Deleting the Gender Gap – Dignity for Disability launches women’s policy
08/03/2014
To celebrate International Women’s Day, Dignity for Disability has launched its women’s policy.
“On International Women’s Day, we acknowledge the women of Australia, beginning with the Indigenous women who are the original mothers of our country,” said Party Leader Kelly Vincent MLC. “Sadly, women in SA are still held back by social, cultural and financial barriers. Dignity for Disability aims to change that.”
Dignity for Disability’s women’s policy includes five key areas for change:
– Freedom from violence. “South Australian women are at much greater risk of sexual assault or domestic violence than men,” said Ms Vincent. “Women with disabilities are an even higher-risk group – they are 20 per cent more likely to experience domestic violence than other women because they are often bound by physical or financial dependence. Dignity for Disability is calling for a spotlight to be shone into this dark corner through techniques such as education campaigns and the establishment of fail-safe reach out programs.”
– Choice for mothers. “Mothers literally bear the future of our nation, but in South Australia we have recently seen a winding back of their reproductive rights,” said Ms Vincent. “Late in 2013 our Parliament passed a law that could drive women to choose free birthing in certain situations. Dignity for Disability will work to repeal this proscriptive law and steer our state back toward the national birthing guidelines –which assert, rather than contradict, a woman’s right to choose.”
– Women in the workplace. “A pay gap still exists between men and women, and women are still blocked from the top jobs,” said Ms Vincent. “We want to see our politician’s talk of changing this statistic transform into action – let’s start by auditing the gender balance of Parliamentary candidates and then encourage more young women to pursue non-traditional careers such as politics by holding regular career showcases for girls nearing the end of Primary School. We also need to provide more thorough support mechanisms for women with disabilities entering the workforce as this is one of the most under-employed groups in Australia.”
– Setting targets. “A recent report from Women on Boards revealed that organisations who set targets for fair female representation were much more likely to improve in the area,” said Ms Vincent. “This is a simple measure that could be replicated across all government departments and boards, and promoted to the private sector by the success of the government example.”
– Cultural change. “Government can help dispel stereotyping by celebrating the success of women in a wide range of areas,” said Ms Vincent. “The Adelaide Oval presents a perfect opportunity to remember the greats of cricket from both genders through the honourable naming of stands and statues. Actions like this help to portray women in an equal light with men.”
