The Feminist Majority Foundation have created this video to help answer this question......
click here to see the video
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Monday, November 12, 2007
why women only? Cameron speaks out
David Cameron has spoken out today about the disgracefully low percentage of convictions for rape in a speech at the Conservative Women's Organisation conference. Follow the link for the BBC story.
There was a discussion on Woman's Hour (radio 4) about his proposals which you can listen to here if you missed it. The F-word blog has a post on this topic too. The main points they both make seems to relate to the need to reform the legal system to address the issue of low conviction rates, which Cameron has not directly addressed.
Cameron pledged longer-term funding for rape crisis centres, to change attitudes towards rape through sex education and announced a Tory review of sentencing.
He said "Studies have shown that as many as one in two young men believe there are some circumstances when it's okay to force a woman to have sex" and called for "widespread cultural change" as treating women as sex objects has become viewed as "cool".
He called for compulsory sex education in schools to drive home the message that sex without consent is a criminal offence.
Cameron referred to statistics suggesting one in 20 women had been raped, yet three-quarters of them never report the crime. And of those that are reported, just 5.7% result in a conviction.
He also said the number of rape crisis support centres had fallen from 68 in 1984 to 45, and funding decisions on those that remained were short-term and being made mid-way through the financial year. "As a result, these centres are forced to survive hand-to-mouth and often face the threat of imminent closure," he said. "All this has led to an appalling and tragic lack of support for the victims of rape."
As a socialist I feel concern that it is a Tory that has had to raise this issue. Despite this, I find myself saying "good on him for getting us talking about it in the mainstream". I have not yet heard the Government's response but I am very disappointed that they did not lead the debate.
There was a discussion on Woman's Hour (radio 4) about his proposals which you can listen to here if you missed it. The F-word blog has a post on this topic too. The main points they both make seems to relate to the need to reform the legal system to address the issue of low conviction rates, which Cameron has not directly addressed.
Cameron pledged longer-term funding for rape crisis centres, to change attitudes towards rape through sex education and announced a Tory review of sentencing.
He said "Studies have shown that as many as one in two young men believe there are some circumstances when it's okay to force a woman to have sex" and called for "widespread cultural change" as treating women as sex objects has become viewed as "cool".
He called for compulsory sex education in schools to drive home the message that sex without consent is a criminal offence.
Cameron referred to statistics suggesting one in 20 women had been raped, yet three-quarters of them never report the crime. And of those that are reported, just 5.7% result in a conviction.
He also said the number of rape crisis support centres had fallen from 68 in 1984 to 45, and funding decisions on those that remained were short-term and being made mid-way through the financial year. "As a result, these centres are forced to survive hand-to-mouth and often face the threat of imminent closure," he said. "All this has led to an appalling and tragic lack of support for the victims of rape."
As a socialist I feel concern that it is a Tory that has had to raise this issue. Despite this, I find myself saying "good on him for getting us talking about it in the mainstream". I have not yet heard the Government's response but I am very disappointed that they did not lead the debate.
Saturday, November 03, 2007
why women only?
The latest report from the Women's Resource Centre sets out the arguments and evidence of the benefits of a ‘women-only’ approach in a climate where women’s organisations are increasingly being asked to justify their ‘women-only’ status.
The research was featured in the Guardian here. The research, based on a survey of 101 women's voluntary groups and a random sample of 1,000 women, found that 97% of women wanted choice of a women-only service after sexual assault and 78% preferred access to a female counsellor.
"The public thinks women have got equality and we don't need women's services any longer. But our research has shown that women want the choice to access women-only services as diverse as gyms, training, and drug and alcohol counselling, not just rape and domestic violence."
The report can be downloaded from the WRC website here.
The WRC urge you to write a letter to the Minister for the Third Sector Minister and the Minister for Women to ask them to support women’s organisations.
The original Why Women? report and a free DVD called "Why Women?" to help you campaign, are available from the WRC on the Why Women website.
The WRC have 2 events coming up -
The research was featured in the Guardian here. The research, based on a survey of 101 women's voluntary groups and a random sample of 1,000 women, found that 97% of women wanted choice of a women-only service after sexual assault and 78% preferred access to a female counsellor.
