...groups and as a result, political decision-making is reached through negotiation and compromise (Manley 1983). Indeed, when examining the progressive debate concerning the legal recognition of same-sex relationships in Australia, the perception that power is bartered through interest groups becomes highly plausible through the lens of classical pluralist theory. There are competing visions of diversity in Australia, and behind the main positions; supportive, neutral, and opposing, there are a multitude of perspectives underlying these umbrella groupings. For some in the community, the concept of gay and lesbian marriage is controversial, and its complexities raise fundamental social, religious, moral and political questions. In analyzing how power has operated in this situation, I will apply classical pluralism to converse sides of the moral argument to reveal how Australian attitudes have changed over time in a progressively consensual political environment. For this issue, the strengths of pluralism lie in its empirical nature; it is an observable and comprehensive view of understanding how power operates in society, with regard to a multitude of perspectives and interest groups. However, further analysis will reveal that while there are many voices in the debate concerning marriage equality, they are not created equally. A form of ‘elite pluralism’ prevails that refutes classical pluralist ideals of diversity. Interestingly, a weakness of classical pluralism is that its end game...
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...Many twitter users have dedicated tweets to the possibility of Gay Marriage, whether they are supporters of the lesbian and gay community or highly against the implementation of gay marriage. They utilize the readily available news articles, their own photos, links to videos and hash tags to spread their relevant gay marriage message. Twitter is an excellent platform to send messages to a vast audience. Very often in online news articles or blogs, readers are encouraged to leave their own feedback and comments towards the article itself or the author’s perspective, their own voice. Where by enabling recommendations, sending tweets, and sharing through various platforms at the end of an article. These actions are spreading awareness of same-sex marriage through grass-roots means. Sharing articles on Facebook are seen by everyone in your friends’ news feed, similar to twitter and using hash tags to...
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...Topic 3 Introduction 4 Gender Equality in Workplace 5 Conclusion: 11 References List: 12 Topic Gender equality in the workplace is still a major issue of concern in many countries, including Australia. What is it that makes this such an apparently impossible issue to resolve? Critically examine the implications, of this gender inequality, for efficient and effective work and management practices in companies today. Introduction Gender inequality issue originates from Christian ideology, which advocates traditional thought of “male superiority to female”. In the workplace, gender inequality causes unequal treatment between male and female employees, such as women are typically more difficult to get promotions than male; they do the same work as male but get paid less than men, they even suffer from other issues such as sexual harassment. Sexual harassment exists in most countries including Australia. As long as the society couldn’t reach to gender equality, people’s human rights will be threatened whether people in the workplace, or anywhere else. This essay introduces the histories and background of gender equality, and further examines the gender equality improvement in Australia, as well as the effects of this issue in the workplace. Moreover, there also several suggestions for companies on gender equality promotion and related policies making. Gender Equality in Workplace Grown (2003, p.2) claims that the term ‘Gender Equality’ narrates the measureable equal...
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...Australian Government legalise gay marriage in all states of Australia.' Which couple do you think is happier? Which couple do you think has the right to the security of marriage? Today I want to explain the very prevalent issue of gay marriage and what it means to gay couples, couples like the one in the photo. So what is gay marriage? What is the issue that people have been so strongly for and against? In Australian it is the federal legislation of same sex marriage. Through the alteration of the marriage act to include the marriage of same sex couples. In doing so affording the same rights to gay couples as straight couples. The main grounds people provide to why we shouldn’t allow gay marriage is that marriage is a community and religious value that only a man and a woman have the right to. In our society we also believe in the power of racial, social and religious equality so why do we continue to discriminate against gays and they’re right to marriage. I agree with the people that say marriage is a community value, Marriage holds together society and is at the core of the Australian family, but were I disagree is on the point that it should only be between a man and a woman. Why should such a valued and cherished thing like marriage be deprived to people simply because of there sexuality? The answer to that is it shouldn’t be, it shouldn’t be because the love between a woman and a man and two men or women is the same, because love is unconditional and marriage is based...
