Jenni's blog

What did Julia want?

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 12:39:36 +1000

This is a bit of a fantasy, and if I’m way off track, my apologies to you, Julia. But I was thinking about your recent actions and decided to write the following story. It is only fiction, but is based on real life......

There was once a young woman named Julia. All her life, she had been told to go after her career goals and believed there were no barriers in her way. She wasn’t sure what was most important to her, but she knew she had an important contribution to make to the world, and believed that this would be truly appreciated by others when the time came.

One day, after many years of hard work, there was an opportunity for her to become Prime Minister. She had never really believed that this would happen to her, but being a sensible and responsible sort of woman, she didn’t shirk from the prospect. In fact, deep down, she sort of knew that this was ‘right’. It was time for her career to go that next step and it was time for the country to see what a sensible woman could do.

Unfortunately, in taking this job on, Julia made a few mistakes. The first mistake she made was that she believed that she won the position on merit. Like a lot of other successful people, Julia honestly thought that her selection for the role was completely based on a sound analysis of who was available, and on the selectors concluding she was the best person for the job.

She didn’t realise that the selection committee was a bit stuck for choice, and thought that picking a woman would give them room to move in the future; after all, everyone knows that women are more pragmatic and less power hungry than men.

Her second mistake was to fail to recognise that while she didn’t believe in male/female stereotypes, the men and women around her did.

The values of her party reflected the values of the country, and handing such a high-profile assignment to a woman had never been done before. Bias against women was not displayed overtly, but the fact that women had played little part in leading the party meant that she was leading a group whose behaviour reflected male values; a group that was accustomed to favouring and promoting men.

The electorate was also used to being led by people who conformed to masculine stereotypes, and had the perception that the behaviour of women in leadership roles is either too feminine or too masculine. Where gender played no part in the past, it was inevitable it would play a part for Julia and she was unwilling to confront this.

Julia’s third mistake was that she displayed her personal values before really understanding what an impact this would make in such a public role. She had lived a life of freedom prior to this appointment, one where she could choose not to take a public stand on issues held by many people in society as very important – such as marriage; religion; homosexuality.

Her tendency towards liberal thinking on these issues was suddenly under scrutiny, and a bit of a threat to the public position of her selection committee. When confronted with this problem, Julia realised that she didn’t hold those liberal values quite as strongly as she thought she had, and yielded to the pressure to conform to their views.

She described herself, with tears in her eyes, as being a woman of ‘steely determination’. Unfortunately, all this achieved was confirming the ’too feminine/too masculine’ perception’ – people could choose whichever they preferred.

As a result, everyone agreed that Julia was not up to the job.

They said this in many surveys. They wanted a leader who was action-oriented, able to drive results and solve problems. They wanted someone who was: visionary; inclusive; assertive; decisive; able to build strong teams; able to inspire people; and a good communicator.

What nobody realised was that Julia was suffering the fate that often applies to women who are given high-visibility assignments. Gender stereotyping took over.

As in every organisation, nobody recognised how deeply the male stereotype was embedded in the role of the Prime Minister. Nobody, including Julia, was willing to believe that this had any impact on Julia’s performance.

After all, the role of the Governor-General operates quite well in the hands of a woman, the gender-stereotype deniers will say.

But, think about it; isn’t the Governor-General more of a figurehead, a symbol of power? Does she have real power, in the way Julia does, to change our lives.

Surely gender bias can’t be confused with poor performance. Can it?

The answer is, emphatically, yes it can.

In my role as mentor and coach, I have seen other women founder as a result of the stereotyped expectations of their behaviour when they take on high-visibility assignments, and make a mistake.

The behaviour of stakeholders towards men and women who are in this situation is very different.

They are more likely to generalise the ‘mistake’ to other aspects of a person’s personality if it is a woman who has made the mistake.

For example, many people disliked John Howard’s mishandling of the ‘children overboard’ affair but still respected him as a strong leader. Those who dislike Julia’s handling of gay marriage tend to ascribe their sense of betrayal to all aspects of her personality; she becomes ‘untrustworthy’ in all aspects.

The other phenomenon that Julia has faced is that the electorate feels empowered to tell her what they don’t like. This is mainly demonstrated in the media. I am sure that there were many unreported occasions when hecklers told off past prime ministers, but I will guarantee that not one occasion of this type goes unreported on prime time news coverage for Julia, thus reinforcing the image that she is performing poorly.

