The problem with being the last Speaker in a two day conference is that anything sensible has already been said, and to discuss career challenges late on a Friday afternoon is perhaps a bit of a strain. For me, with last Wednesday being the last sitting day before the election, a lot of my challenges as Speaker have been replaced by my challenges as a candidate in the forthcoming election.
Next month we celebrate 150 years of parliamentary democracy in Victoria.
The election to be held on 25th November is 150 years to the date that Parliament was first opened. However that Parliament was very different to the current one. Women did not have the vote nor were they eligible to stand.
Women in Victoria were not granted the vote until 1908, and were not allowed to stand for Parliament, until 1923.
The first woman who stood for State Parliament was Alicia Katz who unsuccessfully stood for South Barwon. And did the Geelong Advertiser do her over. The general view of the Advertiser was that it was an insult to the male sitting Member for her to even stand against him.
At the moment 27 of the 88 Legislative Assembly seats are held by women. It took 134 years to have a woman premier and 147 years to have women Presiding Officers.
In the election to be held next month so far a number women candidates have identified themselves as running and there may be more. So far we have
This is not a lot considering there are 128 seats up for grabs.
It took many years to get a bill through the House allowing women to have the vote and some of the reasons given by our male forefathers for opposing female suffrage are interesting to say the least.
I quote from an 1895 contribution to debate by one of our forefathers Frank Madden. He said:
Woman suffrage would abolish soldiers and war, also racing, hunting, football, cricket and all such manly games …Women suffragettes are the worst class of socialists. Their idea of freedom is …free love, lease marriages and so on. Are these the qualifications for the franchise! Are we going to allow women who would sap the very foundation of a nation to have votes?
Well the answer was obviously NO, because women didn't get the vote until nearly 13 years later
I am not totally convinced that there are still not men out there who share these views, but not too many I hope.
Women shouldn't get too carried away by this victory and I shall include a brief quote from the Bulletin magazine of 1917.
If there are any Librarians in the audience they may be familiar with this quote
For various reasons, the elderly fathers of the Melbourne Public Library do not employ women except to scrub floors. There are a good many jobs at the library. It is a nice, cool quiet spot in the summer time, and a sheltered and pleasant place without draughts in the winter. Much of the work consists in sitting down and waiting for somebody to turn up and ask for something; and a woman could almost do that.
The time seems right to give her the chance. In neither war nor peace can we any longer afford to waste men in unproductive jobs. If the new arrivals at the library are nice things in clean pinnies and with a cheerful appearance, so much the better - always providing that the supply of disabled solders has failed to satisfy the demand.
When I first stood for public office in 1985 as a Councillor for the City of Essendon, I was told later that one voter had written on the ballot paper that I "should be in the kitchen peeling potatoes and looking after my husband." Rather prophetic really because my husband is rather fond of potatoes peeled or unpeeled, but that is perhaps hardly relevant.
I think the problem in achieving our goals is often ourselves.
It is easy to be dissuaded by people sayingAnd yet it is essential that women are represented in public life.
Whilst being equal women do bring a different perspective to the decision-making process, and the broader the participation, in most cases the better the decision. Women do often approach policy in a different way to men, and as they are still the primary care gives for children, parents and other assorted people in need of care, their understanding of these issues is crucial and should be acknowledged in the decision-making process.
Whilst the women's' movement has been useful to educated and middle class women the same cannot be said of many working class women and in some areas migrant women.
The new "poor" in our society are often identified as single mothers with children
However, women's' issues of perhaps my generation are not the same as for younger women. Things like advertising stereotypes-the ideal woman according to most people in the advertising industry - is still blonde, thin, white Anglo-Saxon and young. This has been an issue identified by young woman as of concern to them.
This type of advertising has a pernicious effect on young girls. When we hear of young girls of 10 with eating disorders or young girls having cosmetic surgery, I think we have to conclude that our society values are led too much by advertising.
The Family and Community Development committee of the Victoria Parliament released a report in August last year following an inquiry into issues relating to the Development of body image among young people and associated effects on their health and well being"
This was a strongly supported inquiry with over 50 public submissions. It reported
It is the Committee's understanding that body image dissatisfaction occurs more commonly in young females than males and is most severe between the ages of 15 - 22 years. While it has been estimated that it can result in extreme dieting and eating disorders in 2% to 4% of the population, the Committee is particularly concerned with the sub-clinical presentations of poor body image, as it affects a greater purporting of young people. These include:
Major factors in the development of body image can be briefly stated as follows
*peer influence and consumerismThis is quite an array of negative influences that young people have to cope with in their adolescent years.
However there still more traditional barriers that women faced in the workforce are still with us.
There are many men who would claim to be non-sexist who still find it difficult to have to report to a woman in a senior position. And there are lots of "put-downs" that some men use for women in positions of authority.
Strong men are decisive and strong. women of course, are pushy and bossy.
I tell you that some of the worst gossips I have ever come across are men. They can make terrible accusations about their male workmates.but they are not called "catty" or "bitchy"- there is really no male equivalent to these terms.
And one of the best ways of supporting women, and helping to overcome this stereotyping is for women to be active in public life, where women can be seen as being valued by the community, and where there is a real opportunity and power to support positive change.
One of our senior judges related to me once that was referred to by a male colleague as "that difficult woman" She was proud of the charge and encouraged women to be 'difficult'
For all of us, it is not just the fight to achieve our individual goals, it is our responsibility to support women who do not have the same opportunity as us.
With the casualisation of the workforce, in many areas working conditions are declining and wage rates for women are falling.
Many women do not have negotiating skills and in an environment when most working conditions are to be negotiated through individual workplace agreements the flexibility of working hours and many other conditions that enable women to combine child care and work are under threat.
The Australian Services Union, which has a large female membership provides this quote in their September newsletter.
"Since the Federal Government's new IR laws were introduced the Federal Government's own Workplace Office has reported that of all the AWA individual contracts registered under the new laws
The areas of work that are not protected by law are
For many women, especially those with children, these changes can seriously affect their capacity to work and meet their other commitments.
The cost and availability of child care still places enormous burdens on women wanting to enter the workforce.
And as I have outlined earlier for young women particularly the problem of low self esteem is serious and encouraged by stereotyping of women.
These are just some of the challenges out there, for us to take up.
So I thought I would finish with a call to arms. There is still a fight to be fought for all women to be equal and have access to the same opportunities that men have.
Women in leadership roles are important. I encourage you all to take up the challenge either on behalf of yourself or other women so that in future forums we don't introduce women as the first women; that women in leadership roles become the norm not the exception; and that single women with children are not the most disadvantaged group in the community.
Whilst we may have individual career challenges, there are still broader social issues and issues of equality that women in public life can support to raise the general opportunities for all women.
In conclusion let me share with you some further comments from our forefathers from debate in the Parliament at the end of the last century.
Mr Francis observed
"although he entertained great respect and regard for the female sex, he considered that the qualifications of the ladies were sufficiently charming without adding to their influence in society by conferring upon them the right to vote for members of the Legislature. He believed that not only the happiness of families but accord at elections would be seriously interfered with if ladies could rush to the poll in an excited state, or intervene at all in matters of the kind."
However Mr Higginbotham said
" he believed that, if votes were accorded to women, as they were now for man…the effect would be to tone the manners of legislators, to civilise their proceedings, so to speak, and to communicate to them some strain of moderate feeling and common sense, which occasionally discussions even in public might be deficient in.
Mr L. L. Smith summed up the debate by saying
"As it was, a number of old women, thought they did not wear petticoats, managed to obtain seats in the House."
I will conclude on this happy note.