29 January 2016

Kia ora koutou, welcome to On Balance - the National Council of Women of New Zealand's weekly round-up of gender equality news, research and events. Please share it with anyone you think might be interested and let them know they cansubscribe here.

News from around the country:

• Louise Nicholas, one of this country's foremost advocates and campaigners for women and the victims of sexual violence, is in the running to become New Zealander of the Year 2016

• Women may soon be able to get oral contraceptive pills from a chemist if a recommendation by the Medicines Classification Committee is approved

• A group of male cricket fans calling themselves the “Hooter Police” came under fire for their sexist behaviour at the Basin Reserve on Monday

• Around one person a month is being prevented from driving passenger vehicles because of sexual offending

• University of Auckland joined the growing list of employers to adopt family violence policies. The University's "Family Violence Policy" and "Family Violence Prevention and Management Guidelines" set out supports it can provide for students and staff affected by family violence
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Latest research:

• Almost half of millennials want to leave their jobs in the next two years, and women feel like they have fewer opportunities, according to Deloitte’s Millennial Survey. It found that 48% of female respondents believe they are "being overlooked for potential leadership positions"

• Student evaluations are so systematically biased against women that theyare better mirrors of gender bias than of teaching quality, revealed a study of French and US university students

• Women who sought abortion care at Texas clinics experienced numerous barriers accessing care, forcing some to obtain abortions later in pregnancy, and in a few cases, continue an unwanted pregnancy, according to a study by the Texas Policy Evaluation Project

• Disney Princesses may play a looming role in the imagination of young girls everywhere, but it’s a relatively quiet one, according to a new study that found that female characters in the more modern Disney films speak less frequently than male characters

• Women are moving up in the workplace but not nearly as much as they should be, a global study has found. According to the study, current female hiring, promotion and retention are insufficient to create gender equality over the next decade

• Denmark is the best country in the world for women to live in, according to a US News and World Report survey of 7,000 women
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International news:

• Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stressed the need to embrace feminism to improve decision-making in politics and business

• For the first time in more than 50 years, Mattel has given Barbie a body-positive makeover. Along with the original, you can now choose from four body types, along with seven skin tones, 24 hairstyles and 22 eye colours

• Women were the only workers that turned up at the senate following the blizzard that plagued many US states over the weekend

• Hollaback, the non-profit organisation that fights against street harassment, launched HeartMob, an online support network for women facing violent threats, sexual harassment, racist messages, doxxing, or any other form of online abuse

• Amidst allegations of mishandling fetal tissue, Planned Parenthood hasbeen cleared of any wrongdoing. Instead, the two abortion opponents involved in shooting the videos behind the allegations were indicted

• Apple is fixing a flaw in its algorithm that had been directing people seeking information about abortions to fertility centres and adoption clinics

• A woman named Lindey is calling out hypocritical men on Twitter. Using the hashtag #ShirtlessShamers2016, Lindsey is posting pictures of men posing shirtless alongside their messages telling women to cover up

• Port Stephens Council in Australia issued an unreserved apology after its newest citizens, including two young girls, received a "Welcome to Australia" pack that included a beer stubby holder with an Australian flag and silhouette of a naked woman

• Oxford Dictionary has been pushed to review some of its examples after it was found that the dictionary explains the word 'rabid' with the example "rabid feminist" and ‘nagging’ with “a nagging wife”

• Three Mexican women are fighting street harassment with confetti and punk rock
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• An Australian photographer has created a project called "Still Not Asking For It" that takes a stand against "rape culture" and sexual assault

• Moya Dodd, former soccer player and vice-president of the Asian Football Confederation, is pushing FIFA to embrace the radical idea that women should help shape the world's most popular sport

• Muslim women organised a 'Twitter storm' against David Cameron to protest comments he allegedly made in private last week about, "the traditional submissiveness of Muslim women

• Canada might be changing its national anthem to recognise women. Liberal MP Mauril Bélanger introduced a bill which would change the line “true patriot love in all thy sons command” – to “all of us command”

• Wary of a repeat of the attacks seen on New Year’s Eve, Cologne authorities plan to set up a “safe zone” for women during the annual carnival which begins next week

• At the Sundance film festival, Vimeo launched “Share the Screen,” an initiative designed to help bridge the gender gap in filmmaking by funding at least five female filmmakers this year

• As efforts gather pace to renew peace talks with the Taliban, Afghan women still haunted by the insurgents' brutal rule say they are being left out of the process

• Dr Hilda Heine became the first female leader of any independent Pacific island nation when the Marshall Islands parliament elected a new president,

• UN Women unveiled the HeForShe IMPACT 10x10x10 pilot initiative to galvanise momentum in advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment at the World Economic Forum in Davos

• A South African mayor has awarded college scholarships to 16 young women for remaining virgins to encourage others to be "pure and focus on school"

• A pregnant Australian TV presenter was asked to stay sitting down by a viewer because her baby bump "looks repulsive"

• Gillian Anderson says she had to fight to earn a fair wage for her return to The X-Files after TV executives initially offered the actress just half of what co-star David Duchovny was banking

• Ad executive Madonna Badger’s loss of her three daughters in a fire inspired her to launch #WomenNotObjects – a campaign urging marketers to halt sexist advertising

• A government-appointed health panel in Australia has, for the first time,recommended screening for maternal mental illness

• Marley Dias, an 11-year-old from the US, started a book drive called #1000BlackGirlBooks after growing tired of only reading books about "white boys and dogs" in school

• Women now outnumber men in the University of Southern California’s video game design graduate program

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