Human Rights – Discrimination against Women

Media File 1:

Name of Publication: The Conversation

Date: July 24th, 2018

Article Writer: Maria Nawaz, Tess Deegan

Title: UN delivers strong rebuke to Australian government on women’s rights

URL: http://theconversation.com/un-delivers-strong-rebuke-to-australian-government-on-womens-
rights-100089

Description of Article:

This article discloses the key areas of improvement recommended to Australia by the United
Nations treaty body ‘The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against women’
(CEDAW) in regards to the issues of discrimination against women in Australia. CEDAW has
commented on multiple issues such as violence against women and sexual harassment,
women’s economic disadvantage, access to justice and the treatment of diverse groups of
women. The committee made up of 23 independent experts from around the world examined
the multiple areas in which Australia needs improvement in regards to discrimination against
women and came up with various recommendations to help Australia improve its conditions.

How does this article relate to your Contemporary Issue (Discrimination against Women):

Discrimination against women refers to ‘any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the
bias of gender which has the effect or purpose of impairing the recognition, enjoyment or
exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and
women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural,
civil or any other field’ which is relevant to this article as it discusses the need of enhancement
regarding to economic disadvantages suffered by women in Australia. In this article the UN
committee has stated “The Committee considers that some of the State party’s recent cuts to
social, health, education and justice budgets, reduction of taxes for high income groups and
increase of the defence budget represent a setback on women’s economic advantages” which
relates to discrimination of women due to economic disadvantages. Another common method
of discrimination against women is the violence and sexual harassment they endure. This article
states that CEDAW noted that “one in three women experiencing physical violence, and almost
one in five women experiencing sexual violence”.

What issues does it address in regards to the effectiveness of responses to your

contemporary issue (Discrimination against Women)?
This article addresses the multiple recommendations by CEDAW for improvement in issues
regarding to discrimination against women which portrays the ineffectiveness of the responses
of the Australian government to discrimination against women. CEDAW has suggested that the
government should strengthen its efforts to change behaviors that lead to violence against
women through encouraging reporting violence, and providing adequate funding to service
under the National Action Plan to Reduce Violence against Women. The committee also
recommended that the government should impose appropriate sanctions on perpetrators of
sexual harassment. In regards to the issue of women’s economic disadvantage, the committee
recommended “to mitigate the effect of recent budget cuts on women, implement gender-
responsive budgeting in the allocation of public resources, and reinstate the funding of services
catering to women’s rights”. All of these recommendations from CEDAW, portray that the
Australian government has been ineffective in responding to issues such as violence against
women, sexual harassment, women’s economic disadvantage etc. in regards to discrimination
against women. These extensive recommendations convey that there needs to be an increased
attention at discrimination against women by the Australian government.

Legal Terminology:
Media File 2:

Name of Publication: ABC News

Date: 6th March 2018

Article Writer: Brooke Wylie

Title: Australian women report ‘shocking’ levels of inequality, sexual harassment in new study

URL: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-06/australian-women-reveal-shocking-cases-of-inequality-
at-work/9516642

Description of Article:

This article discloses the results of the survey conducted by the researchers at the University of
Sydney in regards to discrimination in the workplace due to gender as well as harassment. The
researchers at USYD, surveyed approximately 2000 women and 500 men across Australia aged
between 16 and 40 for the Women and the Future of Work study into Women’s attitudes and
experiences in the workplace. The results of this survey revealed the views of both women and
men regarding to discrimination in the workplace on the basis of gender and the experiences of
harassment endured by women in the workplace.

How does this article relate to your Contemporary Issue (Discrimination against Women)?

Discrimination against women is present in Australia in multiple methods including workplace

discrimination on the basis of gender. This article relates to the discrimination which women
endure in the workplace environment as it uncovers the results of the survey conducted by
researchers at USYD of 69% of women surveyed believe there is unfair treatment and inequality
between men and women in the workplace. More than half the surveyed women respondents,
feel that they are being treated unfairly at work due to their gender. The study has also found
that approximately 10% of the women surveyed have reported to have experienced sexual
harassment in the workplace environment. These statistics prove that discrimination against
women in the workplace is extremely prevalent and relates to discrimination against women.
What issues does it address in regards to the effectiveness of responses to your
contemporary issue (Discrimination against Women)?

