Category: Workforce Discrimination

Barrister was discriminated against for gender-critical views, tribunal hears

Allison Bailey is suing Garden Court chambers and Stonewall after she was asked by her chambers to delete two tweets criticising the LGBTQ+ charity’s position on trans rights and which Stonewall had complained about.

Bailey, a lesbian and founder of the gender-critical group LGB Alliance, refused to delete the tweets and alleges unlawful discrimination and victimisation, claiming she suffered detriment at the hands of the chambers, including a reduction in work offered to her by clerks. People who are gender-critical disagree with the view that gender identity should be prioritised over biological sex.

Garden Court chambers was a member of Stonewall’s Diversity Champions scheme, under which businesses pay the charity for advice and assessments on creating inclusive workplaces. In one of the two tweets Bailey was later asked to remove, she tweeted thanking the Times for “fairly & accurately reporting on the appalling levels of intimidation, fear & coercion that are driving the @stonewalluk trans self-id agenda”.

The tweets led to complaints to the chambers, including one from Stonewall which, Cooper told the tribunal, had been solicited to submit an objection by Michelle Brewer from the chambers’ trans rights working group.

Source: Barrister was discriminated against for gender-critical views, tribunal hears

Joint Statement on Sexual Harassment Reporting Platform – Go Live 6 April 2022

From: John McKenzie NSW Legal Services Commissioner; Joanne van der Plaat, President, Law Society of NSW Michael McHugh SC, President NSW Bar Association

Source: OLSC-Sexual-Harassment-Reporting-Platform-final.pdf

Julia Banks: Liberals show lack of character with attacks on independents

Even in his early days as prime minister, Morrison had many moments that were characterised as ‘Trumpian’ and ended up in the international press for all the wrong reasons.

One was when he said: “We want to see women rise. But we don’t want to see women rise only on the basis of others (i.e. men) doing worse.”

He actually said that. And worse still, it wasn’t off the cuff or a case of the words coming out wrong. It was in his written, prepared speech for International Women’s Day in 2019. At a time when his government’s women problem was under the glare of public scrutiny.

Over the past three years, Morrison has failed to act on this problem, on climate change (think Glasgow) and on integrity (recall the broken promise for a federal anti-corruption commission) to name a few issues. And this has given rise to independent campaigns across the country in what are regarded as safe Liberal seats.

As certain candidates emerged as real threats, the Liberals responded to them in the same way they did to me. Although the incumbent MPs in these seats face perfectly fair and democratic challenges, their attacks use demeaning language and devolve into senseless and nasty personal hit-jobs through the patriarchal prism of entitlement and sexism.

And they go after those who represent the greatest threat to the party and its power: Zoe Daniel in Goldstein, Allegra Spender in Wentworth, and Monique Ryan in Kooyong. An esteemed former foreign correspondent, a successful businesswoman, and a paediatric neurologist respectively.

Articulate professional women who have worked hard their entire adult lives in substantial careers, where their success would have been impossible without high intellect, good judgement, sound values and strong ethics.

Women who have raised families and lived and cared for their local community and for their country.

And yet the Liberals have shamelessly called these women “puppets” and “fake independents”, and their campaigns everything from “a front for the Labor Party and the Greens” to “a fraud” and “immoral”.

All of this is not only insulting and disgusting – it can be harmful and incite further abuse. Not just of these women and their families but of their staff, volunteers and the tens of thousands of people who are supporting them.

These are women with whom, as a former Liberal, I share the same values and beliefs – in truth, integrity, inclusion, climate change action and a future-focused economy. Values and beliefs that have taken a backseat in Morrison’s party to such an extent that they may as well take the word ‘liberal’ out of their party name completely, just as MPs have taken it off their campaign material.

The Liberals do not ‘own’ these seats and these women are not “anti-liberal”. They are “pro Australia”, and our country is lucky that women of their calibre are running for office.

Source: Julia Banks: Liberals show lack of character with attacks on independents

The Oscars take one step forward and two steps back

Hollywood not only continues to objectify women, but is pushing a misogynist agenda, disguised as progressive politics.

This year, the Academy Awards offered a few pleasant surprises, including the Oscar for Best Director going to New Zealander Jane Campion for The Power of the Dog. Only two other women have won this prestigious honour in 94 years of Oscar ceremonies: Chloé Zhao for Nomadland, last year, and Kathryn Bigelow, in 2009, for The Hurt Locker.

Another welcome surprise was the Best Picture Oscar winner, CODA, directed by a woman: American writer/director Sian Heder.

Other aspects of Oscar night were less unusual, beginning with the hypersexualized women’s fashions. Many of the actresses — not to mention co-hosts, performers, and female guests — who were photographed and interviewed on the red carpet (or attending the popular Vanity Fair Oscars after party) demonstrated that the double standard regarding men and women’s fashions remains alive and well.

Despite the actress-led #MeToo movement and “Time’s Up” endeavour, Hollywood women have declined to push back against objectifying industry norms, lest it challenge their own bottom line.

Most men did not dress much differently than they did in early days of Oscar ceremonies. It is women’s dress codes that seem to have changed most substantially, regressing from fashions that allowed the audience to focus on the award rather than on body parts.

Maintaining the theme of woke misogyny, Oscar attendees took the opportunity to virtue signal their adherence to a queer ideology that seems intent on erasing women.

The actress formerly known as Ellen Page, who recently had an elective double mastectomy and changed her name to Elliot, was a presenter for the Best Original Screenplay award . . . Page, sporting a tuxedo, was likely the most covered woman there. It seems it becomes acceptable for women not to self-objectify only if they claim to be male.

The most memorable moment of the evening was of course Will Smith’s narcissistic efforts to white knight himself, slapping Chris Rock onstage in defense of his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Rock’s joke about Pinkett Smith’s bald head, due to her alopecia, was tepid, and the fact Smith’s embarrassing outburst went unchallenged seems to say a lot about how the Oscar’s “woke” veneer has in fact moved us back decades.

Source: The Oscars take one step forward and two steps back

Dyson Heydon victims secure settlement – Lawyers Weekly

The victims of sexual harassment by former High Court justice Dyson Heydon have secured a six-figure compensation payout from the federal government.

Attorney-General Michaelia Cash has confirmed that Rachel Patterson Collins, Chelsea Tabart and Alex Eggerking were awarded a secret compensation payout reported to exceed more than a million dollars. In making the announcement, Ms Cash said the government had listened to and apologised to all three women.

Source: Dyson Heydon victims secure settlement – Lawyers Weekly

Men twice as likely to be highly paid, new gender equality scorecard shows

Women remain undervalued and underrepresented in the workforce, according to Mary Woodbridge, director of the Workplace Gender Equality Agency.

WGEA has just released its latest gender equality scorecard, which shows Australian women earned, on average, $25,800 less than men in 2020-21, and men are twice as likely to be highly paid than women.

The scorecard shows women make up less than 20 per cent of CEOs, and three-quarters of all board continue to have a significant male majority. Indeed, 1 in 5 boards have no women on them at all.

Women are also more likely to be in insecure forms of work, with only 2 in 5 full-time employees being women. About 60 per cent of women are employed part-time or casually, compared to 33 per cent of men.

Source: Men twice as likely to be highly paid, new gender equality scorecard shows

Ambulance Victoria paramedics allege rape, bullying and sexual assault at work

A human rights inquiry found 348 people were still experiencing unlawful conduct when surveyed and “this raises serious concerns about the harm that is being experienced by the organisation’s employees and first responders”.

Twelve Ambulance Victoria employees have reported rape or attempted rape or sexual assault at work, and two men have been referred to Victoria Police by the organisation for the alleged sexual assault of colleagues.

The Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission found more than half of employees (52.4 per cent) said they had been bullied, nearly half (47 per cent) said they had experienced discrimination and 33 reported pressure for sex or requests for sex acts at work.

While many stressed that most male paramedics supported gender equality, a “boys’ club” culture entrenched in some long-standing pockets of management had enabled unlawful behaviour, which several people said had caused them to have suicidal thoughts or plan how to take their lives.

Source: Ambulance Victoria paramedics allege rape, bullying and sexual assault at work

A ban on victims selling their silence will have unintended consequences

Opinion: A ban on victims selling their silence will have unintended consequences.

In most disputes about bullying or sexual harassment there is a common desire to seek resolution with minimal disruption to the careers and damage to the reputation of all stakeholders – employers and employees included. Most do not want media scrutiny. Most want confidentiality and privacy, which can be achieved with an NDA, which is often a two-way agreement.

Banning silence will not achieve these ends and would, in fact, stifle prompt and (comparatively) painless resolution of complaints and, importantly, fast access to compensation.Sexual harassment and bullying cases are not big dollar value claims, but employers are frequently prepared to be generous early for an economically efficient outcome. This is understandable given the cost to an employer for an investigation can be between $20,000 to $50,000, and defending formal proceedings much higher.

If respondents to claims are unable to buy silence from complainants, then there is more of an incentive to try to defend the matter and their reputation during formal litigation, involving vigorous attempts to discredit the complainant.Further, respondents are going to fear the implication that a settlement is an admission of wrongdoing. Given that there would be no chance of using an NDA to avoid adverse messaging, and paying a settlement early in the process may be seen as indicative of guilt, why would an employer strike any early bargain?

The expense in funding sexual harassment matters to the point of judgment is considerable. If the complainant fails to make out their case, then they are exposed to a costs order, which often leads to debts in excess of a $100,000.If there is no prospect of a substantial negotiated settlement, many complainants will not have the necessary appetite for risk or the resources to fund themselves while waiting for court-ordered compensation.

This will have the unintended result of fewer people complaining about misconduct in the workplace.And while there is merit to the contention that NDAs can hide habitual misconduct, our view is that this is a responsibility that sits squarely on the shoulders of boards and management who – in these times – would be foolish to protect employees who are repeatedly the subject of complaint.

Source: A ban on victims selling their silence will have unintended consequences

HILDA reveals women still do almost double the unpaid work of men

Women do almost double the hours of unpaid work per week compared to men, according to the latest Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA Survey), out today. The statistic was among several worrying trends for Australian women including soaring costs in childcare, and the fact that single parent families and young people continue to be disproportionally disadvantaged compared to the rest of the community.

For those aged over 65, poverty is both more prevalent and more persistent, especially for women. Welfare reliance is higher among people aged 65 and over than among people aged 18 to 64.

Roughly 71.6 percent of young people who are not in the labour force or studying say they are undertaking caring duties, have a disability or experience health barriers.

Housework is the largest form of unpaid work, averaging roughly 10 hours per week, followed by caring for one’s own children.

Source: HILDA reveals women still do almost double the unpaid work of men

Liberal senator apologises but denies ‘dog noise’ claims at Lambie

Liberal senator David Van has apologised to Jacqui Lambie for interrupting her in parliament, but denied claims that someone growled or made “dog noises”.

It came after Labor and Greens senators claimed growling and “dog noises”, directed at Senator Lambie, had come from a section of Coalition politicians in the chamber.

The alleged incident, on Tuesday afternoon, came just hours after a landmark report on sexual harassment and sexism in Parliament was released.

Source: Liberal senator apologises but denies ‘dog noise’ claims at Lambie