"The public thinks women have got equality and we don't need women's services any longer. But our research has shown that women want the choice to access women-only services as diverse as gyms, training, and drug and alcohol counselling, not just rape and domestic violence."
The report can be downloaded from the WRC website here.
The WRC urge you to write a letter to the Minister for the Third Sector Minister and the Minister for Women to ask them to support women’s organisations.
The original Why Women? report and a free DVD called "Why Women?" to help you campaign, are available from the WRC on the Why Women website.
The WRC have 2 events coming up -
- On Wednesday 14 November WRC and Women Acting in Today’s Society are holding an important meeting in Birmingham to plan for a national women’s sector forum. This strategy day is open to all organisations that want to help develop a stronger women’s voluntary and community sector.
- Making Rights Real is a conference on 15th November in Birmingham for voluntary and community organisations working to tackle inequality and promote human rights.
the value of women
Why are women, generally, globally, believed to be of less value than men?
This question arose in my house after watching "India's Missing Girls" on BBC TV a couple of weeks ago. This was a moving programme. UN figures state that 750,000 girls are aborted every year in India and others are killed when very young. There are now only 840 girls for every 1,000 boys according to Indian government information.
The main rationale for this is the high cost of dowries that families have to find in order to pay a man's family for him to marry their daughter. But this is not just an economic issue, as abortion of female foetus's is common in wealthier families.
So, this led me and my partner, T to wonder and discuss how this ridiculous and terrifying position came to be. It is not the case in every culture, but it's almost globally the case that women are not seen as valuable compared to men. The UK situation regarding unequal pay is a good local example of the same issue.
Could it be that it's because it is almost impossible to tell who the father of a child is, but it's certain who the mother is, when she gives birth, and so men have to control women if they are going to be certain of their heir? It cannot be that men are more necessary in order to pro-create, as the opposite is true, one man can father children with many women.
Could it be that on average men are physically stronger than women, despite women tending to do much of the physical domestic work worldwide. This means that in a capitalist world, where labour is needed to generate profit for those in power, brawn is prized? Women ensure the next generation of labourers grow up strong, but one woman can bring up many boys to be labourers, but it helps if she has the support of others to do so.
Do we need to understand why, in order for there to be a new world order? India is the world's biggest democracy yet it is still a highly unequal society. The power to make changes through political decision making is not an answer in itself. Changing the culture is much more complex. The whole of global society is predicated upon the lesser value of women.
This question arose in my house after watching "India's Missing Girls" on BBC TV a couple of weeks ago. This was a moving programme. UN figures state that 750,000 girls are aborted every year in India and others are killed when very young. There are now only 840 girls for every 1,000 boys according to Indian government information.
The main rationale for this is the high cost of dowries that families have to find in order to pay a man's family for him to marry their daughter. But this is not just an economic issue, as abortion of female foetus's is common in wealthier families.
So, this led me and my partner, T to wonder and discuss how this ridiculous and terrifying position came to be. It is not the case in every culture, but it's almost globally the case that women are not seen as valuable compared to men. The UK situation regarding unequal pay is a good local example of the same issue.
Could it be that it's because it is almost impossible to tell who the father of a child is, but it's certain who the mother is, when she gives birth, and so men have to control women if they are going to be certain of their heir? It cannot be that men are more necessary in order to pro-create, as the opposite is true, one man can father children with many women.
Could it be that on average men are physically stronger than women, despite women tending to do much of the physical domestic work worldwide. This means that in a capitalist world, where labour is needed to generate profit for those in power, brawn is prized? Women ensure the next generation of labourers grow up strong, but one woman can bring up many boys to be labourers, but it helps if she has the support of others to do so.
Do we need to understand why, in order for there to be a new world order? India is the world's biggest democracy yet it is still a highly unequal society. The power to make changes through political decision making is not an answer in itself. Changing the culture is much more complex. The whole of global society is predicated upon the lesser value of women.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Women's No Pay Day - take action!
Fawcett and UNISON have joined forces to declare October 30th Women's No Pay Day because the 17% hourly pay gap is equivalent to men getting paid all year but women working for nothing from October 30th until the year end.If you do just one thing for Women's No Pay Day, do this:
Sign the online petition to Gordon Brown demanding stronger action on the pay gap that rips women off. It takes less than a couple of minutes.