There are multiple statistics in this article which convey that the Australian government has
been extremely ineffective in responding to the contemporary issue of discrimination against
women. This article address the major issue of workplace inequality between men and women
and the reports of harassment in the workplace environment. It is stated that only 31% of
women surveyed believe that there is equality between men and women in the workplace.
Professor Rae Copper, who is one of the report’s co-authors, stated that the results about
gender inequality in the workplace were alarming but, in some aspects, not surprising. She also
stated “Something that's really shocking in our findings is that more than half of all of the
women we surveyed think that our workplaces are unequal, and think that men are treated
better than they are at work”. The research has also found that of the 2000 women surveyed,
200 have reported that presently they are experiencing sexual harassment at work. Professor
Cooper also stated “There's a lot of underreporting of sexual harassment, so it's probably
actually higher.” “It's a really common experience and either women have experienced it
themselves, or they can talk about having been witness to that, or having friends and
colleagues who have gone through it.” These bold statements from Professor Cooper elucidate
that the Australian government has been extremely ineffective in responding to the
contemporary issue of discrimination against women.

Legal Terminology:
Media File 3:

Name of Publication: The Guardian

Date: 7th May, 2019

Article Writer: Emma Dawson

Title: Most poor people in the world are women. Australia is no exception.

URL: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/may/07/most-poor-people-in-the-world-are-
women-australia-is-no-exception

Description of Article:

This article discloses the brutal truth about the poorest people in the world are women. The
research conducted by Acoss and the University of Sydney portrayed that the largest share of
people living in poverty in Australia are women. The author discuss the disadvantages a women
experiences throughout her life at every stage, “from childhood to the grave, making its mark
on their education, employment, homes, familial responsibilities and their retirement options”.
The article also discusses the aspects of women’s economic inequality through the use of
extensive statistics. The article provides statistics about the employment of rate of women in a
certain age span as well single mothers.

How does this article relate to your Contemporary Issue (Discrimination against Women)?

This article relates to the contemporary issue of discrimination against women as it explores the
marginally low employment of women. OECD figures portray that the employment rate of
women aged between 25 and 54 years in Australia is 72.5% which is in the lower third of OECD
countries. It is also stated that the rate of employment for single mothers was 54% in 2018
which is extremely low. This article has also established statistics from the Australian Bureau of
Statistics (ABS) conveying that “women in the age bracket that aligns with child bearing (25-44)
are more than two and a half times as likely as men of the same age to be out of the labour
force”. These shocking statistics show that there is a substantial amount of discrimination
against in the work force. Therefore, this article relates to discrimination against women as it
exposes the appalling statistics about the rate of employment of women in Australia which is a
form of discrimination against women.

What issues does it address in regards to the effectiveness of responses to your

contemporary issue (Discrimination against Women)?

This article shows that the Australian government has been undoubtedly ineffective in
responding to discrimination against women through it various statistics and comments which
portray the low level of employment and equality women possess in the workplace. These poor
statistics from the ABS and OECD depicts that the Australian government’s responses to
discrimination against women in terms of the rate of employment of women has been highly
ineffective. The article states that 45% of women are in part time roles whereas only 16% of
employed men have part time roles in the workplace. This shows the extent of the inequality
between men and women in the workforce. The Australian Services Union in 2017, found that
“women were, on average, retiring with 47% less superannuation than men”. This again shows
the extremity of the inequality between men and women as well as the ineffectiveness of the
Australian government in responding to this issue.

Legal Terminology:
Media File 4

Name of Publication: The Conversation

Date: 6th October, 2018

Article Writer: Beth Gaze

Title: Gender inequality: why is it so hard to change?

URL: https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life-and-relationships/gender-inequality-why-is-it-so-hard-to-
change-20181005-p507wi.html

Description of Article:

This article discloses the extremity of the inequality between men and women in Australia.
According to ABS’s annual Gender Indicators, there is still a 15% pay gap between men and
women, meaning that men’s average full time ordinary pay is 15% higher than that of women’s
and this has been fairly stable for the past decade. This article also discusses the inequality
between men and women in terms of superannuation balances at retirement. It elaborates on
two of the main areas of the subtle forms of discrimination women experience which are sex
discrimination and motherhood discrimination. Although many women also experience various
other forms of discrimination like age, sexuality and minority ethnic background. It also
discusses the “deeply rooted ideals or stereotypes about the appropriate roles, behaviour and
value of men and women in our society”. Stereotypes can be associated with specific areas such
as “leadership or technological areas of study or work which are often seen as stereotypically
male areas”. This shows another reason for the inequality between men and women in the
workforce and the gender pay gap.