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...Equality for Women in the Workforce The Daily Telegragh, a well-known Australian tabloid, published a twenty one photo gallery on the many hair styles of Julia Gillard on their website. There was no mention of her political prowess or the fact she was the most powerful women in Australia, the focus was squarely on her appearance (News Ltd, 2014). This is just one of the many obstacles women face when striving for equality in the workplace. This paper will explore the disadvantages women face in the workplace, including the gender pay gap, the under representation of women in senior leadership roles and sexual harassment. A plan to address these disadvantages will be outlined and justification of why it will work will be provided. At the outbreak of world war one far fewer women than men participated in work, and they tended to be lower-paid domestic occupations, as the women’s main role was seen to be in the home. The withdrawal of approximately half a million men, most of who had been in the workforce, still did not result in their direct replacement with women. Women’s contribution to the workforce rose, but the increase was in traditional areas of women work, for example in the clothing and footwear industry. Unions were unwilling to let women join the workforce in greater numbers in traditional male roles as they feared it would lead to a lowering of wages (Adam-Smith, 1996). Since the early 1900’s the country has come a long way and developed at a rate faster...
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...movements of 1960s. The youngsters began to question the traditional values and culture of the Orthodox American society. They welcomed sex, drugs and pop music. The counter culture movement reached its heights in 1969, when the young people attended the Woodstock Music and Art Festival at Newyork. The festival became a symbol of anti-war movement. The festival was a mixture of hippie, pop and drug culture. One of the notable feature of the counter culture movement was the sexual freedom and rise of feminism. There was a steep rise in abortions, orphans and divorce. Political activism on the part of women resulted in the formation of National organization for Women (NOW). Other than women, homosexuals were also raised their voice for equality which was later included the Civil Rights issue. Stone Wall Inn riots in 1969 and the establishment of Gay Liberation Front were important steps in their struggle for civil rights. The counter cultural sentiments were also expressed in movies and arts. The movement did not limit in North America alone, but spread to Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand. An international rock and roll group from Britain known as the Beatles was widely popular. The counter culture movement had merits and demerits. One the one hand, it stood against the cold war, on the other hand, it rebelled against the traditions of America. The same revolution can be seen today in the struggles of lesbians and homosexuals and in numerous anti-war protests especially against...
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...Trans-genders in the Military As time continues, things that we found unusual and unrealistic have become normal and not such a burden to us. The military has been a key role on moving forward with many of these hush hush discussions many try to sweep under the rug. Now that the military is allowing openly gay, lesbian, and bi-sexual personnel into the military, there should be no reason for them to discriminate on trans-gender personnel who are trying to serve their country. In order for us to go forward with my statement I need you all to be opened minded. We all have an opinion but in the end it’s up to us to make the change for our future. The Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT) era was a time when homosexuals where not allowed to be who they where without getting in trouble. The term was coined after President Bill Clinton in 1993 signed a law (consisting of statue, regulations, and policy memoranda) directing that military personal could not openly be a homosexual in the military (Britannica, 2015). In order for Clinton to win his seat in the white House he needed his sponsors to support him and having openly gays in the military was not something they wanted. Even though Clinton was for it he had to satisfy his supporters. After many discussions and fights back and forth Clinton finally came to an agreement that homosexuals could join the military but not be opened about it. Many officers were overwhelmingly opposed to that approach, fearing that the mere presence of homosexuals...
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...Problem of Equality, Dignity and Integrity There is much argument and debate in society about the issue of prostitution. Gunilla Ekberg, co-executive director of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women states that “in order to successfully find solutions to the problem of prostitution, it is necessary to think about and discuss among ourselves what kind of society we wish to live in.” Before this discussion, however, we need to take a step back. The first question that needs to be addressed is whether we as a society see prostitution as a problem. Do we see prostitution as an inevitable, inescapable and necessary profession - a profession that has always existed as the ‘oldest profession in the world’? Or do we acknowledge that prostitution is a violation of internationally recognised human rights: equality, dignity and integrity? Is prostitution a problem? A problem for equality It is widely recognised that violence against women is antithetical to the establishment of gender equality, and that one of the most severe and devastating practices of gender-based violence is the commercial exploitation of women and girls, which includes prostitution. The United States Department of State determines that few activities are as brutal and damaging to people as prostitution. Field research in nine countries concluded that 60-75% of women in prostitution were raped, 70-95% were physically assaulted, and 68% met the criteria for post traumatic stress disorder, in the same range as treatment-seeking...