In the same way that women executives are more likely than male executives to have complaints about their behaviour lodged by subordinates, Julia is finding that all her colleagues, and many of her electorate, are willing to accept that she should be judged and found wanting.

Would the electorate ever realise that they were setting stricter standards for Julia’s behaviour in the Prime Minister role than they had ever set before?

Probably not.

So what could Julia do? Was there any way through her dilemma?

Like most women in her position, the only solution for Julia was to keep her chin up, her head down, and her hopes high. Achieving this position is only possible if you recognise:

The cause of her problem is completely out of her control;
Many of her past allies now unwittingly add to her problems exponentially;
You do what you can, while you can; and
Look after yourself because no one else will.

Life is very tough for women at the top.

Slut walk sends an important message

Sat, 28 May 2011 10:42:34 +1000

Its taken me a while to decide whether I should join the slutwalk or not, but I am definitely in.

My hesitation was caused by the controversy surrounding the walk. Not that I usually shy away from controversy, but people I respect were arguing against it.

However, the more I thought about it the more I realised the controversy itself was important. It is getting the message out there, and making people think about the language they are using to describe women.

What is the message of the slutwalk?

It is pretty clear to me now. The messages are

Women, regardless of dress, do not invite rape,
Normal men are not rapists, and
Only rapists rape.

And as much as they might fight against the idea, people who rape and abuse other people are fully responsible for their actions. Nothing that women – or children - do determines whether or not they will be raped or abused.

Too often the people who sexually abuse others try to portray themselves as victims of their uncontrollable urges when they see a woman.

Give me a break.

There are as many women raped and abused in countries where women dress in full top-to-toe shroud-like clothing as there are in places where the bikini is the norm.

The bottom line is this, people who sexually abuse other people are doing it entirely because of their own pathetic personalities. They can avoid being rapists if they really want to.

Perpetrators of rape can bluster, they can blame, they can try to avoid taking responsibility for themselves as much as they like, but the only victims of rape are the people who are raped.

Not the perpetrators. They are the rapists. Got that?

OK, so let’s get out there and walk!

Fair Work

Mon, 16 May 2011 14:19:44 +1000

How about that! Fair Work Australia has upheld the pay equity claim for community service workers. They also asked the parties to make further submissions related to identifying the extent to which gender has inhibited wage growth in the industry to help them create a remedy to address that situation.

You can read the full decision here. Paragraphs 291 and 292 have the the interesting bits:

[291] In this decision we have concluded that for employees in the SACS industry there is not equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal or comparable value by comparison with workers in state and local government employment. We consider gender has been important in creating the gap between pay in the SACS industry and pay in comparable state and local government employment. And, in order to give effect to the equal remuneration provisions, the proper approach is to attempt to identify the extent to which gender has inhibited wages growth in the SACS industry and to mould a remedy which addresses that situation. We have reached some preliminary views about how that might be done, recognising that simply adopting the pay rates resulting from the Queensland Equal Remuneration decision is not appropriate. It is desirable, however, that we give the parties the opportunity to make further submissions on the matters.

[292] The matters on which we would be particularly interested to know the views of the parties are as follows:

The nature of the alterations, if any, that should be made to the classifications and associated wage rates in the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award 2010123 having regard to the Commonwealth’s previous submission concerning graduate wage rates in that modern award.
The extent to which wage rates in the SACS industry are lower than they would otherwise be because of gender considerations, including how the amount of the gender related undervaluation of the work of the classifications in the industry should be calculated and concrete estimates of that gender related undervaluation.
The amount or amounts, either dollar or percentage, to be included in any equal remuneration order and estimates of the cost.
The phasing-in of any equal remuneration order and the effect of such phasing on the transitional provisions in the modern award.
The form of any equal remuneration order, including whether it should specify the particular wage rates that are to apply to the classifications in the modern award, or a monetary or percentage addition to the wage rates for the classifications in the modern award and whether it should provide for salary packaging and absorption of any overaward payments.
Whether the quantum in any equal remuneration order could or should be included in the modern award having regard, amongst other things, to the operation of the better off overall test.

How about that...