How does this article relate to your Contemporary Issue (Discrimination against Women)?

This article relates to the contemporary issue of discrimination against women as it explores the
various forms of discrimination against the multiple causes of it. The amplification of the forms
of discrimination which women experience on a daily basis puts emphasis on the inequality
between men and women in the workplace. “Over a lifetime, women earn much less than men,
retire with much lower superannuation balances, are disproportionally dependent on the age
pension and face greater levels of poverty in old age”, this quote from the article extensively
conveys the discrimination which women face throughout their life. Therefore, this article
relates to the contemporary issue of discrimination against women as it talks about the various
forms of discrimination women experience throughout their lives.

What issues does it address in regards to the effectiveness of responses to your

contemporary issue (Discrimination against Women)?

This article expresses the ineffectiveness of the Australian government in responding to the
various issues of discrimination against women. The article states that the average full time
ordinary pay gap of 15% has been “fairly stable for the past decade” which shows that the
Australian government has been ineffective in responding to and improving the conditions of
the gender pay gap in the past decade. Women still retire with “much lower superannuation
balances than men” and also “face greater levels of poverty in old age” further expressing the
atrocious inequality between men and women in the workforce. The further elucidates the
ineffectiveness of the Australian government in responding to such extreme discrimination and
inequality which women face in the workplace. There has been almost no improvement in the
pay gap between men and women in past decade portraying that the Australian government
needs to put more attention on the issues regarding to discrimination against women as it has
been ineffective with all its previous responses.

Legal Terminology:
Media File 5

Name of Publication: Sydney Morning Herald (SMH)

Date: 16th July, 2019

Article Writer: Matt Wade

Title: There’s a reason Australia’s gender pay gap is so persistent

URL: https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/there-s-a-reason-australia-s-gender-pay-gap-is-
so-persistent-20190716-p527qi.html

Description of Article:

This article discusses the tendency for men and women to cluster in different occupations and
industries. It provides various statistics on how male or female dominated different types of
industries are. It explores the reasons why women tend to receive lower rates of pay than men
and elaborates on the gender dominated industries and its effect on the gender pay gap.
Gender segregation in the workplace is also a major topic which is deeply explored in the
article. The article examines the particular industries which are male dominated or female
dominated. For example, “women dominate enrolments in education, health, creative arts and
culture across universities, while men make up a disproportionate share in IT, building and
engineering”.

How does this article relate to your Contemporary Issue (Discrimination against Women)?

This article relates to the contemporary issue of discrimination against women as it portrays the
Short Response – With regard to ONE contemporary human rights issue, explain
how it has been incorporated into Australian domestic law.

Discrimination against women is extensively prevalent in today’s society and Australian

domestic law has responded to this through the enactment of various legislations. One of the
major legislation introduced into domestic Australian law as a response to discrimination
against women is the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 which aims to improve and promote
equality for women in the workplace. This legislation was introduced promote equal
remuneration between women and men and support employers to remove barriers to the full
and equal participation of women in the workforce, in recognition of the disadvantaged
position of women in relation to employment matters. The target of these legislations hasn’t
been achieved to this day which is portrayed in the article “Gender inequality: why is it so hard
to change?” (The Conversation, 2018) where it is stated that “average full time ordinary pay gap
of 15% has been fairly stable for the past decade”. Another legislation introduced into
Australian domestic law to combat discrimination against women is the Sex Discrimination Act
1984 which aims to protect people from unfair treatment on the basis of their sex, sexual
orientation, marital status or pregnancy. It also promotes gender equality and counter
discrimination, sexual harassment and violence against women. Although as conveyed in
“Australian women report ‘shocking’ levels of inequality, sexual harassment in new study” (ABC
News, 2018), through shocking statistics of sexual harassment and inequality in the workplace,
there has been extremely minor improvements through the enactment of this legislation.
Therefore, discrimination against women has been combated through the enactment of various
legislations like the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 and Sex Discrimination Act 1984, into
Australian domestic law.
Extended Response – With regard to your ONE contemporary human rights
issue, evaluate the effectiveness of legal and non-legal measures in protecting
human rights.

Discrimination against women witnessed around the world is a contemporary issue and often
involves gender pay gaps, sexual harassment, violence against women, women’s economic
disadvantage, access to justice and the treatment of diverse groups of women. Both legal and
non-legal responses are necessary to protect women from such disadvantages and they are
relevant in both international and domestic cases. International treaties such as the Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women 1979 and International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 1966 are agreements under international law
which are signed by sovereign states as well as international organisations. Domestic laws such
as the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 (Cth) and the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 are
statutory laws within the Australian Constitution which have been enacted to combat issues of
discrimination against women. However, there has been little to no improvement in many areas
of discrimination against women such as gender pay gaps and sexual harassment, which has
built pressure on the Australian Government to respond and improve conditions for women.

