Looking back over our most read articles this year gives an interesting summary of the things we were talking about in 2015. The tragedy of too many women killed is the first thing that stands out, the grief and anger is palpable in each new article.
But the other thing that stands out is that throughout the year, women were standing up and speaking out. We were strong and fierce in our rejection of violence, sexism and denigration of women. And equally strong in our celebration of women’s success. There is much we need to change, more battles to win, but the strength we get and give to other women is undeniable, and it will carry us through.
Deloitte appoints female CEO
By Angela Priestley
Deloitte will soon become the first of the ‘Big Four’ accounting firms to have a female boss, after Cindy Hook was appointed CEO on Friday.
The appointment is significant for women in the profession, where women make up around half of all accountants in Australia but just 16.9% of partners in the country’s top 100 accounting firms, according to a 2013 BRW survey.
Another woman killed by a man and we’re talking about why women shouldn’t walk in parks. What is wrong Australia?
By Luke Abblett
A a discussion on men’s violence is largely missing. We’re still talking about why a young woman was walking on her own through a park, or whether it’s safe for a woman to run on her own, or why a woman doesn’t leave a violent relationship. Why aren’t we seriously asking ourselves why men in our community are committing such horrible acts of violence against women?
What happens when a US rapper sets 2.49 million followers against an Australian feminist?
By Victoria A. Brownworth
The level of abuse women experience on social media is extreme. Women use social media more than men and their experiences of abuse tend to be more extreme, as study and poll and study have shown.
The question is, why? What makes some men go right to rape and death threats when challenged –or when they perceive they are challenged – by women?
How to describe why you’re passionate about what you do
By Valerie Khoo
You rarely launch into a long tale about all the things that make you passionate about what you do. You start with a spark, something that will intrigue people. Once they’re drawn in, it bursts into flame, and then you can fan it with more details about your story until it becomes a fire.
What I learned from having a nervous breakdown at 25
By Georgina Dent
That was a bit over five years ago now but I remember the experience like it was yesterday. I didn’t feel lucky at the time but soon enough I recognised that I was fortunate to have been forced to navigate the steep learning curve that is good mental health, relatively early in life. Prior to my meltdown I was essentially a battered mind, with the perpetrator being none other than myself. The best bit is I learned to change that.
Waleed spoke, Australia listened
By Jane Gilmore
But in the wake of all the rage, grief, fear, guilt, blame and resentment, and despite the loud minority preaching hate, Australia responded overwhelmingly to Waleed Aly’s plea for understanding.
After attacks designed to stir up hatred and fear of Muslims, the most popular voice speaking to us and for us was a Muslim man advocating peace and love.
“Plain of feature and certainly overweight”: the most sexist obituary ever published?
By Georgina Dent
Consider this.
“[He] was one of Australia’s greatest storytellers, touching the hearts of millions of people around the world with 21 bestselling books including The Power of One.”
And now consider this.
“Australia’s best-selling author was a charmer. Plain of feature, and certainly overweight, she was, nevertheless, a woman of wit and warmth.”
The day Facebook banned Clementine Ford
By Georgina Dent
I am someone who fights ingrained sexism but I am nowhere near as bold or as brave as Clementine Ford. This means the rebukes I receive aren’t as vile, vicious or voluminous as those that Clementine gets. On occasion people have commented to me, that Clem always seems angry. It’s a typical criticism levelled at articulate feminists, particularly those who are genuinely uninterested in pleasing those around them. As a person it’s not valid to characterise Clementine as angry, but in her writing? Very. So every time I hear that, my response is the same: Why wouldn’t she be angry?
Welcome to the 2015 NAB Women’s Agenda Leadership Awards
By Lucia Osborne-Crowley
Our distinguished guests and finalists have arrived and our awards are underway. We are so excited to welcome our guest speaker, former Prime Minister Julia Gillard, and our Hall of Fame Entrant and Workplace Gender Equality Agency director Helen Conway. We would also like to welcome each and every one of our amazing finalists, and we would like to congratulate them on their incredible achievements.
Another week, another woman murdered: The death of 28 women is a national emergency
By Lucia Osborne-Crowley
Haydar was the 26th woman to die in Australia as a result of violence against women since January 1, 2015, and the seventh in NSW alone. That is just over two women per week. The Counting Dead Women Australia researchers of Destroy The Joint are compiling a comprehensive list of women killed in Australia due to domestic violence. Today they have updated the count to 28 women who have been killed in Australia in 2015.
