From 5-12 April young people around Australia converged to discuss issues concerning democracy, media, arts and social change from the comfort of their beanbag at the on-line VibeWire e-Festival. One of the forums was Reworking feminism: What does gender equality mean in the 21st century? 46 discussions were posted with over 350 replies over the eight days. It is so encouraging to see that young people are really concerned about issues in our nation, including gender equity.
Work-family balance, paid maternity leave, equal pay, sexual harassment in the workplace and even more alarmingly the trafficking of women have all been listed as recent issues examined by the Commissioner of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission (HREOC) here in Australia. As I am sure you can imagine, this pales in comparison to the issues concerning gender equity world wide. UNIFEM identifies violence against women, feminized poverty, female representation in democratic governance and basic human rights as serious issues across the globe and supports the MDG as a means to eradicate gender inequity.
In Australia this week we have seen two phenomenal achievements by and for women of our nation. Today, we witness our first female Governor-General, Queenslander Quentin Bryce, who at 67 years of age extinguishes a 107 year male reign <click for article>.
The Anglican Church has also announced that the Venerable Kay Goldsworthy will be consecrated on the 22 May as the nation’s first female Anglican bishop. The way was paved by a decision by the Appellate Tribunal (the Church’s highest legal authority) in September 2007 declaring that there is nothing in the Church’s Constitution that would prevent the consecration of a woman priest as a diocesan bishop in a diocese which by ordinance has adopted the Law of the Church of England Clarification Canon 1992. Interestingly, this doesn’t apply to assistant bishops whom are elected and confirmed under provisions of the Assistant Bishops’ Canon 1966 and seems to retain the requirement for candidates to be male.
<Sigh> We still have a long way to go.
But for today, for this moment in history (or should I say, herstory), I raise my glass of red to women everywhere for their achievements, for their courage, for their vision of a world where men and women are equal.
If we are to achieve a richer culture, rich in contrasting values, we must recognize the whole gamut of human potentialities, and so we weave a less arbitrary social fabric, on in which each diverse gift will find a fitting place. Margaret Mead
