NZ in top ten for gender equality | 360° look at domestic violence cycle

20 November 2015

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

News from around the country:

• The results of the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Index are out and New Zealand now ranks 10th out of 145 countries. This is up from 13th in 2014. While we are doing well in educational attainment, we still lag behind in health and survival and economic participation
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• Social workers launched an historic case seeking equal pay for work they say has been underpaid for years
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• More than 30 leaders from top New Zealand businesses pledged to help achieve diverse and inclusive leadership at the Champions of Change launch
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• A group of Hawke's Bay fathers has been challenging the idea that childcare is a woman's job. For the past five months, the Dads & Co group has been engaging with their children through weekly activities, which they "politely say are for dads only"
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• The man charged with murdering Napier woman Victoria Foster at her Westshore home last month was identified as former partner Chazz Hayden Hall
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• Two primetime documentary specials put New Zealand women in the spotlight. NZ Women in Rock and The Women of Pike River explored two very different struggles experienced by NZ women
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• More than 90 per cent of South Canterbury women seeking help from Women's Refuge are victims of sexual assault and both the number of women being assaulted and the level of those assaults have been rising, according to staff at Mid South Island Women's Refuge and Family Safety Services
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• A Lower Hutt mother is pulling her 9-year-old boy from sex ed class,claiming the content (which included information on periods and wet dreams) was beyond his years
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• Health professionals are calling for vasectomies to be fully funded by the public health system so everyone, including low income earners, have access to the contraceptive procedure
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• Kiwi actress Ann Paquin hit out at body shamers who criticised her choice of dress. She tweeted “Fun fact: Wearing a dress that is not skintight=Pregnant/invites people 2 call u fat. I'm neither so thanks 4 that”
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• This Sunday, WOMAN - The Radio Show will be talking about the intricacies of maleness in New Zealand. If you're in Wellington, tune into 783am at 7pm to hear the discussion. You can also listen to the shows viaSoundCloud
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• Stuff is currently inviting contributions on what readers think needs to change to stop the cycle of violence in New Zealand. All contributions made so far can be read here
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Latest research:

• At least 100,000 Texas women aged 18 to 49 have attempted to end a pregnancy on their own without medical assistance, found a report from the Texas Policy Evaluation Project
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• More than half of working parents find it hard to balance work and family, and women are struggling more than men, according to a study by Pew Research Center. One in five working moms said it’s not just difficult, but very difficult, versus 12 percent of working dads. And mothers were twice as likely as fathers to say parenthood has hurt their career
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• Women’s career advancement isn’t dependent on social connections in the same way it is for men, found a study by Insead. It suggested women are more likely to be promoted given a proven track record of competence, inferred from their educational background or past achievements
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• Many women who miscarry their baby feel so ashamed they can't even talk to their husband about it, research has revealed
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• The average female dieter will have spent 168 weeks trying to lose weight between the ages of 18 and 30. By the time they reach 40, this increases to just under six years, or 308 weeks. The average woman diets twice a year, and loses 1.8 kilograms each time
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• Nordic countries have the most positive attitudes to gender equality in the world, according to a survey carried out in 24 countries. The study found that attitudes on men and women varied dramatically from country to country
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• A new report on gender from the World Economic Forum ranked India 139th out of 145 countries for female economic participation and opportunity. The average female Indian worker was found to only make one-fourth of the salary of male counterparts
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• Films with a female director employ more women in behind-the-scenes roles – such as writers, producers, editors and cinematographers – than those helmed by men, suggest a US study
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• Infertility in Kiwi women has the potential to become a prevalent problem, researchers at Otago University say. The study of Otago - Southland women found that about a quarter of those who had ever tried to become pregnant or had become pregnant, experienced infertility
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• High-achieving women are not meeting the career goals they set for themselves in their 20s – and it’s not because they’re “opting out” of the workforce when they have kids. A Harvard Business School study suggests that rather it is due to them allowing their partners’ careers to take precedence over their own
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• Women around the world have narrowed the gender gap in entrepreneurship by 6 percent from 2012 to 2014 and are finding paths to launching more businesses in industrialised and developing nations, according to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2014 Women's Report
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• In England and Wales, more babies have been born to women 35 and over than to those under 25 for the first time
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International news:

• The World Economic Forum believes it will take another 118 years - or until 2133 - until the global pay gap between men and women is finally closed
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• While Australian actress Caitlin Stasey acknowledges being an attractive white woman is a privilege, it is not necessarily a blessing when it comes to being constantly typecast as "the pretty girl"
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• Even Mrs Claus is affected by the gender pay gap – a five star hotel sparked an equal pay row when it offered Santa almost double what his wife was to receive
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• For the first time in Barbie’s glittering pink history, a boy has been featured in one of the toy’s marketing campaigns
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• Transgender artists in America have reimagined Trans Day of Remembrance, which is observed on November 20 each year to memorialise those killed as a result of anti-trans violence. Through their project, Trans Day of Resilience, they hope to support trans women of colour in their lives, not just in their deaths
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• Eddie Redmayne said he finds the lack of progress on transgender rights in the past century "shocking" after playing 1920s transsexual pioneer Lili Elbe in his new film The Danish Girl
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• Thousands of black women from across Brazil marched through the nation's capital to call attention to the pervasive violence and discrimination they suffer
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• The chief executive of Vanuatu's National Council of Women says thecountry's male politicians must recognise the rights of women to be in parliament. The council staged a forum to help women planning to stand in the next election, due next year
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• Women in Tunisia will now be allowed to travel with their children without the father’s permission, according to a new law passed in the country
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• Canada’s national inquiry into the disappearance or murder of nearly 1,200 indigenous women will look radically different from previous attempts to grapple with shocking levels of violence against aboriginal women, according to the country's new federal indigenous affairs minister
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• President of Bolivia Evo Morales came under fire for calling his health minister a lesbian after seeing her speak to another woman while he gave a speech
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• November 19th marked Women’s Entrepreneurship Day at the United Nations, a day to discuss the obstacles facing women business owners globally and to celebrate the successes of female entrepreneurs
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• Actress Lena Dunholm opened up about her struggle with endometriosis, writing that she hopes for a 'future in which the pain of teenage girls is fully investigated, taken as seriously as a broken leg'
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• Actor Daniel Radcliffe spoke out in support of co-star Emma Watson, and her HeforShe campaign to promote gender equality. "I think it's fantastic that she's bringing attention to it and adding to the conversation,” he told Nylon magazine
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• A British primary school asked young girls to cover up by wearing opaque black tights, as it would 'protect their modesty'
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• President Obama announced the beginning of a five-year initiative thatpledges $100 million to low-income black women and an additional $18 million to research institutions studying the living conditions of black women and girls
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• Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Gloria Steinem got together to discuss the unending fight for women’s rights
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• Screen NSW is aiming to get more women working behind the camera in film and TV production with the launch of its 50/50 gender equity target
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• US brewing giant Anheuser-Busch InBev is setting out to win back women with a Super Bowl ad campaign built around the idea that coming together over a Bud Light can help solve the world's problems, including unequal pay
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• Boston's mayor announced the city will be offering free two-hour salary negotiation classes to every woman working in the city
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• In Argentina, 39 percent of professional astronomers are women – a number higher than most countries around the world – but they still face “machismo in the air”
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• Various sororities in the US have withdrawn support for the Safe Campus Act, a controversial bill which restricts colleges’ ability to punish perpetrators, and forces victims to pursue police action
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• Why do men who work with women get more credit?
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• The Party of Brazilian Women has seven MPs in the House of Representative, all of whom are men
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• With accounts from a victim, a perpetrator, a refuge worker, a Police officer, a magistrate and a men's group convener, Daily Life gives a 360-degree look at the domestic violence cycle
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Events:

• White Ribbon Day is coming up on November 25 with events being held throughout November
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• From 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to 10 December, Human Rights Day, 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence campaign will be recognised across the world

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