WOMEN AND DISCRIMINATION LAWS IN AN ECONOMY

QUESTION

Buzz 1: ½ page ‘Minute’ to lawyers providing tips to help identify potential gender issues when they have a client with a social security law matter and deal with them.

Buzz 2: ½ page ‘Minute’ to lawyers providing tips to help identify potential gender issues when they have a client with a tax law matter and deal with them.

Buzz 3: ½ page ‘Minute’ to lawyers providing tips to help identify potential gender issues when they have a client with a consumer contracts law matter and deal with them.

◦    Buzz 1: List in dot points or a couple of paragraphs with no referencing needed a few possible causes of action and damages a pregnant woman may experience and a couple of tips for practitioners in drafting and proving the claim.  No annotation.

◦    Buzz 2: Half page ‘Tip Sheet’ for practitioners or support people in identifying and dealing with gendered issues and family law. No annotation.

◦    
Buzz 3: Half page ‘Tip Sheet’ for practitioners or support people in identifying and dealing with gendered issues and trusts. No annotation.

◦    Buzz 1: ½ page letter to the editor from a woman who has experienced discrimination in the workplace and is explaining some of the inadequacies of discrimination law. No annotation.

◦    
Buzz 2: ½ page letter to the editor from a woman who has experienced gender bias in labour law. Use one of the practical applications scenarios that Penfold describes. No annotation.

Buzz 1: You are an indigenous woman who has recently had a meeting with her lawyer.. Do a ‘Dear Diary’ ½ page entry that explains what a lawyer did wrong or insensitively. What the lawyer missed?  No annotation.

Buzz 2 You are a woman with disabilities who has recently had a meeting with her lawyer.. Do a ‘Dear Diary’ ½ page entry that explains what a lawyer did wrong or insensitively. What the lawyer missed?  No annotation.

◦    Buzz 3: You are a lesbian who has recently had a meeting with her lawyer. Do a ‘Dear Diary’ ½ page entry that explains what a lawyer did wrong or insensitively. What the lawyer missed?  No annotation.

Buzz 1: Why is the sole tradership option the likely structure that you’d advise a woman starting a business. What are tax and superannuation implications with the sole tradership structure? No annotation.

Buzz 2: How might being female affect women and Company Law. What is some women-specific advise that practitioners or support people can offer? No annotation.

◦    Buzz 3: What are particular issues that may arise in relation to a female client and scenarios in which the existing IP law may not serve her interests. What are a few practical solutions to these shortcomings? No annotation.

Buzz 1: ½ page email from a senior lawyer to a colleague. She is comforting her colleague for not being appointed as a judge in recent appointment round and is speculating how the selection process was gender biased. Also she tells her colleague about some of the processes implemented to redress the gender imbalance.

Buzz 2: ½ page email from a senior lawyer to a colleague. She is comforting her colleague for not being appointed as a partner in their law firm round and is speculating how the promotion process was gender biased and also why their friend Marissa who is at the Bar is not earning as much money as most of the male barristers.

◦    Buzz 3: You’re a female judge writing an email to another woman judge. Explain if you think that they have made a difference in the occupation. Why or why not?

Instructions:

As per the discussion in week by week section of this Outline, in chronicle 3, you do NOT annotate (reference) your buzz answers. You choose 2 of the 3 buzzes for the week. DO NOT CHOOSE THE ONE THAT YOU ARE DOING LENGTHY ON. As explained above if you are signed up for week 11 when there will only be one buzz in addition to your topic then you need to do all three either the week before or the week after.

These buzz responses are worth 50% of chronicle 3 total mark.

Aside from the buzzes, Chronicle 3 includes a ‘Lengthy piece’. This is the item worth 50% of the chronicle.
This is a THREE page maximum (single space, not including footnotes). This should either be a script or consist of diary entries from a woman and a separate diary for her lawyer. Your topic is one of the chapters covered weeks 9-14.

The script or the diaries need to highlight specific gender issues in the area of law that you have selected and provide some useful tips for legal practitioners.