Remembering those who have died

Wed, 04 May 2011 13:03:41 +1000

Today is the National Day to Remember those who died as a result of Family and Domestic Violence. Candles will be lit and many people will be thinking about the person they lost to this shocking crime.

In her media release to commemorate the day, Kate Ellis, Minister for the Status of Women, talks about the responsibility we all have to "uphold the right of women and children to a life free from violence."

A high proportion of female homicide victims are killed by an offender with whom they share a domestic relationship.

For every person who has died from domestic violence, there are many more women who have come close. Women who live in fear for their lives. Women who don't know how to uphold the right to a life free from violence for themselves or for their children.

I wonder if the women who died had ever heard about the national phone service for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault?

If they had, did they ring the number? Probably not. My guess is that you only call for help at a time when you feel safe enough to talk. Timing is everything.

Please, please, if you are in a domestic violence situation, ring the number now – while you can.

Remember, timing is everything. Do it now. NOW.

Ring 1800 737 732 - if you can't remember the number, ring 1800 RESPECT

It gets better

Fri, 15 Apr 2011 11:52:55 +1000

Growing up isn't easy are the first words on the web site promoting the It Gets Better Project, a worldwide movement that aims to inspire hope for young people, particularly young gay people, facing harassment. Supported by eminent people such as Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, the web site provides a place where young people who are lesbian, gay, bi or trans can see how love and happiness can be theirs. One day.

it is an important message, and one that I would love to see being taken up by our political leaders.

How about it, Julia?

Changing values

Thu, 14 Apr 2011 16:57:17 +1000

One of the traps of being a blogger is that from time to time you come to a point where you become convinced that your voice is never going to be able to make things right and your opinions are washed away by sorrow. This temporary form of paralysis hit me between the eyes when the Australian military recently demonstrated how little progress women have made in the fight for equality in this country.

Then just as you start to think you will never write another blog, you realise that this means accepting things will never change. And it was the threat of change that set all this off.

Change to the Australian Defence Forces, that is.

When Stephen Smith said enough is enough, a whole lot of people in the military suddenly realised that they may have to change – because as we all know, things do not change; people change.

Cultural resistance to change is the norm. The slow speed of change is also the norm.

The only way to achieve change is through good leadership. Good leaders inspire people to want to change, and ensure that there are real mechanisms to measure the progress towards new goals.

The real question for Stephen Smith has to be whether the current ADF leadership can do this. So far it isn’t looking good.

Too many of the people in charge seem to believe that the only way to demonstrate you are a ‘real man’ is by being a bully and a sexist thug.

Continually turning a blind eye to bad behaviour effectively reinforces this belief.

It is time for all Australians, men and women, to stand up for our true values, which include tolerance and respect for differences, care and compassion for self and others and being accountable for our own behaviour.

After all, aren’t these the values the military is fighting for in Afghanistan?

Body and mind workshop

Tue, 22 Mar 2011 11:13:25 +1100

What at day! On 16 March, I attended a Body and Mind Workshop conducted by the Labour-Management Studies Foundation at Macquarie University.

I learned so much, especially about extending my longevity, improving my health, why menopause is such a drag and how to reduce staff absenteeism by engaging with improving staff health. I am still waiting for the papers from the day, and may have some more to share when I receive them but in the mean time, my key learnings.