Click here to sign the petition
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Sunday, September 30, 2007
didn't think I'd been gone that long!
I'm amazed to find that I haven't posted here since February!
I started my new job in Feb and have obviously been having such an interesting/ busy time since then that blogging didn't fit in anymore.
Should I carry on?
Well, I don't know, but I'm not ready to close it down yet.
4 important changes have taken place recently
1 - I feel comfortable with myself at work - I feel like I fit in - I'm a lecture at a University locally, based in the arts/ sociology department
2 - my partner T has Rheumatoid Arthritis and is having treatment that is not really working yet, so things are quite unpredicatable and it's hard to plan ahead. It also means that there are lots of challenges brought about by the oppression of disabled people that we face and I support T to get through as best I can.
3 - I work 3 days a week but have been doing extra days for other organisations to earn a bit more. When I am not working, T and I get out and about as much as we can in the campervan.
4 - My youngest step-son has just started at Uni, the older one having left home last year to do that, but it didn't suit him and now he is working and studying new subjects planning to go away to Uni next year. So, the house is now empty of "children".
All this means that I am sometimes stressed, always busy, but overall content with my lot. This doesn't mean I no longer care about "issues", but I have other things that take priority over blogging.
I am sure there will be times in the winter months ahead when this blog will be useful to me.
I will probably shifting the focus from women's oppression to disablism somewhat - but my feminism is always a thread that runs through everything I do.
I started my new job in Feb and have obviously been having such an interesting/ busy time since then that blogging didn't fit in anymore.
Should I carry on?
Well, I don't know, but I'm not ready to close it down yet.
4 important changes have taken place recently
1 - I feel comfortable with myself at work - I feel like I fit in - I'm a lecture at a University locally, based in the arts/ sociology department
2 - my partner T has Rheumatoid Arthritis and is having treatment that is not really working yet, so things are quite unpredicatable and it's hard to plan ahead. It also means that there are lots of challenges brought about by the oppression of disabled people that we face and I support T to get through as best I can.
3 - I work 3 days a week but have been doing extra days for other organisations to earn a bit more. When I am not working, T and I get out and about as much as we can in the campervan.
4 - My youngest step-son has just started at Uni, the older one having left home last year to do that, but it didn't suit him and now he is working and studying new subjects planning to go away to Uni next year. So, the house is now empty of "children".
All this means that I am sometimes stressed, always busy, but overall content with my lot. This doesn't mean I no longer care about "issues", but I have other things that take priority over blogging.
I am sure there will be times in the winter months ahead when this blog will be useful to me.
I will probably shifting the focus from women's oppression to disablism somewhat - but my feminism is always a thread that runs through everything I do.
Saturday, February 17, 2007
SNAP!
Last year I posted about the Mencap SNAP photography competition. Since then as part of my old job I have been working with a group of people to organise activities to raise awareness and promote the equal rights of people with learning disabilities in Stoke-on-Trent.
We have arranged to borrow the exhibition of the 2006 SNAP winners photographs. They are currently on show at Keele University. On Monday I will go and collect them and take them to 3 venues in the city - Burslem School of Art, Staffordshire University and The Observatory clubhouse. They will be there until mid April.
The press release is accompanied by a feedback form, designed by other group members, to encourage viewers to think about the impact of the images. I can tell you what I think of them.....
The photos place people with learning disabilities in the public eye - as people with value and dignity.
I have some reservations about some of the photos - well not so much the photos as the words that go with some of them. It is obvious that some of the words although written as though they are the words of the person with a learning disability, are actually the words of a carer/ supporter. I find this very patronising and disempowering. I wonder if someone does not speak, it is not better to have no words with the photo?
There is also a wider point about the photographs - if I cannot take my own photo and cannot tell you what I want a photograph taking of, or do not like my photo begin taken, then I cannot not take part in the competition. Not everyone can/ wants to take photos. I don’t think it is "equality" to pretend that everyone can do that - we are all different. I wonder if there is a debate here?
I am going to link the exhibition in with diversity month at Staffs Uni and set up a discussion event sometime in the next few weeks, to pick up some of these issues.