The most powerful part-timers of 2015
By Women’s Agenda
This is the second year that ProfessionalMums.net and Women’s Agenda have researched and published the Part-Time Power List, a list of people that work in leadership positions at large organisations in a flexible or part-time role.
The LNP is hosting a Women’s Day event at a men-only club & Tony Abbott says they’re “smashing the glass ceiling”
By Lucia Osborne-Crowley
The LNP will host their International Women’s Day event this year at a strictly men-old club in Brisbane on Friday.
The event is to be held at Tattersall’s, an exclusive club that expressly prohibits women from becoming members – unless they are married to a member, in which case they can be admitted with their ‘Partner’s Card’.
The Thing All Women Do That You Don’t Know About
By Gretchen Kelly
Maybe they don’t know that at the tender age of 13 we had to brush off adult men staring at our breasts. Maybe they don’t know that men our dad’s ages actually came on to us while we were working the cash register. They probably don’t know that the guy in English class who asked us out sent angry messages just because we turned him down. They may not be aware that our supervisor regularly pats us on the ass. And they surely don’t know that most of the time we smile, with gritted teeth. That we look away or pretend not to notice. They likely have no idea how often these things happen. That these things have become routine. So expected that we hardly notice it anymore.
What no one tells you about motherhood
By Esther Walker
if you had a friend who chose to train for a marathon, or go into the army, or who is a barrister, or a teacher, or a social worker or a doctor and they suddenly confess to you that their lives are at times impossible and that they don’t think they can carry on, that they sometimes cry in desperation – you would not tell them that they were depressed.
You probably wouldn’t even advise them to quit. “You can do it,” you would say. “Tomorrow is another day. Hang in there.” And what you really wouldn’t say is: there is something wrong with you, I think you need help.
Bride and seek: How did this headline get printed?
By Lucia Osborne-Crowley
Yesterday’s daily edition of Brisbane’s News Corp-owned newspaper the Courier Mail dedicated its front cover the Scott’s story. It featured the image of her that every Australian has now seen – at her hens party, wearing a veil and sash. Plastered across the image were the words ‘Bride and seek’.
The theft of an innocent young life reduced to a crude play on words. A joke.
Linda Locke: Another week, another woman beaten to death
By Georgina Dent
According to Destroy the Joint’s Counting Dead Women research Linda Locke is the 34th woman killed through violence in Australia this year. In 25 of these cases the woman knew her murderer. It seems Linda will join that group.
Turnbull argued a basic feminist concept last night, and he may not even know it
By Jane Gilmore
Turnbull is a wealthy, white, middle class, well-educated, able bodied, intelligent, attractive, heterosexual man, born in Australia. He’s sitting on top of the intersection of just about every possible privilege you can think of, and he’s recognising that for what it is – opportunities he was born with, that are either totally out of reach, or at least extremely difficult to access, to anyone not born to them. He’s articulating the idea that all too often, people born with those privileges actively resist – he didn’t earn them or deserve them, he was given them. The corollary being that people who have not achieved success are not inherently lazy or undeserving, they just didn’t have to opportunities available to them that men like Turnbull had. Additionally, he has taken the next step of understanding that those of us who have been given opportunities denied to others have a responsibility to share the benefits and widen the access to those opportunities.
How to handle a child who doesn’t want to go to school
By Danielle Corbett
Sometimes, resistance to attending school is a blip on the radar. Such resistance is common after a legitimate period of illness creating difficulty getting back to school. The young person may be anxious about all the work they have missed. It this scenario, it’s really important not to prolong time at home. Parents can take control by contacting the teacher and negotiating a back to school plan. Similarly, young people can experience blips of anxiety after holidays, especially the long summer break. Other stressors or illnesses within the family can cause school refusal as can academic problems, difficulty with a teacher, changing schools or transitioning to high school.
Women and work. Why isn’t anyone talking about the 12 years of school we all have to navigate?
By Anon
Childcare is a band-aid on a broken leg, no wonder every attempt to stick it on at a different angle doesn’t work. Fixing childcare is a good idea, but only covers the first few years of a child’s life. Then they hit 12 long years of school and life as a working parent really goes pear-shaped.