Who Women Should Vote for in the Australian Federal Election 2013

I'm probably the least qualified person to direct anyone's voting choices, never mind the fact that doing so would be just a little undemocratic... so of course I'm not actually going to tell you who to vote for.

But in creating Girl Talk and thinking about women's issues in the world and in Australia, I thought this year would be a good year to actually start brushing up on my politics.

Normally I'm just glad I don't have to make all the policies and decisions, and that's as far as my thoughts on politics go. But I started to think, that being glad I don't make the big decisions should actually motivate me to choose someone who I think will do it responsibly on my behalf.

But where to start? I didn't even know which party would most closely match my own political views, let alone how to find their positions and policies and make a choice.

So if you're a woman and wondering how to make your vote count for something this Federal Election (September 7th 2013), then here are some resources you might find helpful.

• The National Foundation for Australian Women has very helpfully compared a range of policies (childcare, leave, human rights, violence, health etc.) with a view to how they impact women. Go Here to have a look at the results. (They look at the main parties - Labour, Coalition, Greens).

• Women Vote.org has a list of resources to help you clarify and assess your own political views and help you find parties and politicians who think similarly.

• Family Voice Australia outlines responses from a range of parties to a few key questions - not specifically related to women, but things that affect families plus others.

So hopefully that might help make it a little less confusing for you, if you're wondering how to get a handle on policies and how to decide who to vote for.



A few other facts of interest:

- 30% is widely regarded as 'critical mass' - the percentage of representation for equal participation.

- As of 1st Jan 2012, NSW had the least female representation in Parliament - just 25.2% over both houses. Followed closely by SA with 27.5 %

- From 1987 - 2010 The Greens have consistently had the highest percentage of female candidates for the senate of all the major parties. In 2010 it was at 71.4%!

- From 1943 - 2011, the Labor Party has had the highest number of women elected to the senate.

- South Australia led the country in 1894 when women won the right to vote and sit in Parliament.

- There have been no Indigenous women elected to the Commonwealth Parliament since Federation in 1901. (Indigenous women are under-represented in all state and territory parliaments. Carol Martin was elected to the Western Australian Parliament on 10 February 2001, becoming the first Indigenous woman to be elected to any Australian parliament.)

UPDATE: Nova Peris, first indigenous woman to be elected to the Senate, 2013.


(Source: aph.gov.au)

Why focusing on the 'pay gap' might be the wrong approach

Women have come a long way in the work force - but it's still out there that the 'pay gap' between men and women still exists in the region of 20% or a bit under.

People hear this statistic and think that it's saying, all things being equal, women are earning nearly a fifth less than men and their response is, that's not right!

If that indeed is what it's saying, that response is justified. The problem is, statistics don't always say why we think they're saying.

This number is not a comparison of a man vs a woman with the same qualifications and experience in the same role. This is just a statement on the average earnings of all adults considered to be full time workers.

The reasons for this are not necessarily discrimination. There are many other factors that can make up that 'gap'.

Women on average work fewer hours per day than men. Women may gravitate towards lower paying jobs because they are more family friendly, have more regular or flexible hours, require less travel and many other factors.

Some say this has been 'socialised' into us, to aspire to less, to expect less of ourselves. There may be something in that - this type of subtle ingrained discrimination exists even in what we tell ourselves. (For example, women are less likely to ask for a raise or promotion than men.)

But there is another side to that explanation that I find a bit insulting. The insinuation that if you choose a 'lower flying' life as a woman you are somehow betraying your gender.

This is why I say focusing on the pay gap is the wrong approach. It simplifies things too much and fails to celebrate and support those women who are choosing family or a different lifestyle over career aspirations.

We cannot champion the rights of women to have career opportunities equal to men by devaluing women who genuinely do not want that sort of career.

I'm not saying there is no discrimination. There is plenty of room for improvement in making work places more family friendly, to support women earning money as well as having children.

But we've got to be sensible about it. We need to know what we are talking about if we want to be taken seriously. We can't just throw numbers around as if that wins the argument.

It not as simple as closing a pay gap - if women continue having families and choosing certain lifestyles the gap will never close. It can't. Women cannot logically earn the same as men if they take time off to have children, don't want to work long hours or travel as far etc.

And that should be ok. Why does being valued as a woman always seem to be defined in terms of how we match up to men?

(And I want to say, men shouldn't be valued against how willing they are to pursue aggressive careers or not either.)

We should be focusing on the kinds of things that are really the issue:

Are we teaching our girls (through our words, attitudes and behaviours) their value in character, love and determination rather than indoctrination.

(Pursuing a career is not unladylike; staying at home is not lazy or un-aspirational. and its not that black and white. Whatever you do, do it with all your heart.)

Are we giving girls equal access and support in education to let them think for themselves?

Are we building up the value of family (for men and women)?