The seminar opened with a presentation on risk and risk management by Dr Annette Davison, Faculty of Business and Economics at Macquarie University. The aim here was to really get us thinking about risks in life and work, and how we might best manage them. The presentations following this looked at various life and work issues, hence the emphasis on ‘Body and Mind Corporate’ in the workshop title. For me, there are messages there about risks we might, both personally and corporately, better manage in our lives.
For example I have become very interested in selenium as a dietary supplement. Australia is naturally very low with selenium in the natural environment compared to other nations, and we do not get much from food grown in Australia. Dr Carole Hungerford, author of ‘Good health in the 21 Century’ advocates we add supplements to our diet. Check her out on line on line at http://www.carolehungerford.com.au/extrac.htm for further information around this. Carole rejects nail polish as too dangerous for our health and expresses deep concern about the level of chemicals in our environment. She also talks about her belief that the food we eat today has lost some of its nutritional value for us because of how it is grown, when compared to say, our grandparents’ food.
Exercise really is important. Most speakers recommend more exercise in one form or another. Do your best but do some. 30 minutes a day is good, but don’t forget pushing a shopping trolley and generally walking about in the course of the day also count. Be positive about this.
Think of your dinner plate as divided down the middle, and fill half with vegetables/leafy greens/orange vegetables and divide the remaining half into two, fill one with complex carbohydrates, say brown rice, and the other with lean protein, say fish. Try and reduce your red meat! When we broke for lunch, I was impressed by the way almost everyone began paying more attention to what they put on their plates! We were much more motivated and aware about how really important this is.
Doctor John Cummins from Executive Medicine, who focused on The Body in his session, espoused the diets of the Okinawans, who have great longevity. 3 key messages from their culture: Keep a reason to get up each day, maintain great supportive relationships and don’t gain weight with age. More challenges to take up!
John also thinks we must have a greater focus on workplace health and that key to this is recognizing that it is a good return on investment. So many people simply turn up for work but don’t actually give of themselves. If employers really paid attention to the wide gamut of work place health issues, they could become employers of choice. He sees this as a way of recognizing that people really are the greatest asset to any organization. The trick here is for the employers recognize the risk of not engaging with their employees and act to do so.
From a women’s health perspective, menopause can and does play real havoc in women’s lives, and can have especially nasty impacts on careers. Nicola Gates, a clinical neurologist argues that the enormous hormonal changes lead to stress, weight gain and general personal upheaval for some women. She too advocates exercise, especially resistance training, developing a positive attitude, managing stress through relaxation, remembering to breathe, resting, prioritizing and taking holidays to allow for recovery.
Again on the corporate front, a big issue is still bullying, and not just boss to worker bullying. Graham Evans, solicitor and Managing Planner at Mercury Law thinks upwards bullying, or when individuals or groups try and undermine and destroy the careers of women managers, is currently running at about 60% of bullying complaints. This is really worrying from the perspective of women and work. What are we thinking out there? That bullying is still prevalent is horrible enough, but that we perpetrate this against each other is appalling. It is ‘out there’ as an existing real issue and Graham doesn’t think it’s going away.

This was a really worthwhile day for me, and I have tried to share the ‘must haves’ from this information rich workshop.

What is feminism?

Mon, 14 Mar 2011 12:47:21 +1100

Why is the word 'feminist' rejected by so many young people? Do feminists really have hairy legs and hate men? I don't think so. Most of the young people I know are still fighting for equality, hate sexism and regard the battle for equal rights as a battle worth fighting.

Yet last week at the International Women's Day Forum conducted by Minister for Women, the Honourable Kate Ellis, the panel (Annabel Crabb, Miriam Lyons, Tania Major and Brigadier Alison Creagh - all intelligent women) once again debated the term feminist as if it were something nasty to be taken out for an airing now and then, and then put away in the cupboard to avoid offending anyone.

But it seems to me that there isn't a lot of difference between these young people and the feminists who have fought so hard for women rights.

Without feminists, Australian women would not have many important things that we now take for granted.

Things such as the right to vote, the right to be educated, the right to equal pay, the right to stay at work after we marry, the right not to be raped and the right to equal opportunity at work.

The most recent gain, paid maternity leave, came about as a result of lobbying undertaken by women's organisations. Most of these organisations, like 2020women, call themselves feminist organisations.

There is still much to be done before equality really exists for women. Many of the rights listed above are legal rights, but are rights in name only, not yet accepted as the norm in our society. Even worse, many of the gains made in the 1980s are slowly being eroded. For example, equal pay is actually losing ground as the pay gap between men and women's wages is widening. Women are still systematically excluded from positions of power, and according to Kate Ellis, 1 in 5 Australian women will experience sexual violence in their lifetime.

Why?

And why, given the problems that still exist, do young people shy away from taking positive action in the fight for equality? Is it because they are afraid of being labelled as 'feminists'?

So what is this awful thing, this feminism? Wikipedia does a good job of describing it. Feminists are people who practice feminism; people of either sex, male or female. Feminism is a movement that aims to define, establish and defend equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women.

Some feminists, including me, believe that gender equality is critical to women's rights, and that feminism is good for men as well as women.

Feminism is important for society and for families. Feminists support women having the power to choose the roles they undertake, including the traditional roles of mother and carer.