We have arranged to borrow the exhibition of the 2006 SNAP winners photographs. They are currently on show at Keele University. On Monday I will go and collect them and take them to 3 venues in the city - Burslem School of Art, Staffordshire University and The Observatory clubhouse. They will be there until mid April.
The press release is accompanied by a feedback form, designed by other group members, to encourage viewers to think about the impact of the images. I can tell you what I think of them.....
The photos place people with learning disabilities in the public eye - as people with value and dignity.
I have some reservations about some of the photos - well not so much the photos as the words that go with some of them. It is obvious that some of the words although written as though they are the words of the person with a learning disability, are actually the words of a carer/ supporter. I find this very patronising and disempowering. I wonder if someone does not speak, it is not better to have no words with the photo?
There is also a wider point about the photographs - if I cannot take my own photo and cannot tell you what I want a photograph taking of, or do not like my photo begin taken, then I cannot not take part in the competition. Not everyone can/ wants to take photos. I don’t think it is "equality" to pretend that everyone can do that - we are all different. I wonder if there is a debate here?
I am going to link the exhibition in with diversity month at Staffs Uni and set up a discussion event sometime in the next few weeks, to pick up some of these issues.
I've started....
my new job at Staffordshire University.
I was shockingly overwhelmed on my first and 3rd days. I had a headache all day on Tuesday ( my first day) and choked back tears 3 or 4 times on Thursday afternoon/ evening after my 3rd day.
But I still think it was a good move.
Wednesday was the best - I felt at home there all morning and had lunch with my job share co-worker, who is great - funny, intelligent, kind - we should get on like a house on fire.
It was very peculiar doing 3 days and knowing I'd done my first week's work. It's also odd knowing I don't go back in until Tuesday. I hope I don't get used to it, so that it always feels like a treat.
I will be busy on Monday anyway as I have volunteered (but then had it agreed that I can do it as part of my new job) to organise an exhibition of the Mencap SNAP photographs.
I was shockingly overwhelmed on my first and 3rd days. I had a headache all day on Tuesday ( my first day) and choked back tears 3 or 4 times on Thursday afternoon/ evening after my 3rd day.
But I still think it was a good move.
Wednesday was the best - I felt at home there all morning and had lunch with my job share co-worker, who is great - funny, intelligent, kind - we should get on like a house on fire.
It was very peculiar doing 3 days and knowing I'd done my first week's work. It's also odd knowing I don't go back in until Tuesday. I hope I don't get used to it, so that it always feels like a treat.
I will be busy on Monday anyway as I have volunteered (but then had it agreed that I can do it as part of my new job) to organise an exhibition of the Mencap SNAP photographs.
body hair.....
is in up for debate again - Shazia Mirza is a convert to hairy bodies. Take a look at her website - it's worth a visit.
There is an article in the guardian about her fashion show - she got women to agree to stop removing hair and model for her. They were then asked to model clothes made from body hair.
The article picks up on some of the negative attitudes Shazia faced - although it features a discussion she had with Loaded magazine, and I wouldn't have expected anything other than the reaction she got from them - after all they clearly see women as sex objects only and the less that is "real" and sexual about the women they like the better - women in that magazine are either treated as "girls", pre-pubescent, and doll-like, or as whores or dogs (animals).
I would have liked to know more about what other women thought but it's a start. She's going to present an hour-long comedy debate programme called F*** off, I'm a Hairy Woman on BBC3 in March - not quite, but nearly mainstream media.
There is an article in the guardian about her fashion show - she got women to agree to stop removing hair and model for her. They were then asked to model clothes made from body hair.
The article picks up on some of the negative attitudes Shazia faced - although it features a discussion she had with Loaded magazine, and I wouldn't have expected anything other than the reaction she got from them - after all they clearly see women as sex objects only and the less that is "real" and sexual about the women they like the better - women in that magazine are either treated as "girls", pre-pubescent, and doll-like, or as whores or dogs (animals).
I would have liked to know more about what other women thought but it's a start. She's going to present an hour-long comedy debate programme called F*** off, I'm a Hairy Woman on BBC3 in March - not quite, but nearly mainstream media.
