With the federal election approaching many working women will be considering how their vote can make a difference in defining the nation’s legislative agenda.
The past two years have been a time of reckoning for working women.
Reckoning with the fault lines exposed by the pandemic that have disproportionately affected them – insecure work, caring burdens, increasingrates of domestic and family violence.
Reckoning more broadly with the treatment of women in modern Australia in the wake of the women’s March4Justice and the Jenkins review into parliamentary culture.
How do we ensure genuine respect at work?
When Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins provided the Respect@Work Report to the current federal government in January 2020, the 900+ page report represented the most elaborate examination of sexual harassment at work in decades.
Respect@Work made 55 recommendations with the aim of stamping out harassment and providing genuine respect in Australian workplaces.
The landmark report was left to gather dust on the Attorney-General’s desk until early 2021 when national discourse about women’s treatment at work was reignited.
To date the Morrison federal government has only partially implemented the Respect@Work recommendations, failing to take action on key measures including:
