Category: Gender inequity

International Women’s Day

On By More to the StoryIn Events, Gender inequity, get involved, Human rights

Imagine a gender equal world. 

A world free of bias, stereotypes and discrimination. A world that’s diverse, equitable and inclusive. A world where difference is valued and celebrated. 

I believe that together we can forge gender equality. This week the gender pay gap results for Australia were published, showing that on this International Women’s Day, there is still much to do.

For every $1 on average a man makes, women earn 78c. Over the course of a year, that difference adds up to $28,425.  

How is this still happening?

There is also much to do because of the political situation in the world. As anything to do with diversity, inclusion and gender is eradicated in the US under Trump, here at home Peter Dutton the leader of the opposition chose to launch a Trumpian plan to crack down on Work From Home for public servants.
 
Despite all evidence suggesting otherwise, Dutton claimed it won’t “discriminate on the basis of gender”, and even had the audacity to suggest women can simply take up job sharing arrangements if returning to the office doesn’t suit them. 
 
Make no mistake, the plan is a direct attack on women’s workforce participation and shows a complete misunderstanding of how modern families manage their lives.

This International Women’s Day we are being asked to #AccelerateAction. That means we need to keep taking action by calling out gender bias and discrimination. 

I also suggest that women take a moment to reflect on their own achievements. Remember what we have accomplished, despite the odds we have faced… and are still facing. For me that means celebrating having worked successfully as a journalist for many years and leading major companies in Australia and Asia in corporate affairs and investor relations. I have also written three books and finished my PhD later in life. Alongside these achievements, I am very proud to have given back to the community through my work on not-for-profit boards and by helping refugees and asylum seekers. I hope I inspired a few people along the way.

Many women (and men) inspired me through my life. This is especially true for Anne Forrest with whom I worked for over ten years in Asia.  Anne didn’t just break the glass ceiling she smashed it, showing me and other women that it was all about the best person for the job, not about gender. You can read about her here. 

This International Women’s Day I urge you to reach out to those women who have inspired you. We don’t say “thanks – you made a difference in my life” often enough.

Waiting 134 Years for Gender Equality

On By More to the StoryIn Discrimination, Gender inequity, Global Trends, research and reports

When our granddaughter was born 20 years ago, and I was still heavily involved in the corporate sector, I believed she would see much better gender equality when she entered the workforce than I was experiencing in Australia at the time.

The latest report from the World Economic Forum’s Gender Equality Index has shown me how wrong I was. We are 134 years from closing the global gender gap. How disheartening! Some of this can be related to a general global slowdown and the pandemic but certainly not much of it.

This year, the Global Gender Gap Index benchmarks gender parity across 146 countries, providing a basis for robust cross-country analysis. It makes for interesting reading and the ranking tables of countries around the world by sector are fascinating.

Australia has made limited progress to the country index, up two places since the 2023 edition to now being ranked 24th in the world for gender equality. That said, the UK is ranked 14th and the United States continues to be ranked 43rd, so some are citing this as a reason for hope. However, when I see New Zealand is ranked fourth I wonder how we can keep getting it so wrong and still do little to nothing about it.

With a ranking of 42, Australia falls well behind on economic participation and opportunity. Australia’s ranking on educational attainment is also behind, now ranked 84th of the 146 countries. Where Australia does do well is on political empowerment and we score an impressive 17th for women in political positions. 

Earlier this year the Minister for Women launched the Australian Government’s Working for Women: A Strategy for Gender Equality. It sets out a path to make progress towards the vision of gender equality over the next 10 years, with a focus on five priority areas: gender-based violence; unpaid and paid care; economic equality and security; health; and leadership, representation and decision-making. We can only hope this strategy is successful.

While the World Economic Forum does report some optimism, it notes the election results we have seen so far in 2024 do not point to a general trend of more women getting elected – outside of a bright spot in Mexico which just recently elected its first female president.

Iceland again takes first place on the gender equity rankings having led the index for a decade and a half.  It is the only country to have closed more than 90 per cent of its gender gap. European and Scandinavian countries continue to do better than Australia.

I recommend the report to you.

An Unhappy Christmas

On By More to the StoryIn Gender inequity, Human rights

At this time of year we can be overwhelmed by images and footage of laughing, loving and happy families. The reality, however, is that this time can be very stressful and unhappy. For many, it is downright dangerous. The added financial stresses, coupled with an environment in which families are spending more time together in confined spaces, can lead to an increase in incidents of violence.

Anyone who works in family and domestic violence support will tell you they see a huge increase in need around this time of year. Crisis support hotlines can experience a surge of 25 to 30 per cent on Christmas Day and Boxing Day alone, while crisis relief and emergency housing programs can see spikes of up to 40 per cent.

The ANROWS National Community Attitudes Towards Violence Against Women report shows 91 per cent of respondents believe that violence against women is an issue in Australia. However, a majority of Australians still don’t believe that violence against women occurs in all communities, including their own.

Violence against women is experienced across all communities, ages and cultures. 

In additional to physical and sexual violence, women from migrant and refugee backgrounds are particularly vulnerable to financial abuse, reproductive coercion and immigration related violence such as withholding documents, threats of visa cancellations or deportation.

If someone is in an abusive relationship, this time of year does provide opportunities where friends and family can more easily notice and identify red flags and offer support. 

For help and advice where I live in Western Australia, you can call the Women’s Domestic Violence Helpline on 1800 007 339. You can also access local information on all family and domestic violence services at the Centre for Women’s Safety and Wellbeing.

Anywhere in Australia help can be found by calling 1800 Respect on 1800 737 732. They also have some excellent resources on their website.

Similar support services can be found outside Australia, so if you need help, please remember you are not alone.