Sunday, January 21, 2007
reading...
is really exciting me at the moment.
I read Donna Tartt's "The Little Friend" over Christmas and I was bereft when I finished it - I eked out the last few pages as I did not want it to end. The atmosphere totally captivated me - it is one of the best books I have ever read. I seem to have a thing for books written from a young girl's viewpoint - "A Crime In The Neighbourhood" by Suzanne Berne, "Cat's Eye" my favourite Margaret Atwood, L P Hartley's "The Go-Between" and "To Kill A Mockingbird" by Harper Lee all spring to mind as books I have loved.
22-1-07 Thanks to Alec for reminding me about "Lovely Bones" - a fantastically moving novel in the same category - Alice Sebold.
I am now reading "Alias Grace", one of the last un-read Atwood's in my collection. It's reminiscent of Sarah Waters' "Fingersmith", so far - and that was a brilliant read late last year too. I've yet to read her new book "Nightwatch" set in the second world war, but have heard great reviews.
Issue 2 of Subtext is out, and I read that from cover to cover - better than issue 1 (although quite hard to read sometimes due to the layout/ font) - it stimulated me to think a lot more about trafficking, and I have renewed my membership of Amnesty International on the back of it. It's only £3.50 with no ads - all produced by volunteers. Well worth it.
As far as work goes, I am reading the report of the investigation by the Healthcare Commission into abuse of people with learning disabilities in hospitals and care homes in London (Sutton and Merton) and Hastings - it's distressing and depressing but essential reading. The clear summary here is a quick outline of what went on. I am continually amazed by what humans can do to each other - particularly in the name of "care" - the abuse includes what amounts to imprisonment, torture and violence and would be a total scandal if the report was about children. Because the people affected are adults and find it hard to speak up for themselves, they are ignored by most of us and we allow this appalling treatment to continue. This is the second investigation into abuse of people with learning disabilities in NHS care in the last year - the Cornwall report came out in July 2006 with similar but more serious findings. The clear summary here is a quick outline of what went on in Cornwall - read it - please.
I read Donna Tartt's "The Little Friend" over Christmas and I was bereft when I finished it - I eked out the last few pages as I did not want it to end. The atmosphere totally captivated me - it is one of the best books I have ever read. I seem to have a thing for books written from a young girl's viewpoint - "A Crime In The Neighbourhood" by Suzanne Berne, "Cat's Eye" my favourite Margaret Atwood, L P Hartley's "The Go-Between" and "To Kill A Mockingbird" by Harper Lee all spring to mind as books I have loved.
22-1-07 Thanks to Alec for reminding me about "Lovely Bones" - a fantastically moving novel in the same category - Alice Sebold.
I am now reading "Alias Grace", one of the last un-read Atwood's in my collection. It's reminiscent of Sarah Waters' "Fingersmith", so far - and that was a brilliant read late last year too. I've yet to read her new book "Nightwatch" set in the second world war, but have heard great reviews.
Issue 2 of Subtext is out, and I read that from cover to cover - better than issue 1 (although quite hard to read sometimes due to the layout/ font) - it stimulated me to think a lot more about trafficking, and I have renewed my membership of Amnesty International on the back of it. It's only £3.50 with no ads - all produced by volunteers. Well worth it.
As far as work goes, I am reading the report of the investigation by the Healthcare Commission into abuse of people with learning disabilities in hospitals and care homes in London (Sutton and Merton) and Hastings - it's distressing and depressing but essential reading. The clear summary here is a quick outline of what went on. I am continually amazed by what humans can do to each other - particularly in the name of "care" - the abuse includes what amounts to imprisonment, torture and violence and would be a total scandal if the report was about children. Because the people affected are adults and find it hard to speak up for themselves, they are ignored by most of us and we allow this appalling treatment to continue. This is the second investigation into abuse of people with learning disabilities in NHS care in the last year - the Cornwall report came out in July 2006 with similar but more serious findings. The clear summary here is a quick outline of what went on in Cornwall - read it - please.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
missing......
women in senior positions.
According to the Equal Opportunities Commission publication "Sex and power: who runs Britain? 2007" - at the current rate of progess it will take…
Another 20 years to achieve equality in Civil Service top management.