If you believe that equality in all aspects of society is important, that sexual harassment, sexual assault and domestic violence are deplorable and should be challenged, that women should not be forced into roles they don't want, then you share the values of feminism.

That's not so hard, is it?

You can check out what other feminists look like on this YouTube video:

What do you think? Could you be a feminist after all? I know that I am.

Women, work and health

Sun, 27 Feb 2011 13:53:51 +1100

Is your job going to kill you? Do high level job demands increase the likelihood of serious illness? Are we as women really able to continue to manage a balanced work and home life, juggling what we have always done in an environment of increasingly demanding work expectations and sometimes even more demanding family expectations?

2020women has been invited to The Body and Mind Corporate strategic workshop for identifying and managing health risks for women executives which will provide some current insights into what the research is saying around women, work, family and well being. We will be reporting back on key outcomes in a later blog.

This is a fascinating topic for feminists and an important choice of topic, especially as we near International Women’s Day on the 8 March.

Allowing time for discussion and reflection on the impact of work on women’s lives is timely and essential work. It’s pertinent and immediate to any woman trying to live her life in a number of active and demanding roles.

Could it be that as we gain slowly improving access to better work opportunities, there are additional risks involved? Do employers recognize that the pressures of work in the 21 Century may require changes in ensuring the well being of their employees, and especially for women who generally have a variety of roles daily required of them? Can we both succeed in the workplace and manage our well being to stay healthy? What do we need to do, to ensure recognition of new and important issues around work and home well being?

The Body and Mind Corporate is a workshop which investigates the effect modern lifestyles and expectations have on women’s health. Sponsored jointly by Macquarie University’s Faculty of Business and Economics and iConneXX, an organization which focuses on improving the quality of life, it presents some renowned speakers who provide insights into a range of issues affecting women’s well being.

Speakers included Annette Davidson, a Director of iConneXX and organizer of the event, Dr Carole Hungerford, author of Good Health in the 21st Century, Dr John Cummins, a specialist medical consultant in the field of Corporate Health and Wellness as well as a number of other eminent and practical speakers.

The workshop is at the Sofitel Sydney Wentworth, Wednesday 16 March from 8.30 to 6.00pm.

If you are interested in attending or can talk you boss into going or sponsoring you you can register here.

Read the brochure for more information.

Compassion is hard work for some

Fri, 18 Feb 2011 17:58:29 +1100

The Opposition hit a new low in their reaction to the funeral of the victims of the Christmas Island boat tragedy, and I can’t help thinking that the government isn’t too far behind them despite Chris Bowen's sudden enthusiasm for multiculturalism.

I always expected the Opposition to take up the Pauline Hanson line, but, since the Labor government came into power, I have been most disappointed by their lack of transparency and fairness in relation to our refugees. Policies to deny procedural fairness to refugees that were put in place by the Howard government apparently are also supported by the ALP, judging by their actions.

The most revealing read about Bowen's attitude is in Barrie Cassidy’s article for The Drum. He reports on a discussion between Jon Faine and Immigration Minister, Chris Bowen, on Melbourne radio on Wednesday this week. This was before the media reported how distasteful the ALP approach to refugees is to many of us.

Bowen's responses to Jon Faine's questions about when he would release the child from detention were most unimpressive.

Heather Ewart's interview with Bowen on ABC TV's 7.30 Report showed him in a similar light to Jon Faine's interview. Unconcerned and bureaucratic.

Bowen seemed like a nice chap when he was looking after his last portfolio – but I guess the pressure is on to conform to the party line, even though the ALP's loss of values is blazingly apparent with the way they are handling refugees. Particularly young refugees.

I agree with the morning show on radio RRR today- watching the government's performance on this issue is like watching a noodle trying to become stiff.

Chris? Julia? How about a little more leadership and a little less followership? And remember, it is actions that count, not promises.

Isn't it time to show some compassion and release them all?

Go, the white shirt brigade!

Tue, 18 Jan 2011 12:37:43 +1100

Anna Bligh has made a big impression on Australia, not just with the sensible, steady and compassionate demeanour she maintained during frequent media appearances as she reported on the devastation in Queensland floods, but also with her supremely sensible dress…the white shirt. It struck just the right note.

