News & Views

Many times this year, I have found myself thinking back to 2007 when as the very new, very green Executive Director of the National Committee for UNIFEM (now UN Women) I was often asked to speak at corporate, government and community events on the issue of gender equality.

Abortion has been decriminalised in some states and territories in Australian (ACT, TAS & VIC), remains on the criminal statues in others (QLD & NSW) and partially decriminalised in the remaining states (WA, NT & SA).

Once upon a time, 5pm was the traditional time employees clocked off at work for the day.

Despite dramatic advances in technology in recent times, the structures of our workplaces have changed little since the industrial revolution.

There’s an average $27,000 a year that separates men and women working full time, according to new data released by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency covering 40% of all employees in Australia.

Have you ever felt so angry with an obstructive male boss or colleague that you could feel the red mist descending? Then you might like Kate Kane (1854–1928), the trailblazing American lawyer who, on the afternoon of Friday 20 April, 1883, got so enraged at Judge James Mallory that she dashed him in the face with a glass of water in a Milwaukee courtroom.

Whenever I drop my kids off at school or go to the shopping centre, I can’t help thinking about the real meaning of the family violence statistics we hear so often these days.

The participation of women in the labour force has increased substantially over the last few decades, but women still retire with around half as much superannuation as men.

Former Prime Minister Julia Gillard is possibly the single best woman in the country to give advice on leadership.

Prisoners at Loddon and Middleton prisons in Castlemaine Victoria are countering the stereotype of what a male prisoner is like – these brawny tattooed men are reading kids’ books and not only that – they are reading them aloud and being recorded! They are participating in a program initiated and funded by Friends of Castlemaine Library (FOCAL) ‘Read-Along Dads’ which helps the prisoners stay in touch with their children: the recordings are copied to CD and sent to the children with a copy of the book, so kids can listen to their dad read a bedtime story.

The upcoming innovation statement needs to focus on improving gender diversity in tech or it’ll be a “half-hearted” effort, Australian Computer Society President Brenda Aynsley says.

The recent bushfires in Western Australia and South Australia are a reminder of the deadly potential of bushfires in this country.