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...The changing role of women in Australia has come about largely through waves of feminism. The first wave brought women the vote in federal and State elections. The colonies began to grant manhood suffrage halfway through the nineteenth century, however, women were not included in the begining. When Australia reached Federation in 1901, it was agreed that all women should be given the vote at a federal level since women from South Australia and Western Australia already had a State vote. In 1902 all women were given the vote in federal elections except for those who were Indigenous Australians, or of Asian, African or Pacific Islander descent. Despite the enfranchisement, no woman was elected to an Australian parliament until 1921. The first federal female parliamentarians were not elected until 1943. This is just one example of how enfranchisement fell short of truly improving the lives of Australian women or changing attitudes about them. Women were still seen as nurturers who had no other destiny than to marry and raise children. The few women who did work (excluding the wealthy who were involved in voluntary work) not only had to find paid work, but also had to carry the burden of all housework and child-rearing. The notion of what jobs a woman could do expanded during World War I, but women's role in public life was still very limited. Factors which brought about the women's movement Contrary to popular belief, women's groups and activists remained active throughout the...
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... WORKPLACE GENDER EQUALITY INTRODUCTION: In earlier century, the role and importance of women were totally different as compared to today because in the past, there was a general belief that the man was responsible to take care of woman in all sense as men are stronger than women. But today situations has been advance, women have various duties related to inside of home and outside of home. In the past, women have handled only the household area and they have been restricted to go outside for earning money but due to globalization, the role of women have been changed and women are being capable to work in all areas like economical, business, political, social and many more with same responsibilities and duties like men. Nowadays, “Gender Equality” is one of the debatable issues. Gender equality means men and women get equal importance, value, rights, treatments, positions and opportunities irrespective of their gender. Gender equality is obtained when people are being capable of getting equal awards, benefits, means, freedom, scope and chance nevertheless even if they are men or women. In the latest era, most of the countries in the world have shaped symbolic development in the direction of gender equality. The main purpose of gender equality is to obtain just identical results for both male and female and not the uniform results for all human beings in the workplace. Due to all these reasons and to control the situations, the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 is established...
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...Essay 1: Some people believe that marriage is a sacred institution that should only be between a man and a woman, and that it's immoral for marriage to exist between same sex couples, implying inferiority of love between same sex couples. But who are they to stop one’s inalienable right to the pursuit of happiness? I believe marriage should be legal for any two individuals who truly love each other and who have intentions to spend their lives together and be granted legal recognition of their union. Only 5 of the 50 states in the United States of America grant the right of same sex marriage. Under the United States constitution, the 14th amendment specifies equality for all men saying that state cannot “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." Though this doesn’t specifically address the topic of gay marriage, it does give a constitutional basis to the belief in equal rights to marriage between people, regardless of sexual orientation, just as marriage is a right to people regardless of their race. It is not fair for some to have the benefits of marriage while others cannot. All individuals should have the same rights in society, and to me personally the idea goes against our constitution when these rights are denied. People all have their reasons for rejecting or accepting this lifestyle. I believe that one significant influence to a person’s acceptance of different sexual orientations is religion, which is often sited as a reason to deny...