However, white hasn’t always been such a popular colour. You probably don’t remember the white shoe brigade – you’re too young. But I do. In the days of Joh Bjelke-Petersen (ex-Premier of Queensland) there were some shonky Gold Coast property developers who were known as the white shoe brigade – it was a bit of a put-down really. White shirts with black pants were worn with white shoes. Quite a look!

It was around that time that my mother decided to count the white shirts in my wardrobe. Twenty-eight.

Gradually I got the number down to two – but you know what, I think that, like our Julia, I might just go shopping for a few more.

Billboard ads under review

Mon, 10 Jan 2011 16:54:07 +1100

Some outdoor advertising can be pretty shocking. There was one I saw that advertised who knows what, but it depicted a nude woman lying on a whole lot of chillis - did you see it? What was being sold never did register with me. Other ads are less explicit, but just as sexually suggestive. Ads for underclothes, perfume and jeans seem to be the biggest offenders – surely they can be advertised without sexy images?

So it was good to learn that the Commonwealth government's House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs is conducting an inquiry into the Regulation of Billboard Advertising. Submission are due early February 2011.

The Attorney-General, Robert McClelland called the inquiry following an increase in the number of complaints received. "In 2008, outdoor advertising accounted for 16% of complaints about advertising and in 2009, outdoor advertising accounted for 23% of complaints. Large-scale outdoor advertising is difficult for the public to avoid and concerns have been expressed about the appropriateness of some advertising for children."

Currently billboard advertising is self-regulated by the outdoor advertising industry, administered by the Advertising Standards Bureau. The House of Representatives Committee will consider the effectiveness of current regulations and whether industry self-regulation remains in line with community expectations.

If you are interested in helping prepare 2020women's submission to this inquiry, we'd love to hear from you.Your ideas, comments and feedback are all useful.

Apply now for 2011 paid leave

Tue, 19 Oct 2010 12:01:29 +1100

Can you believe it! After all this time, you can now apply for paid parental leave if you are having a baby (birth or adoption) after 1 January 2011. A comprehensive publicity campaign advertising the details will be starting soon.

But if you can't wait, you will find information about entitlements and how to claim on the FAHSCIA web site and the Centrelink web site has a Paid Parental Leave Comparison Estimator which will help you make an informed decision about claiming Parental Leave Pay or the Baby Bonus.

Go for it! You deserve it.

Brigadier McDade

Sun, 10 Oct 2010 19:16:45 +1100

Firstly, Brigadier McDade has 25 years’ experience as a military lawyer and has worked as a barrister, deputy coroner and civilian prosecutor. Let’s state that at the beginning, let’s not bury it at the bottom of the column.

Secondly, Brigadier McDade is the victim of invective from the military because she is doing her job. Let’s get that straight right from the start too.

If you haven’t caught up with this story, read the Brisbane Times article from 9 October.

In a nutshell, McDade has charged three Australian soldiers involved in killing a number of Afghanistani women and children while they were trying to kill someone they thought was a terrorist.

However, right now I want to talk about what is happening to Brigadier McDade. A highly skilled, extremely experienced, good woman is under attack.

It is not unusual for women to take on the difficult jobs. It is also not unusual for people to be challenged when they do something difficult. It is equally unsurprising that the decision to charge the three soldiers has been received with outrage.

What is very unusual and surprising is to see military people behaving so badly, attacking a military decision-maker so publicly and with such abuse.

Would this be occurring if the decision maker were male? I think not.

Why is it that when women in positions of power make unpopular decisions, whether at work, in politics, in law, there are no holds barred on the commentary and personal attacks become the norm.

Just think for a minute…..how many times have you heard employees (male and female) say of a dysfunctional and destructive male boss “he is hard, but we respect him”.

Then when similar behaviour comes from a woman, it is a different story.

Both men and women are empowered to criticise women – our whole culture is built on this – and do so, freely.

Not only that, but women fail to attract support from the senior people in the hierarchy in the same way men do.

There are rarely any repercussions when people complain about a woman manager. Senior people will listen to the subordinates about a complaint regarding a woman in a way they never tolerate for male managers.

So, Army, what actions have been taken against the people who have posted abusive comments about Brigadier McDade on Facebook? Hmmm? I’ll wager the answer is “none”.

Brigadier McDade’s job is to enforce the rules. The job of the troops is to obey the rules. In the McDade case, the rules are the issue, not the decision to enforce their application.