International law is a body of rules entrenched by custom or treaty and recognised by nations
as binding in their relations with one another. In relation to the international legal responses
towards discrimination against women, there various conventions and covenants which combat
discrimination against. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against
Women 1979 is treaty that has been signed and ratified by 187 countries including Australia
and it majorly focuses on eliminating discrimination against women so that they can enjoy full
human rights including equal access to opportunities in areas such as political and public life,
health, education and employment. Due to international law not being legally binding, there
may be significant issues in relation to its effectiveness. CEDAW covers multiple areas of
discrimination against women one of which is the discrimination against women in the field of
employment. Article 11 (d) states “Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate
discrimination against women in the field of employment in order to ensure, on a basis of
equality of men and women, the same rights, in particular: The right to equal remuneration,
including benefits, and to equal treatment in respect of work of equal value, as well as equality
of treatment in the evaluation of the quality of work”. Despite Australia signing and ratifying
CEDAW, it has broken the agreement of article 11 (d) which is proved through the shocking
statistics stated in “Gender inequality: why is it so hard to change?” (The Conversation, 2018)
Extended Response – With regard to your ONE contemporary human rights
issue, evaluate the effectiveness of legal and non-legal measures in protecting
human rights.

Although legal responses have been highly ineffective, non-legal responses have been highly
effective in combating discrimination against women. Discrimination against women witnessed
around the world is a contemporary issue and often involves gender pay gaps, sexual
harassment, violence against women, women’s economic disadvantage, access to justice and
the treatment of diverse groups of women. Both legal and non-legal responses are necessary to
protect women from such disadvantages and they are relevant in both international and
domestic cases. However, there has been little to no improvement in many areas of
discrimination against women such as gender pay gaps and sexual harassment, which has built
pressure on the Australian Government to respond and improve conditions for women.

International legal responses in regards to discrimination against women have been immensely
ineffective in protecting women from discrimination whether it be in workplace discrimination,
violence or sexual harassment. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Women 1979 is treaty that has been signed and ratified by 187 countries
including Australia and it majorly focuses on eliminating discrimination against women so that
they can enjoy full human rights including equal access to opportunities in areas such as
political and public life, health, education and employment. Due to international law not being
legally binding, there may be significant issues in relation to its effectiveness. CEDAW covers
multiple areas of discrimination against women one of which is the discrimination against
women in the field of employment however article 11 (1d) which outlines that both men and
women should have the same right to remuneration, equal treatment in respect of work of
equal value and article 11 (2a) states that appropriate measures should be taken in order to
constrain any unfair dismissal on the grounds of pregnancy of maternity leave, are often
violated and this evident on the World Economic Forum website where it is stated that women
on earn 50 cents for every dollar a man earns. The International Covenant on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) has been ratified 164 including Australia in 1986 states and article
7 (a) (i) recognizes that both men and women should have the right to fair wages and equal
remuneration, in particular women ensuring equality between men and women. Despite
various states ratifying this treaty, the international legal responses relating to discrimination
against women are still profoundly ineffective and is evident in the extensive statistics provided
in the “UN Women” website where it is stated that approximately 70% of women worldwide
have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate violence in their lifetime. In short,
international legal responses relating to discrimination against women have been relatively
ineffective in providing equality between men and women and eliminating any form of
discrimination in terms of pay.  

International non-legal responses regarding to discrimination against women have thoroughly

effective in combating violence and sexual harassment against women. Non-legal responses
plan to create public awareness regarding to a human rights issue which creates pressure on
both domestic and international organisations to respond with legal reforms or enactments.
“Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund” is a non-profit organisation backed by the National Women’s
Law Centre which provide legal assistance to women who are willing to battle harassment in
the court of law. This organisation has committed to funding 174 cases relating to harassment
of women and has funded approximately 10 million dollars in the past 2 years to support
women’s harassment cases. These astonishing statistics portray that the “Time’s Up Legal
Defense Fund” has been effective in providing women who experienced any sort of harassment
with legal representation and allowed to them to gain justice. “Global Fund for Women” is
another example of a non-profit organisation which seeks to improve women’s working
conditions and promote equality between men and women. Since 1987, this NGO has assisted
over 5000 directives in 175 countries making a global impact on discrimination against women.
This organisation has been extremely effective in their aim to promote equality between men
and women evident in their statistics of helping millions women around the world in achieving
equality. Therefore, international non-legal responses regarding to discrimination against
women have been effective in combating violence and sexual harassment against women
conveyed through the various amounts of people international NGOs have assisted.