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...Factors Contributing To Pay Gaps in Australia Name: Institutional Affiliation: Introduction Factors that contribute to the pay gap in Australia and why the difference is more significant in some industry sectors than others. The labor market is composed participants who are basically men and women. The rewards of the labor market are wages. The concept of wages is complex and has to be considered critically by employers. One of the greatest concerns in the labor market has been the disparities in the mean income between men and women. Differences between wages received by participants in the labor market is measured by the gender pay gap. The differences arises due to various aspects that differ from one organization to the next (Cohen 2007). In Australia for example, the wages pay gap is computed on the basis of full-time weekly earnings excluding overtime and salary sacrificed pay. Currently, the wage pay gap in Australia stands at 17.5%. The gap has been fluctuating with small margins but the figure has remained unchanged overtime. Differences in income levels of men and women are, for this reason, an important economic and industrial aspect worth consideration. In order to address the disparities in the pay gaps, it is important to examine the possible reasons as to the existence of remuneration differences between men and women. Why does the difference exist? Well, the answer to such a query is often critical and complex. However, the real explanation is the fact...
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...Gay Organs, Straight Blood Currently in the United States, any male that has had sex with another male, is banned from donating blood for life. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has had lifetime deferral policies in place since the early 1980’s and official policies in place since the early 1990’s. The policies were put in to place due to FDA’s views on risk and transmission of HIV in male to male sexual contact (MSM). Theses policies have been heavily debated for some time. Some major arguments come in to play such as standard precautions for all, as well as double standards and codes of ethics. The U.S. FDA must make extreme changes to their risk assessment policies for all donors to appropriately keep up with modern day society. Why is it that bisexual and homosexual males, are able to be living donors, as well as be donors post mortem, but cannot donate blood? When it comes to the healthcare field, there is a term branded into all workers minds, “universal precaution”. This term means that as a health care worker, you must treat all patients as potentially having a transmittable or communicable disease, even if the case isn’t confirmed. These precautions or rules are in place to protect patients and workers from any possibility of transmitting or spreading any germs/infectious diseases. When it comes to the prescreening process for blood donation, all potential donors are required to answer a set of questions, as noted by the Human Rights Campaign, “to determine risk...
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...Gender Equality Women have faced major discrimination when it comes to work and sometimes in education. Women decades ago had a wide range of opportunities denied to them due to their sex. Women have always been looked upon as the weaker sex and men as stronger and as the rulers. Women years ago were not seen as individuals, they were basically their husband’s slaves. Women were the ones to stay home, make dinner for their cranky and tired husband, look after their children, clean the house and answer to their husband. It was pretty safe to say that women were never the ones that over ruled this society, but “there have been huge changes…” (182) in gender equality. Gender equality has changed dramatically over the years and the shift toward gender equality will continue over the next years to come. It all started in the 19th century something important was born and it was the birth of the women's rights movement. Women were tired of being the “caregiver[s]” (Gender Roles Within American Marriage) while the men were the “breadwinners” (Gender Roles Within American Marriage). Women had to do change things around because they could not live the same life they were living. Many of the “women were suffering under the dominance of men in their lives” (Gender Roles Within American Marriage). It was time for women to fight for “gender equality in family and society economics, social, cultural, and educational fields” (Gender Roles Within American Marriage). It was not easy for...
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...CAVE HILL SCHOOL OF BUSINESS UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES GEMA 6103—LEGAL FRAMEWORK OF BUSINESS, GOVERNMENT AND SOCIETY Individual Project Consideration of and the Legal & Societal Challenges raised by same sex unions Date: July 12th, 2012 Page count: 18 Word Count: 3277 PREPARED BY: OLIVER NICHOLAS TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary 3 Background Facts 4 Business, Government and Society &/Legal Issues Identified 5 Presentation of Analysis and/or Literature Review 8 Literature Review 7 Discussion of Findings 14 Recommendations/Solutions 15 Conclusion 17 Bibliography 18 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This research paper will provide a critical analysis on the legal and social challenges raised by the legalization of same sex unions/marriages in the Caribbean, specifically Barbados. Several social issues as well as legal constraints and considerations were identified during the research. The paper presents arguments for both the retention of criminalization as well as arguments for the de-criminalization of homosexuality, the first step towards legalizing same sex unions/marriages. The findings, as presented provide the reader with alternative views and arguments; the conservative moral religious argument is presented as well as the more liberal human rights motivated arguments. This will provide the reader with more information supported by sound argument, allowing...
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