Are we enabling people to have the opportunity to support their family securely and reasonably without having to work unreasonably?


What do others think? What other things are important to focus on? Do you think Australia is doing pretty well at this? Have you seen any evidence of a discrimination based pay gap?

The Syrian Crisis and Why Women are at Risk

Unicef and The UN Refugee Angency are holding an emergency appeal for donations to help people affected and displaced by the Syrian conflict.
75% of the refugees are women and children. Getting female refugees support is critical because, as refugees and displaced people in limbo, women and girls are more likely to miss out on their basic rights because of gender discrimination, and are also at a much higher risk of sexual abuse and violence. Read more here about why women are at risk.

What's happening anyway?

Where? Syria - in the middle of Lebanon, Mediterranean sea, Turkey, Iraq, Jordan and Israel.




Population about 22 million
Religion, approx 75% Sunni (Islam)
Official language, Arabic

What?

Civil war
Began March 2011 an ongoing
Approx 3 million internally displaced
Almost 2 million refugees


Chances are just glancing over this you aren't all that moved. It's understandable - most of us are far removed from war. It's hard to really picture or grasp. Millions of people is too large to even picture

But that's a probablem because, though we don't mean to be callous, it is real people - real human beings with lives just as precious and fragile as ours - that are suffering while we do nothing.

If you want to care and help - or even want to want to care - then find ways to make it real for yourself. Put a real face to the statistics.

Don't dwell on the horror of it - just make it real and if you feel the pain of it let it move you with compassion to help. Use your little bit to give to alleviate even just a little bit of someone else's suffering. If we could all do just a little bit, the ripples would go far.

I encourage you to pray for the people in this whole situation - both perpetrators and victims - and consider donating to the relief funds.

This was drawn by a 10 year old girl

http://twitter.com/tv_Amaro/status/369893509295538177/photo/1

Welcome! It's a new day...

Welcome to the first Girl Talk blog post.

I hope you have begun to explore this website and begun to be inspired about what girls can achieve!

The problems are big, it's true. When I started to learn about what is really going on around the world, even in Australia, in my own home city, and the ways women are being oppressed and down trodden, I was horrified and saddened. As a new mother myself, to read stories of of mothers selling their own children; or parents wanting to take their own lives because the despair of watching their children starve to death or be raped and maimed is too much; or to hear of girls being trafficked and sold into sex slavery, and beaten into compliance, and then going on to do the same to other girls later on because they have lost all hope of there being any other way to survive....

Well, at first it's shocking and almost too much to comprehend. But then it makes you take stock. It makes you look around at your own life and realise how good you have it. Even through the lowest points in my life I have always had support, always had a back up plan, always had a lifeline.

Some people have none of this.

But that shouldn't make us feel guilty. I think it's a sense of being overwhelmed and not wanting to feel guilt that makes many people turn a blind eye and just go about their lives. I understand this. It seems like too much, and if you don't know what to do about it, it's too painful to dwell on.

But there is another option. There's another response other than guilt. And that is empowerment.

How does learning about the suffering of billions of people make me feel empowered?

Well, because I realised that I can do something. Rather than feel guilt that my life is so easy in comparison, I realised that the blessings I have received in my life have set me up perfectly to make a difference in the lives of others.

I feel empowered because that burning fire in my heart now has an outlet. My voice has a reason to be raised.

Do you feel it too? Do you feel a stirring and lifting of your spirit that the world is changing and we, sisters, are a part of it?

More than a part - I believe the answer to many of the worlds problems is women. Women coming together and lifting each other, for the good of their families; for their good of their communities; for the good of all humanity.



This website is more than just a bit of information. It's more than just a few links to some organisations.

It's a call. A call to raise your voice in defence of the poor, the oppressed, the downtrodden. I hope this website can be the beginning of something that is more than just the sum of it's parts.

And it will be, if you join in and make it that way.



So what can you do here?
If you haven't already:
1. Click "Start Here" on the menu bar. You'll find more information about why this website is here.

2. Go to "Learn" in the "Start Here" drop down menu - find resources to help get educated about what is happening in the world. (If you have resource recommendations, get in touch.)

3. Start talking about what you are learning. Raise awareness.

3. Go to "Do" in the "Start Here" drop down menu - find practical and pretty simple ideas about how you can make a real difference, whatever your interests, gifts and talents. (If you have suggestions, get in touch.)

4. Post in the forums

5. Tell your story - every one has got one. Submit it as a blog post, and it might even get published here.

6. Read the blog - it will periodically contain news stories, inspiration, and ways to make a difference, as well as featuring great organisations & your stories.

7. If you are in Adelaide, come the "Launch Lunch" and meet with other like minded women for lunch, fair trade coffee and chocolate tasting, a speaker and general motivation.

8. Then stay tuned for bigger and better things to come!