JOURNAL WEEK- 16/WOMEN'S STUDIES 1/WOMEN AND WORK

PART 1

The issues that could be faced in the work place in future in my imagination could be sexual harrassment, being offered casual work instead of permanent ones,equal opportunity,pregnancy discrimination,lack of access of to promotional opportunities and lower pay rates.


PART 2.

1)Women being paid less than men is attributed to the traditional belief that men worked to provide for their families, whiles, women only worked if they did not have either their husband or father to support them.

2)The significant achievements by Unions regarding Equal Pay in the following years is as follows;

-In 1960,equal pay for work for equal value was awarded ,although specifically female work was not included and the issue of eual pay for women remained a hot debate throughout the 1960's

- In 1969, the ACTU mounted a test case to get rid of the 25% difference that existed between pay rates for women and those for men. The court ruled that as of 1st October women would get at least 85% of the male wage; their pay would then go up in steps until 1st January 1972 when they would be rewarded with equal pay - 100% of the male wage.

-In 1972, the equal pay case was reopened,the agurement presented by Barister Mary Gaudron was in line with the principles of the 1951 ILO Convention;equal pay for work of equal value.Finally on the 15th December 1972, the Arbitration Commission ruled that women performing predominantly women's work will get the same pay as men.

In 1973,the Commission set a minimum wage for all adults and then in 1974 it dropped the concept of family support as part of the wage system.

3(a)Women still earn less than men because more women work part-time and therefore earn only a proportion of full-time earnings.

(b)Women are less likely to get bonuses and benefits added to wages.

(C) More men than women work overtime because they work in areas where overtime is an option and women generally have more responsibilities in the home.

4)The strategy to ahieve equaal pay that will be more effective is to Join unions: female union members earn more money on average than females who don't belong to a union.

5)The Fact sheet that was of interest to me was ,"Equal Opportunity"(getting a fair go).
The fact that I discorvered was
Affirmative action
Affirmative action is positive action taken in the workplace to promote equal opportunity.

Affirmative action involves:

identifying and removing all of the barriers confronting women in employment;
putting in place programs and strategies that ensure women and men have the ability to compete on equal terms for jobs and promotions;
encouraging women to enter jobs traditionally seen as unsuitable for them; and
promoting equal access to higher wages and increased prospects of job advancement

JOURNAL WEEK 14 /WOMEN STUDIES1/ WOMEN'S ACTIVISM /BASED ON THE VIDEO -APRON STRINGS AND ATOM BOMBS

TASK 1

In the video on Women and Activism, based on the story about Apron Strings and Atom Bombs the women then had capaigned for and against a lot of issues.This involved the following; Peace, the price of gas ,equal pay,education,qualified teachers,rising cost of living,Conscription,Chilcare,War toys, Reproduction Rights,Free Speech,ie {The Cold War)They also called for affirmative action.They did this through songs, marches,Wearing Aprongs with inscriptions on them.Petitions at train stations,sporting events,door to door knocking.They had vigils,standing at public buildings,one woman actually made history by chaining herself to the Commonwealth building. They printed and shared leaflets at each giving chance. There was the tram day , they met with politicians,They had walked in single file making marches longer.


Today, Women Activists advocate for virtually the same issues as those of the past except that their approach is slightly different.They advocate for Paid Maternity Leave.Women Lawyers Fight for refugees Rights,violence against women.A.W.A campaigns for equal rights for women at work places.Issues on housing,environmemt and health are also tackled.They did this through civil disobedience,,boycotts,lobbying,non-violent confrontation,rioting,media activism,protest music and voluntary simplicity ,eg hippies.

TASK 2

1) The Union of Australian Women (UAW) is a national organisation which was formed in 1950 to work for the status and well being of women in a peaceful and environmentally safe world.

2)The current campaigns include;
- Elimination of violence against women.
- Abortion law reform and reproductive rights.
- Affordable public housing and health.
- Rights for Asylum seekers.

TASK 3

1) ECOFEMINISM is a movement or theory that applies feminist principles and ideas to ecological issues.They argue that, a relationship exists betweeen the oppression of women and the degradation of nature.


2)Ecofeminists would campaign for and against the degradation of women and the abuse of the environment. They also lay emphasis on the importance of interrelationships between humans and non-humans,eg; animals and insects and the earth.They advocate the use oftechnologies such as solar power, as a way to stay off the grid which they regard as more important than relying upon poisonous industrial process on materials.One of the missions of ecofeminism is to redefine how societies look at productivity and activity of both women and nature who have been termed passive and have been ill-used.