Feminist News Round-up 05.02.12
Win for Community Sector, Women
This week Fair Work Australia ruled that those working in the Community Sector were being underpaid. Community Sector workers include people who work in crucial and difficult jobs such as carers, social workers, and child protection workers. Part of the reason they were being underpaid, they ruled, was that the Community Sector predominantly comprises of women. Over the next eight years, workers in the sector can expect up to a 41 per cent pay increase. The Federal Government, which pays 40 per cent of Community Sector workers, applauded this decision. Meanwhile, it is still unclear if state governments will be supportive of this decision, with Victoria being particularly reluctant to endorse the ruling. You can read more here.
Company fined for dismissing pregnant employee
A printing company based in Sydney dismissed a pregnant clerical worker because her pregnancy caused ‘inconvenience’. After telling her boss that she was pregnant, the employee, Jiongqui Ye, was told that she would have to train a new worker in her position and that she may not be able to retain her job. Ye suffered a number of complications with her pregnancy and while on sick leave for a few days, the employer hired a new full-time worker to perform her role. Sadly, Ye suffered a miscarriage and upon returning to the company she was demoted to a lower paying job which involved manual labour. After complaining to the Fair Work Ombudsman, Ye was fired. This week, a court ruled that Ye had been treated abusively on the basis of her pregnancy and gender which is unlawful, particularly in the wake of new reforms to national workplace legislation. You can read more about the story here.
Rape myths fuel acquittals
Leading UK prosecutor, Alison Saunders, has said that the vilification of young women has made many cases of rape end in acquittal. In addition, the fear of vilification makes many young women reluctant to speak out about the crime. To a large degree, according to Saunders, the vilification comes from jurors who have negative preconceptions about women. These preconceptions may be based on media propagations such as, as Saunders says, ‘if a girl goes out and gets drunk and falls over … they are almost demonised in the media, and if they then become a victim, you can see how juries would bring their preconceptions to bear.’ She also remarks that prosecutors and police involved in investigating rape are trained specifically to overcome stereotypical myths about women and rape. However, she believes more needs to be done on a social level to reframe the way rape and victims of rape are portrayed on a wide level. You can read more here.
Discovery of Thai ‘sex slaves’ in Sydney
A tip-off to the Salvation Army led to the discovery of three young Thai citizens who were lured into working in a Sydney brothel. The women were promised student visas but instead had their passports taken away and were held against their will in Australia. The owner of the ‘Diamonds 4 Ever’ brothel has been arrested and charged with human trafficking offences. The women have been referred to a recovery programme run by the Red Cross and may be granted Witness Protection Visas. You can read more here.
Women are better at parking cars
On a more lighthearted note, UK company, National Car Parks, tested 2500 drivers and found that women, on average, park better than men. Women overall utilised a slow and steady strategy for parking, tending to notice more vacant car spaces. Women also tended to position their car better for straight, successful parking. To add to that, women tended to be more modest, with only 28 per cent rating themselves as better parkers than their partners. You can read more here, but I don’t recommend reading the comments below the article from angry men!
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