By Jenny Long
SYDNEY — A $50-per-head lunch attracting 430 guests was held on July 29 to mark the achievements of ten years of the federal Sex Discrimination Act. Pioneers and beneficiaries of the legislation were presented with awards by ALP notables including PM Paul Keating who used the event to announce six amendments to the act.
Quentin Bryce, the former sex discrimination commissioner, said the importance of the legislation was the direct economic impact it had on womens' lives. "When you are discriminated against in your job — either because you are pregnant or sexually harassed or if you miss out on a job because of your sex — it has a direct economic impact."
The proposed amendments to the 1984 legislation are focussed on indirect discrimination; in the last ten years only 11 out of 6200 complaints have been made on this basis.
The new amendments include: the proscription of discrimination against women on the grounds of potential pregnancy, occupation or identity of their spouse; a narrowing of the Defence Force exemptions which have banned women from certain employment; and a "special measures" provision which recognises that affirmative action is necessary if women are to gain equality.
More controversial is the requirement that in cases of indirect discrimination, the onus is on employers to prove otherwise. The employer group, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, was quick to criticise this change.
Feminists have raised concerns about the ongoing exemption from the Act for religious schools, voluntary groups and sporting bodies.
A positive aspect of the awards was the recognition given to women who have fought sex discrimination for much of their lives. Sexual harassment litigant Karina Barker, women of the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress who developed a community-controlled health and birthing service in Alice Springs, the women, largely from non-English speaking backgrounds, who battled and won against BHP over discriminatory hiring and firing practices and feminist journalist Adele Horin were highlighted.
Robynne Murphy from the Jobs for Women Campaign welcomed the amendments, but said that more has to be done to stop discrimination against women. "A major factor in our battle against BHP was the solidarity we won from our work mates and communities. Without a commitment from the trade union and women's movements to work together to bring changes to women's lives, the law will be meaningless. The battle must go on."