As long as the participation of women lurks below 50%, prospects of reform or reinvention in the Australian Labor Party are limited, writes Tanja Kovac.
Gender equality
Political snippets: Sacrebleu! The French repeal female pants ban!
The equal rights for women campaign has reached a new level in France.
Housework’s got to be done, but must it make us ‘happy’?
Sometimes, the responsibility to be Australia’s fourth estate — our public moral voice — can be a little closer to home … or even in the home itself.
As Middle East moves ahead, are women getting left behind?
Women in Egypt organised a march for equality this week that resulted in a violent clash with a male crowd. As Middle Eastern countries fight against oppression, there’s a growing concern that democracy might not include women’s rights.
Cox: being a stamp is OK, but I’m still pushing the envelope
What does it feel like being a postage stamp? Odd, writes Eva Cox, who “accepted on behalf of the stirrers and advocates”. Even if she has to put up with the jokes about people licking her backside.
You know what women want?
Women want an end to stupid articles about what women want, writes Kim Powell the news with nipples blog site.
Norway shows gender equality isn’t just about women
While Australia has a long way to go in terms of even understanding how gender equity can look in our workplaces and homes, our maverick “just do it” culture means we could quickly catch up to Europe if we chose to take a bigger-picture view, writes Claire Braund.
Cox: gender blindness and corporate incompetence
The World Economic Forum released its latest gender-gap rankings this week, with Australia ranked 27th overall. We have fallen from 17th in 2007, despite having a female PM, G-G and two premiers.
Political snippets: Australia falling down the gender gap rankings
Australia is falling down the list in an international ranking of equality between men and women.
Australia still way behind on gender equality
In the lead up to polling day, Labor announced an “equality for women” policy that just about nobody even heard about. It demonstrates that this important issue has gone off the radar. Time to bring it back, writes Marian Sawer.
The difference between men and women freelancers
The ‘women undersell themselves, men oversell themselves’ issue continues, with The Awl comparing how different men and women freelancers pitch stories to them. Men are direct, women are apologetic.
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Workin’ 9 to 5, the way for ladies to make a living
When it comes to working hours, it’s men who are far more likely to work the night shift. Is it one of the reasons that women earn less?
The blokes who should step aside for female directors
It’s time for Australia to fix its woeful record when it comes to female representation on public company boards. Here’s some suggestions of which men should clear out to give the ladies some room.
How to be a male feminist
Feminism isn’t an abstract idea. It’s enforcing the separation of labour, having a true partnership and not accepting that men should work more because they earn more, writes Damon Young.
French women get equality, as long as they’re beautiful
France is to become the second country in the world with a quota of women on company boards. But oh la la, is this turning into a policy to get wives and girlfriends of bosses appointed, pretty things who’ll be seen and not heard?
Women need to drop their standards
Advice to women: don’t bother trying to have it all, you’ll only fail. Balancing families and work with pretty clothes and home cooked meals can only end in disaster, writes Minette Marrin.
A million reasons why women shouldn’t work at Wal-mart
Dee Gunter started working at Wal-mart at 46, after 20 years of retail experience. So why were teenage boys being promoted ahead of her? Over a million women have now joined a class-action suit for gender discrimination against Wal-mart.
Putting a stiletto through the glass ceiling
Finally, gender diversity on company boards is back on the national agenda, writes Paul Quinn. Companies listed on ASX now have to discuss their gender split and the BCA have started a mentoring program for women.
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The CEO gender gap
CXO visualises the number of female CEOs by industry and at the top of Fortune 500 companies. It’s not an encouraging picture: women may make up 40% of the global workforce, but equality is still a long way off.
Put ethics on the political agenda and allow us to develop more feminist futures
Feminism was once about making wide changes in the way societies were run and what was valued. It seems to now be mainly about minor expansions of women’s illusory choices.
Female writer reveals: why I’ve been posing as a man for three years
Copywriter James Chartrand isn’t James Chartrand at all — he’s a female writer who has been working under a male pseudonym for three years. Unsurprisingly, “James” enjoys more credibility, more work and higher pay than his female counterpart ever did.
France to force gender equality on boardrooms
The French Government is considering legislation to force all companies to reserve 50% of their board seats for women, in an effort to break the male-dominated culture of its business world.
No gender equality (or world peace) for Miss Universe
The problem with beauty pageants isn’t the bikinis, it’s that women who pay lip service to the gender equality myth are rewarded. It is dangerous to say women have achieved gender equality, writes Nina Funnell.
The women issue: a Crikey reader responds
With the women working double shifts — paid work, followed by the unpaid work of running a household — is it any surprise they don’t have time to engage with political issues? asks Jenny Ejlak.
Much work to do to close the gap on women’s pay
Why is there such a significant pay gap between men and women, considering women are now better educated, more likely to be in paid work and there are measures in place supposedly to deal with prejudice?
