Monday 12 April 2021

Women in democracies

 It's a while since I posted, but with all the focus and concern in our Australian media about:

1.  The role of women and the glass ceiling, and

2. The abuse of women and girls

.....I imagine myself back in my role as a school Principal pondering on how I would manage this as part of the staff and student wellbeing programs in my school community.

Horror of horrors most of the mail on these topics has emerged because of poor practices in respect of women in of all places our federal parliament and some state parliaments.

The big word that is emerging is "respect".  This is not new in the minds of thinking women and men.

The second word that is emerging loud and clear in respect of the close relationships between adults is "consent".  Again this is not new in the minds of thinking women and men.

On point 1 above it remains clear that the current conservative federal government has a serious skewing of more men than women as Members of Parliament and now this government is talking quotas to right the imbalance.  The main opposition Labor Party has largely been down that road and created a balance of men and women. Many boardrooms in the commercial world have imbalances skewing towards more men board members, but it is fair to say that the world of commerce is far ahead of what has recently emerged in our parliamentary system. Also their are many female CEOs of large companies in Australia.

For a school Principal the only pathway is to make sure that it is part of the culture of their school that men and women are to be treated equally in providing opportunities for learning and after formal learning in the workplace. We are long past the days of restricting women to having the opportunity for a comprehensive education and the results of year 12 school graduates show that girls are right up there with their male counterparts. Girls opt for the tough STEM courses and do well. Part of this school culture is that male students may need a lot of guidance to see girls as equals in the learning space.

Point 2 above is very complex because it cuts to the heart of how men relate to women. The latest conversations in Australia report a poor attitude in some workplaces of men towards women. A lot of bullying occurs along with sexual advances exploited to various degrees from unwanted flirtation to rape. So many women have come out and declared such experiences in the commercial workplace and lately in the halls of federal parliament.  Fortunately rape is not of a high frequency but one rape is one too many. Female staffers, who work for Members of Parliament (MP), report bullying and unwanted flirtations as common in the culture of federal parliamentary administration. Rape is alleged to have occurred relatively recently in the office of a Minister in the government cabinet. "Consent" and "respect' of men for women seems to have gone out the window in the halls of our government. One should hasten to add that there are many upright male MPs to whom such accusations do not apply.  The Prime Minister is having to manage all this flak and is trying to take positive action to change the culture.  A major and very difficult task.

Also across Australia are the alarming statistics of domestic violence perpetrated almost solely by men on women.  Women die on a regular basis having been killed usually by a partner.

For the school Principal the wellbeing programs have to teach "respect" as the basis for humane relationships between and among students as they mature and as "consenting" adults of the future. The programs about sexual relationships may need strengthening to confront and remove the probabilities of men and women growing up without the "respect" that should be part of the way they live. If the schools can achieve this then the workplaces can carry on from there and observe "respect". I add here that men and women is a narrow definition of the human condition as the school needs to take into account the  LGBTQ communities. This is a difficult area for the learning program and careful communication is needed to have parents onside. Further it is clear that some men feel downgraded by the conversations that are presently occurring and the school program needs to work hard to build a culture of equality in a context that the differences between men, women and LGBTQ individuals are a strength of the democratic existence of humans in their various communities.

Within the school environment teenage and young adult students need a robust sex education program as their hormones kick in.  There has been a lot come out about senior school girls experiencing unwanted sexual advances from their male peers in the social interactions that are part of the extra-curricular and/or hidden school curriculum. Part of the robust program is to have discussion about the influence of social media and readily available pornography. What are the warning signs that various sexual behaviours are taboo in a context of "respect" and "consent"? Also peer pressure needs discussion to enable these young persons to have the strength and insight to know when resisting peer pressure is acceptable or more realistically, essential.  Again in a context of "respect" and "consent".

Oh dear I just hope that I have done this difficult topic justice being a very senior person who has been part of a gradual change from a time when a woman's place was in the kitchen to the way we are in 2021.

I thank my Mother who with little formal education gave me in my early years the view of the rightful place of women in our society.

"Life wasn't meant to be easy" is applicable to the imperatives for a school Principal in the areas of human behaviour discussed above.


May the Force be with you.


GD