On Balance – This Week in Gender Equality

26 February 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:

• Outdated attitudes towards family violence, held by some Government agencies, are failing victims and triggering inadequate responses, according to a report released by the Family Violence Review Committee
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• Womens Refuge said it was not surprised by the report’s announcement that the deaths of 312 people over 10 years could be attributed to family violence
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• The Motherhood Challenge is merely an example of a wider women’s challenge…it is caused by continual judgement of our situations by news articles, advertising, research, friends, families and colleagues
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• A rare bravery medal given to a New Zealand woman during the suffragette movement in Britain has been bought at auction by Te Papa
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• A Wairoa pharmacist refuses to sell the emergency contraceptive pill over her counter because of personal beliefs. Wairoa Pharmacy is the town's only dispensary
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• Feminism is perhaps the most divisive and stigma-laden F word in the English language
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• Former National Party leader Don Brash said a Christchurch nurse who threw a dildo at Steven Joyce may have avoided a criminal charge because she was Maori and a woman
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• Growing numbers of people are being held to ransom after sending sexually explicit photos online
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• As part of its series on abortion, the Villainesse has created a guide to getting an abortion in New Zealand – part one, part two. They also have a guide on getting support if you decide to keep a pregnancy
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• Wicked Campers, an Australian campervan company known for its offensive slogans, has been threatened with prosecution and a fine of up to $20,000 by the Whangarei District Council
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• Progress is lacking on women’s rights in Saudi Arabia, writes Theresa Gattung
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Latest research:

• U.S. banks with female chief executive officers or chairmen were less likely to fail during the financial crisis than banks run by men, found a study by a group of researchers in Finland
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• Men overwhelmingly dominate Australian domestic and family violence offences - outstripping women by four to one - and most are aged in their 20s and early 30s, new figures show
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• At least one in five British women experienced unwanted sexual contact while they were in school, children's charity Plan UK reported
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• It turns out that women rule the roost when it comes to saving for retirement in the US. Research by Vanguard shows that women are the ones signing up for 401(k) plans and saving a larger piece of their salaries, compared with their male counterparts
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• Hollywood is whitewashed, and leaves women and LGBTQ people virtually invisible, according to an exhaustive and damning report from the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism
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• The number of businesses owned by African American women grew 322% since 1997, making black females the fastest growing group of entrepreneurs in the US, according to a study commissioned by American Express Open
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• Female heroes and villains outranked their male counterparts as readers’ favourite characters in a poll conducted in advance of World Book Day onMarch 3
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• A Ugandan study found women in female-dominated sectors earned less than half what men did in male-dominated sectors. However, women who "crossed over" to male-dominated sectors earned almost as much as men
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• Even though men and women might have equal selling reputations when selling the same products on eBay, women still receive lower prices than men, found an analysis of over 600,000 auction transitions on the site
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International news:

• Lego revealed a new minifgure set which will feature a stay-at-home dad, a working mom and a young man in a wheelchair. The toy company told Fortune magazine that the new figures “mirror the world we live in today”
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• The Manhattan Supreme Court ruled that singer Kesha will remainunder contract with Dr. Luke, the music producer that she is suing for emotional, mental, and sexual abuse
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• A number of celebrities have spoken out in support of Kesha, including Taylor Swift who publicly donated $350,000 to help Kesha’s legal battle
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• Lena Dunham slammed the Kesha verdict in a powerful essay for her 'Lenny Letter' newsletter, saying the judge's decision has left Kesha locked in a kind of "domestic abuse"
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• Singer Adele announced her public support for Kesha when receiving the BRIT award for Best British Female Solo Artist. She also thanked her record label “for embracing the fact that I'm a woman and being encouraged by it”
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• NSW Police released a new video campaign, titled 'It's not your fault', that aims to raise awareness about the ongoing domestic and family violence epidemic and remind victims that it's never their fault
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• International Women’s Day: What does the Pledge for Parity mean?
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• Indian President Pranab Mukherjee announced that his country’s armed forces will open all combat positions to women, in every section of the army, navy and air force
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• An increase in reports of sexual assaults on the New York City subway system has been spurred in part by use of cell phone photos and videos, according to authorities and advocates who say that women can now use technological tools to help fight back against harassers
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• Researchers of two major studies announced that they had developed an insertable vaginal ring which could cut the risk of an HIV infection for a woman in half, if used correctly
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• The power of celebrity in modern culture means that predatory child abusers may still lurk in the BBC – or similar organisations – undetected, said the woman charged with investigating the Jimmy Savile scandal
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• Dramatically reducing poverty could be as simple as paying women the same amount of money as men
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• Democrats in the Senate introduced a sweeping new bill to guarantee and standardise certain rights for people who have experienced sexual assault
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• A domestic violence shelter serving male victims has opened in Arkansas
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• Afghanistan’s National Women’s Cycling Team has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by members of the Italian government
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• Melinda Gates, of the Gates Foundation, announced that her priority for this year will be “time poverty” which will address the inequality of unpaid work
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• Students at a leading Sydney high school have won a battle to change their uniform policy to allow students to wear boys or girls uniformsregardless of their gender
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• Jessica Chastain, Queen Latifah, Juliette Binoche and Catherine Hardwicke have joined production company We Do It Together to produce films and TV that boost the empowerment of women
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• An Afghan street artist is using graffiti to help alter deeply entrenched attitudes towards women
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• It’s time to get rid of the idea of the ‘fun parent’ and the gender bias that comes with it
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• Lawmakers in Pakistan's largest province of Punjab have given unprecedented protection to female victims of violence, in a bid to stem rising gender-related abuse
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• Girls are often warned away from doing anything that involves a hint of risk…We must chuck the insidious language of fear (Be careful! That’s too scary!) and instead use the same terms we offer boys, of bravery and resilience
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• Actor Emma Watson revealed plans to take a year off acting to focus on feminism
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• Women of Naveiveiwali Village in Tailevu, Fiji stood out as heroines at the height of severe tropical cyclone Winston. Their strength and determination resulted in 22 villagers surviving the night that left all 21 houses destroyed
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• Attempts to move away from airbrushing in advertising have ebbed and flowed over the last decade, but at a time when even Barbie now comes in petite, tall and curvy, more retailers are turning to authentic-looking women to market their products
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• A Bunnings store in Melbourne has been praised after it banned a group of tradesmen who harassed a female staff member in the store
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• A village in India has reportedly banned girls and unmarried women from the use of cell phones, threatening fines for possessing or using a phone unless the call is from a relative and received on a parent’s phone
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Get Involved:

• 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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