion that women are bad drivers has mainly gone unchallenged over the years. However, it seems women may finally have the proof they have been waiting for.

In a month-long study by Privilege Insurance women have scored higher than men when being assessed driving.

Fifty drivers underwent in-car assessment and 200 drivers were observed driving around the UK's busiest roundabout, Hyde Park Corner in London.

The Independent reported that the study by Privilege Insurance concluded: 'After years of debate and banter comes the news that will have men running for cover. It is now official: women are actually better drivers than men.'

The drivers were assessed on a variety of different measures, with women scoring 23.6 out of 30 on average, and men scoring 19.8.

The survey indicated that women made less mistakes than men.

Apparently only 4 per cent of women were seen tailgating the car in front, in contrast with 27 per cent of men who did so.

In addition, only 1 per cent of women cut into the traffic in a dangerous manner, but 14 per cent of the men being assessed did.

Nearly half of the men assessed approached hazards too quickly, but only a quarter of the women did so.

The Independent reported that Neil Beeson, a driving instructor who assisted Privilege Insurance in carrying out the study said, “I was quite surprised by the results, because in my experience men have always been the best learners and usually performed better in lessons. However, it’s possible that women have retained the information better.

“What this report shows is that men need to give their female counterparts their due when it comes to driving. The facts don’t lie.”

However, the study also showed that out of the female drivers assessed, only 28 per cent believed women to be better at driving than men.

What is also not that surprising is that out of the male drivers assessed, only 13 per cent indicated they thought women were better drivers.

Charlotte Fielding, head of car insurance at Privilege, said: “The research has shown a big discrepancy between how men think they drive and how they actually drive.”

The lack of confidence affecting women is one of the most interesting parts of this study.

Why do women lack confidence in their abilities when it comes to driving? Could it be the effects of such a well ingrained belief, that they are just not as good as men?

Improving women’s perceptions of themselves and their abilities is an important part of combatting sexism.

This study hopefully gives some women who question their  own driving ability some of the reassurance they need to recognise they are indeed perfectly good drivers – and just as good as men.

Coming in August – the Netball World Cup

Posted: 04 Jun 2015 06:52 AM PDT

netball world cup, august 2015But this is worlds away from the school playground.

August will see 10 days of the highest level sport at the Netball World Cup.

Forget what you think you know about netball, because the odds are the Netball World Cup will bear no resemblance.

Netball is one of the big sporting success stories of recent years, and netball at this level is fast, furious, skilful and, above all, exciting.

At least some of the credit to its popularity must go to Sky Sports; they took a chance on it in 2006 and signed a contract to broadcast the domestic Superleague.

Since then grassroots participation in England, league and international netball have gone from strength to strength with approximately 156,000 people playing netball for at least half an hour a week, according to 2014 figures.

The World Cup takes place from 7-16 August in Australia at the Sydney Olympic Park.

This is the 14th World Cup and will be the biggest yet, with 16 teams taking part: England, Wales, Scotland, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Malawi, South Africa, Fiji, Samoa, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Uganda and Zambia.

Of three home nations – England, Scotland and Wales – taking part, England has the best chance of getting to the final stages.

The new England Head Coach is former England player Tracey Neville, who won 81 England caps before a knee injury ended her career early.

This will be her biggest test yet, although England will be on a high after a storming 3-0 series win over Trinidad and Tobago in May, followed by taking the title at the Netball Europe tournament in Northern Ireland, beating all of the home nations along the way.

Welsh Netball has suffered a degree of turmoil recently. Sara Jones took over as chief executive at the beginning of June – its third CEO in just over 12 months. Hopefully this won't affect Wales' performance on the court.

Netball is very much on the up in Scotland; Netball Scotland has just welcomed the news that Sport Scotland is to invest a record three million pounds for the long-term development of the sport. They will be looking to put in a good performance to show that the investment is justified.

It is hard to see past reigning champions Australia and their antipodean neighbours New Zealand for the final, but you can be sure that England, led by the 100-times capped Pamela Cookey, and Jamaica will push them hard, with Malawi as a potentially good bet for an upset.

All of the key matches are live on Sky, including the semi-finals and the final, so tune in see these incredible athletes in action.

The new Women’s Equality Party

Posted: 04 Jun 2015 06:30 AM PDT

Sandi Toksvig, Catherine Mayer, Women's Equaity Party, Pushing an agenda from the outside, pushing the mainstream parties to pay attention.

When comedian and broadcaster Sandi Toksvig announced she was leaving BBC Radio 4's News Quiz to start a new political party, the Women's Equality Party, she caused waves in the national media.

The Women's Equality Party (WE) was co-founded by Toksvig and Catherine Mayer, author and former editor-at-large at Time Magazine – two very high-profile characters well-placed to garner the publicity the party is currently receiving.

Speaking on Women's Hour, Toksvig said: "Most of the mainstream parties seem to treat women's issues as if we were a minority group rather than, in fact, what we are, which is the majority of the country."

Although still in its infancy – at the time of writing it is yet to launch its official website – the party has already accrued a Facebook following of over 29,000, and to date there are 26 branches, with 10 more set to open.

From Brighton to Edinburgh, and plenty of places in between, women and men are pushing for gender equality.

The Women's Equality Party is hoping to see a number of MPs elected in the 2020 elections, however it is unlikely that we will see Toksvig as Prime Minster.

Nevertheless, as she explained, they are taking a leaf from the book of other ‘single-issue’ parties like UKIP and the Green party in order to push women's issues to the forefront of the political agenda.

"If UKIP and the Green Party have taught us anything, actually pushing our agenda from the outside and pushing the mainstream parties to pay attention is much more successful," she said.

According to the party’s mission statement: 'Equality for women isn't a women's issue. When women fulfill their potential everyone benefits.

‘Equality means better politics, a more vibrant economy, a workforce that draws on the talents of the whole population and a society at ease with itself.'

In a shocking indictment of UK politics, over 9 million women did not vote in the 2010 general election. So can the Women's Equality Party reach out to these women and encourage them to re-engage with the democratic process? Will their message hit a nerve with these non-voters?

Equal representation in business, equal pay, equal parenting rights and an education system that offers equal opportunities for all children are on the agenda. Issues very hard to argue against if you are a reasonable human being. But can this translate to the ballot box?

There have also been words of caution regarding who the Women's Equality Party will actually represent.

Tilly Grove, blogger for That Pesky Feminist argued in The Huffington Post: "It is difficult to campaign for equal representation for women in business when so many women, especially women of colour and trans-women grapple with unemployment".

And she added, "[…] It is important when talking about the pay gap to acknowledge that women of colour face a larger pay gap than white women."

The fact is the Women's Equality Party could to easily be a narrow-focus party with the spotlight solely on women's issues.

And as Grove points out, one cannot look at sexism in isolation – sexual discrimination often goes hand-in-hand with racism and homophobia.

The Women's Equality Party does not claim to have all the answers. But the crucial point is that hopefully enough momentum will be gathered to force the mainstream parties to sit up and pay attention to the issues it raises.

Equality for all women is a political, economic and social issue that deserves so much more than a ‘Calm down, dear‘ or a pink bus. Let's hope the Women's Equality Party can deliver.