Another 40 years to achieve an equal number of senior women in the judiciary.
Another 60 years to achieve an equal number of female directors of FTSE 100 companies.
Up to 200 years – another 40 elections – to achieve an equal number of women in Parliament.
"Where are the women missing from our boardrooms and public life?
If we hope to shatter the glass ceiling across the public and private sectors, the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) has calculated that we would need to find the nearly 6,000 women ‘missing’ from more than 33,000 top spots. The pace of change is painfully slow and in some cases is even going into reverse, so that is quite a challenge. This year, as the EOC publishes the final Sex and Power index before moving into the new Commission for Equality and Human Rights (CEHR) in October 2007, the EOC asks: Where are the women missing from our boardrooms and public life? What’s holding them back? And what price are
we – as a society and as employers – paying for their absence?"
The price is - the continuation of the patriarchy is confirmed.
According to the Equal Opportunities Commission publication "Sex and power: who runs Britain? 2007" - at the current rate of progess it will take…
Another 20 years to achieve equality in Civil Service top management.
Another 40 years to achieve an equal number of senior women in the judiciary.
Another 60 years to achieve an equal number of female directors of FTSE 100 companies.
Up to 200 years – another 40 elections – to achieve an equal number of women in Parliament.
"Where are the women missing from our boardrooms and public life?
If we hope to shatter the glass ceiling across the public and private sectors, the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) has calculated that we would need to find the nearly 6,000 women ‘missing’ from more than 33,000 top spots. The pace of change is painfully slow and in some cases is even going into reverse, so that is quite a challenge. This year, as the EOC publishes the final Sex and Power index before moving into the new Commission for Equality and Human Rights (CEHR) in October 2007, the EOC asks: Where are the women missing from our boardrooms and public life? What’s holding them back? And what price are
we – as a society and as employers – paying for their absence?"
The price is - the continuation of the patriarchy is confirmed.
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Gill
I just heard that Gill Gill died on Friday night.
Gill was so full of energy - where has that gone now?
She was Director of B Arts from the start in 1985 when they were a co-operative, and what a wonderful organisation they are now.
She was a Loud Mouth Woman and that is how I will remember her - the last time I saw her we were singing the bass line together.
Thanks for your voice, your laughter and your energy Gill.
Gill was so full of energy - where has that gone now?
She was Director of B Arts from the start in 1985 when they were a co-operative, and what a wonderful organisation they are now.
She was a Loud Mouth Woman and that is how I will remember her - the last time I saw her we were singing the bass line together.
Thanks for your voice, your laughter and your energy Gill.
Friday, December 29, 2006
3 days a week....
I'm going to be doing a job share - it's been agreed!
I am still waiting for my written job offer, but the 2nd choice candidate has agreed to take the job share..... I should be able to start in February. I never got a new contract from the NHS when I started this new job despite chasing them for it twice, so I'm still on one month's notice!
I'm not sure about research yet, but I do know the holiday entitlement is more than I get now and the pay is slightly more pro rata.
All in all it's a fantastic deal and opportunity - I intend to make the most of it.
Amongst my plans for what to do with my other 2 days a week are:
I am still waiting for my written job offer, but the 2nd choice candidate has agreed to take the job share..... I should be able to start in February. I never got a new contract from the NHS when I started this new job despite chasing them for it twice, so I'm still on one month's notice!
I'm not sure about research yet, but I do know the holiday entitlement is more than I get now and the pay is slightly more pro rata.
All in all it's a fantastic deal and opportunity - I intend to make the most of it.
Amongst my plans for what to do with my other 2 days a week are:
- get away a lot in the campervan that we have recently acquired...
- volunteer at the local self-advocacy project that I have been working with a lot
- act as broker for a young person and their family to take control of Self Directed Services
- take a lot of photos - hopefully getting paid for some of it - with Cultural Sisters and other local community arts organisations
- take up drawing again
- make lots of music and sing
- walk and swim
- re-launch froom
- support Pan the local group that I am a member of to develop and seek funding
- blog....
Think I might struggle to fit it all in but I'll give it a try!
Sunday, December 03, 2006
working hours.....
how many is too many?
I have been offered a new job as a lecturer at the local Uni and I am taking part but I am in the process of negotiating hours.
