2014 has been a big year for women. There have been some very high points and some very low points, but at the end of the day, has progress been made? We think it has, and we think now is a great time to reflect on the wins we’ve had in 2014.
We’ve seen women break through barriers in business, politics, sport and IT. We’ve seen firsts for women in leadership positions, in legislation and in policy. And we’ve witnessed a global backlash against sexism – from Julien Blanc to honour killings – the likes of which we’ve never seen before.
These are our top ten moments for women in 2014. What would you add to the list?
1. The G20’s commitment to reducing the gender workforce participation gap by 25% by 2025: At first, gender equality was not on the G20 agenda at all to our great disappointment. We were pleased when, a few weeks later, our government decided to put gender back on the forum’s agenda, and even more pleased when a solid commitment was made by the G20 countries. The world’s most powerful leaders acknowledged that women’s participation in the workforce is our biggest untapped resource when it comes to boosting the global economy. Of course we will be watching very closely to see how our government and other governments around the world, work towards achieving this target, but the commitment itself is welcome.
2. Australia got its first ever comprehensive data on gender equality in the workplace: Last month, the Workplace Gender Equality Agency released its first ever full set of data on how Australian workplaces perform when it comes to gender equality, based on a wide-ranging set of key indicators. Unsurprisingly, the results were dire: The reporting population’s pay gap sits at 19.9% and women still make up only 17.3% of CEOs. Only 13.6% of employers have a strategy for flexible work. Only 7.15% of employers have standalone gender equality strategies. While the prognosis is disappointing, the fact that we now have the data we need to move forward is promising. The same data will be collected each year, meaning companies will be held accountable for their action on gender equality for the first time. As WGEA director Helen Conway said when launching the data, “there is nowhere to hide”.
3. Emma Watson’s speech on feminism to the UN: Whatever your views on Watson’s speech, the topic of gender equality is certainly better served for her delivering it. As a young woman speaking about the importance of men’s engagement in feminism, Watson drew in a lot of people who otherwise may not have thought about their role in promoting gender equality. She got people around the world to ask themselves “if not me, who; and if not now, when?”
4. Tanya Plibersek outing herself as a feminist: As one of our highest-ranking female politicians, Plibersek speaking out about the importance of feminism is hugely consequential. Her piece shed light on the struggles women still face in Australia, and why she considers it her duty to respond: “I am a feminist because I know that having so much joy and satisfaction and home and at work, it would be completely unacceptable to say to other women, the young women I meet, so full of potential, ‘you’re on your own’.” Plibersek issued a call to arms to all women in politics and in leadership to help the next generations of women overcome the barriers they face, and for that, we are very grateful.
5. #YesAllWomen (and #bringbackourgirls, and #takedownjulienblanc, and all the other campaigns that have brought down sexism and protected women this year): 2014 has been a year of resounding wins for people power. As a global community, armed with the power of Twitter and Facebook, we achieved a lot. We responded to the Santa Barbara tragedy by creating a global movement, we managed to compel the Sydney Opera House to cancel a talk on honour killings, we took down Julien Blanc, we forced Target to ban Grand Theft Auto and we properly addressed sexual assault in universities for the first time ever. Let’s hope we come away from 2014 knowing we can stamp out sexism by using our influence as a community to show those in power that we are no longer going to accept it.
6. 9 women were appointed to the Victorian state cabinet: Victoria’s new Premier Daniel Andrews announced his cabinet earlier this month, featuring nine women and 13 men. As Georgina Dent wrote, while it’s not quite parity, this balance is a big step up from our federal cabinet’s gender split.
7. The defeat of Zoe’s Law: The success of the controversial bill seeking to enact foetal personhood into NSW law seemed inevitable when it passed the lower house with a comfortable margin last year, but it had a very difficult year in the upper house thanks to women’s advocacy groups. At first, it seemed Fred Nile and the Christian Democrats had enough votes to pass the bill, but their count dwindled as the parliamentary year went on and opposition from advocacy groups grew louder. Eventually, without enough votes to pass the bill, Nile let the legislation lapse from the parliamentary agenda. If he really wants foetal personhood, he’ll have to try again next year.
8. The United States elected 100 women to Congress for the first time in history: With all the headway being made around the world, women’s representation in politics is still woeful and the page of change is glacial. But there is evidence that things are changing. In this year’s November midterms, the United States elected over 100 women to Congress for the first time ever, meaning female representation in United States lawmaking is now stronger than ever.
9. AFL got its first ever female coach: In June, St Kilda appointed Peta Searle as its new development coach, making her the first woman in Australian history to coach a professional AFL team. While women are slowly rising through the ranks of the AFL (and some other Australian professional codes – this year Suzanne Young was appointed COO of the NRL), the response to both Searle and Young’s appointments was telling: both women were discussed in the media through the lens of their motherhood, or family commitments, rather than their relevant career experience. We hope these firsts lead to continued progress in female representation at executive levels in sport – and to equal treatment when women do get appointed to leadership positions.
10. Maryam Mirzakhani became the first woman to win the Field Medal: Known as the Nobel Prize of mathematics, the Field Medal is the highest accolade in the industry and, until this year, has never been won by a woman. Women are still drastically underrepresented in STEM roles, especially amongst award-winners, so this is a big win for women in these heavily male-dominated careers.
What other wins for woman would you add to the list?