My questions include what sort of rules of engagement should Australian troops in Afghanistan be required to meet? Should the rules of engagement include rules that require troops to avoid returning fire and deploying to another safe area if they come under fire from a dwelling place that could be considered to be sheltering women and children? Was the command “don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes” the first rule of engagement issued to an army?

I have no doubt that these will be the issues addressed by the court when the hearings into this case are held. In the meantime, a good woman is under attack.

I don’t believe there are any clear cut solutions in what is a complex and difficult case, but I do know that female decision-makers in our society are not supported in the same way as male decision-makers, and therefore are considered ‘fair game’. And I don’t like it.

Sticky floor syndrome

Wed, 06 Oct 2010 16:35:17 +1100

It's that time of year again – you know, the time that the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency to tell us, once again, how poorly women are doing in leadership roles in Australia. Some call it the glass ceiling, but I prefer to call it the sticky floor syndrome.

This year the EOWA data tells us that despite all the talk, nothing much has changed. Surprise! Why would it, when our lives are so sweet at the bottom levels!

Compared with New Zealand, UK, Canada, US and South Africa, Australia has the lowest percentage of women on boards.
Compared with the UK, Canada, USA and South Africe, Australia has the lowest percentage of women in Executive Key Management Personnel roles.
Women chair five boards and hold 8.4% of Board Directorships in ASX 200 companies in 2010, compared with 8.3% in 2008. A whole 1% increase.
In 2008, 51% of ASX 200 companies had no women directors. In 2010, that figure has increased to 54%.

You can read more of the depressing report, if you are interested. I don't think I'll bother - I'm too busy licking up all this sugar on the floor!

Random promotions work best

Sat, 02 Oct 2010 18:05:36 +1000

Given the low representation of women in senior management position, I was always a bit suspicious about so-called merit based selections, but there is now proof they don't work. The 2010 Ig Noble prizes awarded their management prize to researchers who have shown that promoting people at random improves the efficiency of organisations!

The Ig Noble awards are handed out annually in Boston, just before the Nobel Prizes are announced in Sweden. They are awarded by real Nobel laureates to scientists whose work make people laugh first and think later.

And that is exactly what happened to me when I heard about the management prize.

For years, women have been hitting their heads against the glass ceiling in organisations as their male colleagues pompously lay claim to the notion that selections are fair, and that the superior skills/experience held mainly by men are essential to improving organisational efficiency.

Well, guess what. According to the research undertaken by Alessandro Pluchino and team at the University of Catania, the Peter Principle (which says that people climb hierarchies until they reach their level of maximum incompetence) is unavoidable. It would be far better for the efficiency of the organisation if people drew names out of a hat for the next person to fill the boss's job.

This would also mean that women have an equal chance to men of gaining these roles.

Dream on Jenni. In my experience people in power have a vested self interest in maintaining the fiction that the selection process works, despite the evidence.

If like me, you are totally frustrated by this situation, you may also be interested to learn that the Ig Nobles awarded their peace prize to research that showed swearing does reduce pain.

Welcome to the Lodge, Julia!

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 16:59:38 +1000

Julia Gillard has won the day and with the support of two of the independents, will form a Labor government. We are going to have Australia's first female in the Lodge, our first atheist, and the first person to be our Prime Minister who has never been married. Blimey!

While Tony Abbott has been behaving in a stereotypically blustering male leader fashion (that is, with lots of demands, challenges and strong statements) over the past two weeks, Gillard has cleverly focussed more on collaboration than on competition, and it has paid off.

Let's hope that this signals a leadership style that she can maintain. To do so will require strength and courage; she will have to stare down the boy's own club, Labor's so-called faceless men, and trust in her ability to lead in a different, more collaborative, way.

You can do it Julia - the women of Australia are behind you.

Turning tables

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 17:51:50 +1000

What a time we are having in Australia. Everywhere you look, tables are turning, tides are changing and shoes are flying from foot to foot. Not only do we have daily political power shifts as the Labor and Liberal parties try to square off the independents to give them government – “Give it to me!” “No, no, give it to me!” – it now looks as if the CEO of David Jones may face eight more claims of sexual harassment.

Given that a large number of women suffer sexual harassment at work and knowing that little is done to protect them, I can only applaud the courage of these women. Young women are particularly vulnerable to sexual harassment, and it is their employer's responsibility to take steps to prevent it from happening.

