The sound of marching feet

This article by Kerry-Anne remined me that we are progressing in the right direction.
I have to say that I have marched for equal pay in the 70's , driven over 200 miles to rally for more pay for nurses in late 70's and early 80's and marched up to Parliament house in WA for women to have greater industrial relations rights in the 90's. I think that times have changes and the power of the pen is greater then the sound of marching feet. It needs both genders to stand up and make the changes. Women can work with men to endorse the skills that women have and edify those women who have pushed on through the tough times to gain staus for others to follow.
Enjoy reading the article. Let me know what you think? Arlene

Let mothers hold the baby

Kerry-Anne Walsh
January 11, 2009

WOMEN used to be described - along with blacks, gays and an assortment of others - as a minority group.
We weren't in numbers, of course. The reference was to the status of women in positions of power, influence and, among other areas, the workforce.
The path to equality is littered with burnt bras and shattered glass, and there's still a drearily long way to go. Women still earn far less than men for comparable work, are discriminated against in the workforce because of child-rearing responsibilities or simply blatant sexism and bear the brunt of domestic violence in homes.
The good news is there has been a slow but steady increase in the number of women in the upper ranks of politics and the judiciary, pointing to a future - no matter how distant - where merit, talent and experience may become the genuine criteria for selection. That time can't come soon enough.
Before the Howard government lost office in 2007, only two women graced the cabinet table. Just two other women were in the outer ministry. When Kevin Rudd grabbed government, he doubled the female representation in the cabinet room to four, included three women in the outer ministry and appointed three as parliamentary secretaries.
Women still represent only one quarter of Labor's bulging front bench but at least it's an improvement on the 11 years of static representation under the former regime.
Rudd's female ministers hold meaty portfolios, including the position of our first female Prime Minister (acting). And few would have thought they'd see the day when a woman was sitting in Canberra's Government House as governor-general.
In the courtrooms of Australia things are also looking up. Of the 15 judicial appointments made by the Rudd Government, seven have been women, including Justice Virginia Bell to the High Court.
Joining her in the hallowed rooms of justice are Jayne Jagot (to the Federal Court) and Barbara Baker, Evelyn Bender, Anne Demack, Judith Walker and Josephine Willis (as federal magistrates). All have outstanding legal pedigrees, raising the obvious question: why has it taken so long for them to make it to the bench?
Justice Bell's resume reads like the perfect job application for high legal office. Solicitor, barrister, legal counsel, Supreme Court appeal judge. A social and civic conscience emerges through her work with legal aid, the Law Reform Commission, a sexual assault committee and as a public defender.
The CSIRO has its first female chief executive. Dr Megan Clark was appointed in September and starts this month. Also in September, Professor Penny Sackett was appointed by the Government as Australia's new chief scientist.
These examples don't an equal society make, of course. Most boardrooms are still a sea of suits.
Women in the church struggle to be recognised as leaders. The barriers to women in the workforce remain strong, particularly for working mothers who are desperately needed in Australia to keep the economy, and household budgets, afloat.
Pensioners have received a rock-solid guarantee they will have their incomes lifted in the May budget but another government promise, of a paid maternity leave scheme, which would ease the path to workforce participation for many working mums, is wilting.
Why it is an item that should be bumped in the name of savings is something the Government will have to explain if it isn't announced in the budget.
The final Productivity Commission report on parental leave will be delivered to the Government next month. It will form the basis of their budget deliberations about the introduction of a leave scheme.
It would be ironic indeed if, after the advancements made by the Rudd Government to improve the position of women in power, it was responsible for delaying a scheme that could help them get more.
kwalsh@fairfaxmedia.com.au
Source: The Sun-Herald