Legal responses by the Australian government to eliminate any form of discrimination against
women have been relatively ineffective. Sovereign states have the ability to make their own
laws and govern itself also known as state sovereignty, which often monopolize over
international law causing there to be disparities regarding to discrimination against women.
One of the many legislations which the Australian government has enacted as a response to
discrimination against women is the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012. This legislation aims
to improve and promote equality between men and women in the workplace. One of the main
principle objects of the act is “promote, amongst employers, the elimination of discrimination
on the basis of gender in relation to employment matters (including in relation to family and
caring responsibilities)”. This principle object of the act has not been achieved as portrayed to
the statistics of unemployment of women due family commitments and pregnancy in “Most
poor people in the world are women. Australia is no exception” (The Guardian, 2019). This
legislation has been ineffective in responding to discrimination against women. Another
legislation enacted to combat discrimination against women is the Equal Opportunity in the
Workplace Act 1999. This act’s objectives reflect the idea that in a just and fair world there
should be an equitable spread of both sexes in management and support jobs across all
industries. Although this is not case currently as there are many industries which are highly
dominated by men such as the IT, building and engineering industries as stated in “There’s a
reason Australia’s gender pay gap is so persistent” (Sydney Morning Herald, 2019). This again
portrays the ineffectiveness of this legislation in combating discrimination against women.
Therefore, the Australian government has been profoundly ineffective in combating
discrimination against women through legal responses of the enactment of legislations as
portrayed through the various statistics provided in media articles.

The non-legal responses regarding to discrimination against women in Australia have been
adequately effective in protecting women from discriminatory practices such as violence and
sexual harassment. These non-legal responses create awareness about human rights violations
of discrimination against women and put pressure on the Australian government to respond
through legal means. One the major NGOs in Australia is Women’s Legal Service Australia. WLS
is a non-profit organisations which “promotes access to justice for women who are
disadvantaged due to their social and economic circumstances”. It provides “free confidential
legal advice and referrals to women in NSW, with a focus on family law, parenting issues,
domestic violence, sexual assault and discrimination”. The Women’s Legal Service also has had
many successful campaigns regarding to violence against women and other forms of
discrimination against women. WLS undertakes 100 law reform activities each year and makes
impressive progress towards the improvement of the situations of women in regards to access
to justice. Rosie Batty was a prior client to Women’s Legal Service. WLS had assisted Rosie Batty
in bringing awareness to the topic of family violence and violence against women. She herself
has had a previous experience of family violence where her husband Greg Batty had harassed
Rosie over a period of 10 years and also had committed the murder of his own 11 year old son
Luke Batty in 2014. Rosie batty is now an Australian domestic violence campaigner and helps
thousands of other women in the same position as she was. Media is another essential non
legal response which has applied severe pressure on the Australian government to respond
with legal actions. An example of the media applying pressure on the Australian government is
the article “Gender inequality: why is it so hard to change?” (The Conversation, 2018) which
exposes the statistics about the extensive inequality experienced by women in the workplace in
terms of inequal pay. Another example of the effectiveness of media in eliminating
discrimination against women is the article “Australian women report ‘shocking’ levels of
inequality, sexual harassment in new study” (ABC News, 2018) which discloses the results of a
survey conducted by USYD stating multiple statistics which convey the inequality which women
in experience as well as the extent of harassment which they endure in the workplace. Non-
legal responses such as the Women’s Legal Service Australia have been effective in raising
awareness of violence against women through providing various legal aids to all women
experiencing any sort of discrimination.
Overall, around the world there are still currently millions of women who face discrimination
whether it be discrimination in the workplace, violence, or sexual harassment and most of the
responses to combat this have been ineffective. Legal responses have been profoundly
ineffective as many of the international conventions which have been ratified are still being
violated in various countries as many of them are too poor convert international conventions
into domestic legislations to implement into the legal system. However, NGOs and media have
been effective in raising awareness about violations of the human rights of women and putting
pressure on the Australian government to respond with legal reform or enactment. In
conclusion, discrimination against women is a predominate issue globally and the responses to
combat it have been majorly ineffective.