I work 4 days at the moment. I do not want to go back to full-time -
So I have been worrying about this. Can I cope with a full time job? I believe that I would be able to work from home sometimes and the hours would be flexible.....
I will not get too anxious about it until I know if the other candidate can job share........ should know by mid week.
I have been offered a new job as a lecturer at the local Uni and I am taking part but I am in the process of negotiating hours.
I work 4 days at the moment. I do not want to go back to full-time -
- I got so worn out last year I have got used to needing a 3 day weekend to keep my batteries fully charged.
- T has a condition that means I am his carer some of the time and I like being around at home - it stops him getting too isolated.
- I want to do other things with my time than be employed in one job.
I do some voluntary work and some paid self-employed work e.g. photography. I'd like to do more of both if poss. I'm keen to get froom going properly too.
So I have been worrying about this. Can I cope with a full time job? I believe that I would be able to work from home sometimes and the hours would be flexible.....
I will not get too anxious about it until I know if the other candidate can job share........ should know by mid week.
Friday, November 17, 2006
interviews with inspiring women.....
on the Guardian website -
I posted about the Fawcett society a couple of weeks ago and now the Guardian have put sound clips on their site of interviews with the four women who are going to be speaking at the Fawcett society event on the 22nd November.
There is also a very interesting article in the same paper with 5 women - all writers - Jenni Murray (who will be chairing the Fawcett event), Ariel Levy, Lionel Shriver, Maggie O'Farrell and Michele Hanson, writing about the women who have inspired them.
I posted about the Fawcett society a couple of weeks ago and now the Guardian have put sound clips on their site of interviews with the four women who are going to be speaking at the Fawcett society event on the 22nd November.
There is also a very interesting article in the same paper with 5 women - all writers - Jenni Murray (who will be chairing the Fawcett event), Ariel Levy, Lionel Shriver, Maggie O'Farrell and Michele Hanson, writing about the women who have inspired them.
check up on your boyfriend.....
if you're worried he might be a paedophile..........
the British Government is considering allowing single mothers to ask for information about the criminal record of new boyfriends to find out whether he is a sex offender if they are worried.
The Guardian make it clear that "Mothers would have to have grounds for suspicion and would face tough penalties if they abused the information, including by making it public. Establishing a relationship with a single mother is a common strategy used by predatory paedophiles to gain access to children. Such men represent about a fifth of child sex offenders; the rest are relatives or otherwise known to the victim."
This seems to me like such a terrible indictment of the state of our community - we cannot trust men with our children. Why is this? Why are men attracted to children as sexual playthings? Is the only way to deal with this issue to give responsiblity to women check up on men we have doubts about? There must be another way of reducing the chances of child sex abuse.
Along with violence against women, abuse of children is a symptom of the patriarchy - men need to feel powerful and to express their feelings as agression or sex. If they need to feel close to a person sexually some of them seem to need that person to be non-threatening - e.g. a child. 80% of child sex offenders are relatives or otherwise known to the child.
We have to address the issue by educating men about their responsibilities towards the rest of society and supporting them to have non-sexual close relationships with children.
the British Government is considering allowing single mothers to ask for information about the criminal record of new boyfriends to find out whether he is a sex offender if they are worried.
The Guardian make it clear that "Mothers would have to have grounds for suspicion and would face tough penalties if they abused the information, including by making it public. Establishing a relationship with a single mother is a common strategy used by predatory paedophiles to gain access to children. Such men represent about a fifth of child sex offenders; the rest are relatives or otherwise known to the victim."
This seems to me like such a terrible indictment of the state of our community - we cannot trust men with our children. Why is this? Why are men attracted to children as sexual playthings? Is the only way to deal with this issue to give responsiblity to women check up on men we have doubts about? There must be another way of reducing the chances of child sex abuse.
Along with violence against women, abuse of children is a symptom of the patriarchy - men need to feel powerful and to express their feelings as agression or sex. If they need to feel close to a person sexually some of them seem to need that person to be non-threatening - e.g. a child. 80% of child sex offenders are relatives or otherwise known to the child.