Powerful people taking advantage of their position is not a new phenomenon, and sexual power plays by supervisors always get a lot of publicity…perhaps because this type of sexual harassment is less difficult to understand.

Yet sexual harassment can occur in many ways.

It is not always easy for the person being sexually harassed to make their displeasure known. Knowing when and where to draw the line can be confusing, and women may tend to blame themselves for other people’s inappropriate behaviour.

The important thing, if it is happening to you or to a friend, is to get advice. For the cost of a local call you can ring the Australian Human Rights Commission Infoline on 1300 656 419.

You can also read more about what constitutes sexual harassment and learn more about your rights in the following publication:

Know your rights: Sex discrimination and sexual harassment

It is worth trying to turn the tables on this one.

Who sank the boat?

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 08:54:59 +1000

Who are the ALP and Liberal parties talking to? I want to know more about the hardhearted self-satisfied people who want to sink the hopes of people who have been through hell – are they truly my fellow compatriots?

Both the ALP and the Liberal party believe most Australians are so upset by the trickle of refugees that they have made policies to stop refugees’ boats central to their election campaigns.

Out of 15 million refugees in the world and 26 million internally displaced people, only a very small number make it to Australia.

Those who do come here are certainly no threat to our border security; they are inevitably picked up by our border security patrols, and more often than not they are granted refugee status as they are genuinely fleeing from circumstances worse than we can ever imagine.

It is easy to pick on people less fortunate than yourself, isn’t it?

I can’t vote for a party with these values and sincerely hope that in their next lives both Tony Abbott and Julia Gillard are born into a family of refugees living in a refugee camp in Indonesia.

After all, whether you are the person on the boat or whether you are the person who wants to stop the boat is entirely an accident of birth.

The Big Move

Sat, 14 Aug 2010 13:25:16 +1000

There is nothing quite like an interstate move to remind you that nationally, Australia still has a long way to go. These are some of the things I encountered over the past few months in my Big Move from a rural community outside Canberra to another semi-rural community a short distance from Melbourne. Perhaps there are some policy lessons here for a government that is interested in moving forward?

Communications

You can’t believe how difficult it is to get the communications infrastructure stuff right when you move – phone, internet, etc. suddenly become huge barriers to your ability to communicate.

Clearly Australia needs to do something about this, but I am not sure that spending $1230 of my tax money on building a Telstra lookalike in the form of the National Broadband Network is the answer.

It seems that India, USA and Europe all achieved pretty effective broadband outcomes spending a fraction of this, by letting competition go to work.

After all, aren’t we in our current pickle with communications infrastructure because we relied on a monopoly – so now the answer is to build another monopoly?? Doesn’t make sense to me.

Removing layers of government

When looking at removing layers of government involved in the services that are provided to citizens, why not start with something a bit easier than health. Then we might be able to build the skills required to deliver national services without creating a major disaster.

For example, I have just found that it takes 10 days to issue a driver’s licence in Victoria; NSW and ACT both issue them on the spot. As the NSW licence has no date of issue, this creates a huge workload for Victorian registration, where it is required. Then, to top it all off, the Victorians blithely post your licence to you in the ordinary mail trusting all identity thieves to leave them in your letterbox.

I can’t help feeling that starting the reform process with something as complex as health is a big mistake. Let's see if we can have a national driver's licence before a national health system.

Baby steps might be advisable, particularly given that the government has had some spectacular failures in managing national programs.

Transport

The biggest problem we had in our move was the transport problem. The roads were all wet and boggy, and the trucks got bogged.

How can we live in a country where boggy roads are still a problem less than 30 kilometres from major cities? How about we fix some of these things, and get transport working properly throughout the country rather than spending billions on a railway connection for a small number of people?

So where does this leave my vote?

In summary, I am thrilled we have Julia Gillard heading the ALP and am sufficiently chauvinistic to hope she becomes our prime minister. I want a female in charge.

But without the help of the Greens on the policies, Labor looks pathetic – none of the policies that are important to me (including paid parental leave) are being handled well. In particular, I am very disappointed by the ALP's approach of over-promising on policy issues, and then under-delivering.

But I guess Jullia will still get my vote, even if it is via the Greens’ ticket.