On Balance - This Week In Gender Equality

04 March 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:

• Enabling women’s potential through concentrating on gender equality will be the main focus of the National Council of Women of New Zealand’s new Chief Executive, Lynn McKenzie when she starts in March
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• Taranaki police have put a new strategy in place to tackle a growing number of reported family violence offences
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• Justice Minister Amy Adams released a summary of the almost 500 submissions made on the family violence legislative review
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• "Unacceptable and insidious" harassment, by Dunedin students, including "racist speech/slurs, street harassment towards women, and trans- and homophobia", has hit breaking point and the University of Otago needs to take action, residents have said
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• A woman who continued to farm after ending her abusive marriage hasspoken out in the hope it may help others in similar situations
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• No trousers school uniform rule discriminates against our daughters, says one Stuff reader
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• Family Planning patients are looking at four to six week wait times for some procedures
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• Senior cabinet minister Paula Bennett has called for action against Wicked Campers over the "despicable" signage on its rental vans
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• “The key is making available alternative working arrangements that are available to both men and women. When you gender stereotype those arrangements, you stigmatise them,” said LawFuels’ Lawyer of the Year Stacey Shortall
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• Our failure to pay women at the same rate as we pay men may not seem comparable to the serious abuses women suffer in other respects, but it is nevertheless an expression of a deeply entrenched attitude in our society
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Latest research:

• Women in New Zealand were just 18% of news subjects across the traditional platforms of newspaper, television and radio in 2015, found the Global Media Monitoring Project. According to the project, women make up more than half of news presenters in NZ, with younger age groups of women dominating; just 4% of female presenters were over 50, compared to 52% of men
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• Mobilisation of feminist movements is more important for change in the area of violence against women than the wealth of nations, left-wing political parties, or the number of women politicians, according to a study of 70 countries by researchers S. Laurel Weldon and Mala Htun
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• Over a third of Ontarians believe that a person is responsible for the consequences if they choose to stay in a violent relationship, and this belief is higher among men (46%) than women, found a study commissioned by Canadian shelter Interval House
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• The average top-tier female manager in Australia earns $100,000 less per year than male counterparts, with the gender pay gap widening the higher they climb, a report by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency has found
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• While many large religious organizations in the United States allow women to be ordained – and to hold leadership positions within the organization –few women have actually served at the very top, found the Pew Research Center’s analysis of nine major religious organisations
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• Nearly a third of working women who answered a survey put forth by the Japanese government reported they’d been sexually harassed on the job
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• Women and girls in Afghanistan accused of “moral crimes”, such as adultery or running away from home, are frequently forced to undergo unscientific virginity tests, found a study published by Human Rights Watch
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• Putting more women on company boards seems to reduce pay gapsbetween the sexes, a report has found
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International news:

• The "under-discussed phenomena" of men who are raped or sexually abused is being tackled in a powerful advertising campaign created by SurvivorsUK to mark the launch of the first major digital support service for male victims
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• Jennifer Lawrence chanted for equal pay while at a pre-Oscar partycelebrating the achievements of women in Hollywood
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• Australian company Aurizon is offering new incentives designed to encourage men to take on responsibilities as the primary parent at home
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• Eleni Glouftsis debuted as the first female Australian Football League (AFL) field umpire in 119 years
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• Actor Mark Ruffalo joined survivors of paedophile priests in a protest outside downtown LA’s Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, hours before he was due to attend the Academy Awards
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• Lady Gaga used her Oscars performance to bring attention to rape culture, taking the stage with dozens of sexual assault survivors for her rendition of Best Original Song nominee, 'Till It Happens To You'
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• Actress Jaime King opened up about being a survivor of abuse as a child, following Lady Gaga's powerful performance at the Oscars
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• As Women's History Month kicks off, YouTube introduced two initiatives that will call attention to leading female voices on the platform
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• Tangerine actress Mya Taylor took home the first major film award ever won by a trans actress at the 2016 Film Independent Spirit Awards
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• British company, EDF Energy, came under fire after their competition designed to encourage girls’ interest in the field of science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) was won by a 13-year old boy
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• Feminist icon Gloria Steinem gave an “unvarnished guide on how to be a woman” which included “keep your own name,” “fight botox pressure” and “ignore ageing”
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• Actress Patricia Arquette says her fair pay speech at the 2015 Academy Awards has cost her film roles
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• A fundamental feature of patriarchy is that women are judged more harshly than men for the same behaviour
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• #LikeAGirl - the award-winning viral ad campaign from feminine hygiene brand Always - has a new target in its sights: the lack of diversity in girl emojis
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• BuzzFeed imagines what it would be like “If Moms Were Treated Like Dads,” hilariously skewering the gender stereotypes that men and women face when they become parents
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• A record number of women are set to enter the next Iranian parliament, with estimates showing as many as 20 women are likely to enter the 290-seat legislature
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• A British company is looking to introduce a paid 'period leave' policy, which would offer greater workplace flexibility to employees who experience pain or discomfort during menstruation
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• South Africa's highest court denied Oscar Pistorius leave to appeal his murder conviction for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day in 2013
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• Comedy star Tina Fey told Town and Country magazine that 2016 is a “terrible time” for women in comedy — given the fact that male comedic actors can perform in subpar movies and still get paid more than their female counterparts
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• An investigation by Cosmopolitan suggests that very few male film stars ever work with female directors
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• The US Supreme Court appeared splintered during arguments in a major abortion case that could affect the lives of millions of American women
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• An ad for laundry detergent in India has caught the attention of many people across the world, including Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg. The commercial shows an older father lamenting that he never told or showed his daughter that running a household is “not your job alone”
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• Last year, most of the Middle Eastern migrants seeking asylum in Europe were young, single men. However, over the past several weeks the balance has shifted, and some 57 per cent of asylum seekers are now women and their children
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• Twitter launched #PositionOfStrength on Friday across India, a women’s empowerment initiative aimed at helping female Internet users bridge the gender equality gap online
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• Former Sony film boss Amy Pascal, who was forced to resign after the infamous email hacking scandal last year, condemned the way women are treated in Hollywood and vowed to put more women on screen herself
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• Caitlyn Jenner joined forces with M.A.C Cosmetics to design a new lipstick called “Finally Free”. All proceeds from sales of the lipstick will go toward supporting transgender charities
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Get Involved:

• The National Council of Women Manakau branch are holding a breakfastthis Saturday to celebrate 120 years since NCWNZ was established
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• Be part of the National Council of Women Nelson branch’s International Women’s Day celebrations on Tuesday 8 March. The event will feature Emily Fabling, Director of the International division of the Ministry of Education, speaking on the empowering influence of international education

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