What leads to men needing to express themselves like this? The expectations on men to be "masculine" seem to damage men as much and in different ways to the expectations on women to be "feminine". And the impact of the damage is felt by all of us......we have got to the point where we need laws so that people feel they can keep their children safe.
Monday, November 13, 2006
workplaces need to change.....
now that's a surprise! (not)
According to a Guardian article today Jill Treanor says "Senior executives from 150 leading companies will be asked to help draw up a new set of industry standards to promote more women and to create working environments which break away from the traditional male-dominated, aggressive workplaces"
The number of women in the boardrooms of Britain's biggest companies has fallen sharply. While 50% of the graduate recruits are female, the proportion reaching senior levels falls to 30% and to just 15% in executive roles. There are only 12 female executive directors at FTSE-100 companies last year - down from 20 last year. The 12 women work for 10 companies. Only three FTSE 100 firms have women chief executives. 90 women serve as non-executives, but more than a quarter of FTSE 100 firms have no female director.
Yup - there's a lot of work to do!
Professor Lynda Gratton, leading the research says "It ís not simply that companies [are choosing] not to promote women but that women decide to leave". One of the first things the centre will do is to bring together all relevant research on its website, london.edu/womeninbusiness Then it has plans for studies into topics such as what draws women to entrepreneurialism and the reason women seem to be good at innovation.
In an interview in the Guardian last week Gratton said "We need to show organisations, through research, what benefits women can bring, what they can do.....
Research published this Wednesday also found that women were both task- and relationship-oriented, meaning, in lay terms, that they get things done as well as get on with people. Gratton describes this as a "huge finding". I think it's totally patronising - women have to be doers and networkers to survive with a family to support, it's not news!
This week's research suggests that more than 30% of any workforce needs to be female to change an organisation. Women are surrounded by fewer and fewer women as they move up the greasy pole. Gratton also points out "Being a minority is an unpleasant place to be. The surprise I sometimes think is not that there are so few senior women but - given how hard it is and how extraordinarily good they have to be - how many." This point that echoes the earlier posts I have written about how women, despite having to spend hours on "beauty-work" can still achieve as much, if not more than our male counterparts, if we choose to.......
Saturday, November 04, 2006
inspiring women update....
according the entertaining quiz on Fawcett I am
Mary Wollstonecraft (1759 – 1797)
She was a British philosopher, often hailed as the first feminist. She wrote several novels, essays, and children's books, but is best known for A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) in which she argued that women were degraded through the lack of education imposed on them by the restrictions of femininity. In line with the ideals of the Enlightenment, she fought for a society based on reason and the new concept of human rights.
As well as writing, Mary Wollstonecraft worked as a teacher, founded a school and travelled all over Europe, staying in France during the revolution. After a stormy relationship with Gilbert Imlay, with whom she had her first daughter Fanny, Wollstonecraft married the philosopher William Godwin. They had a daughter together: Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein. Mary Wollstonecraft died of puerperal fever shortly after the birth, but left a legacy of feminism that has changed the world.
I wish!!!!!
Seriously though - the quiz promotes the work that Fawcett is doing to highlight inspiring women. Inspiring Women celebrates women and their contribution to politics, the arts, entertainment, sports, science, and public life.Jenni Murray from BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour will be in conversation with this year's Inspiring Women in London on 22nd November. The women are: comic actress and writer Jocelyn Jee Esien, double Paralympic champion Tanni Grey - Thompson, Shadow Leader of the House of Commons Theresa May MP, and Liberty Director Shami Chakrabarti.
In August Lucy Clouting of the Guardian profiled inspiring women nominated by readers. They were inundated with responses and chose 15 to profile. "Whether through art, charity, or political protest, all are working ardently to make the world that much better for all of us."
The list includes Katherine Zappone and Ann Louise Gilligan a lesbian couple fighting for their marriage to be recognised in Ireland, and Finn Mackay Founder of the London Feminist Network and domestic violence prevention officer who has rejuvenated women-only Reclaim the Night marches.
Last year the web-based women's network that I set up with some friends locally - Froom , took this topic as our theme and published a few articles here. I'd like to see more contributions but everyone seems too busy. Shame really as reading things like this help me feel the power of women and encourage me to be myself and not succumb to the limitations that I feel our patriarchal society place on me.
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