Remember if you are online and cannot ever attend class you need to sign up for one of the week 11 topics. Most if not all online students are expected to come in though for one week to prepare for the skit – week 7 – and one week to present their skit and be cast member in other two (either week 9,10, 12, 13 or 14). Only those signed up for week 11 do not attend week 7 or their presentation week.

Note that if you’re an in class student, this is not the product of group work but will represent your individual research effort and knowledge and ideas on the topic. There may be 2 of you who have chosen one topic. The others in the week will be in your cast. Perhaps the two of you could divide the topic up and each do 3 pages of a script for the skit.

Aside from the chapter in the textbook that you are researching, you are expected to do some additional research (about 4-8 references, which could include cases.). Although it is written creatively you need to make it scholarly and academic with the use of many footnotes.

SOLUTION

Women and discrimination laws

Introduction

Every democratic nation in the world recognizes equality among its citizens as a basic phenomenon.  This equality aspires for the social justice and protection of Human Rights. All the developed and developing nations have the laws on equality which seems to be very promising but are they really doing their job? If we look in detail or do a little research, it will be very easy for us to understand to scenario. A woman has to face every sort of discrimination which is possible. It starts from her own home where she is treated differently, she is deprived of basic things whereas her brother was given all sort of comfort and luxuries. Then she goes to her school, where she observes how her teachers are favoring her boy classmates and how appreciating him on his achievements and she is left alone with no appreciation at all. Same happens in colleges. Then she goes to an office to work and earn recognition. This is the most significant place where she faces a lot of discrimination despite of the fact that she is working on the same level as other male employees.[1] The question that arises in her mind is why she is being treated like this? She has the knowledge, the courage and power. Then everybody is being unfair just because she is of other sex.

Discrimination against women is widespread. This situation is in every country, the causes and consequences may be different. Recent researches on the status of women in our society, brings some alarming results. There is a vast social and economic gap between men and women. According to the researches, women contribute in world’s majority in poverty, world’s majority in illiteracy. These numbers are increasing day by day since 1975. Most of the women workers of Asia and Africa works for 13 hours a day and are even unpaid. It is observed that men and women are working equally hard work but women are being paid lesser than men or sometimes they are not even paid for the work they are doing.[2]

The concept of equality is much more than this. Equality should be better understood when treating people in equal situation equally. We can not deny the fact that men and women are biologically not same. They can never be treated equally in some situations. Women are more sophisticated and delicate. They should be given special treatment. They should not be put in dangerous conditions like men can be. The need is to solve the imbalance prevailing in the society. There is a need of a strong legal environment to protect women from being a victim of these kinds of discriminations.[3]

Discrimination against women

Women are being discriminated on the basis of their sex, every time by their male counterpart and also the many provisions of laws and the norms of our society. We can find many instances such as: (i) Age of marriage, 18 for girls and 21 for Boys. (ii) In her family, under obedience Law, she has to obey her husband whereas husband has the marital right over it. (iii) There are offences against her in the name of family honour. (iv) Discrimination in procedural and statutory processes. (v) Unfair treatment in succession and inheritance matters. (vi) Discrimination at workplace. (vii) Barriers in employment procedure. (viii) Maternity policies are such way to hamper women’s ability in labor sector. (ix) Different grounds for divorce etc. [4]

International community on discrimination

United Nations Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR) which is also treated as the basis for many constitutions in world, itself in its very first Article pays the importance on equality among people. Article 1 of UDHR says that all human beings are born free whether a man or a woman, should be treated equally irrespective of their cast sex and religion. There are many other legislations on human rights which gained its acceptance from almost every nation of the world. But only giving accent to an instrument like this is not sufficient, there should also be strong domestic legislations in every country to make these words applicable. The principle of equality and non discrimination forms the basis of all human rights legislation across the globe. There are many instruments which guarantee the protection to women against these sort of discriminations, such as, CEDAW, Convention on Elimination of discrimination against women was adopted by general assembly in 1979. After getting ratification by 20 nations CEDAW was enforced and commission was established to inspect discrimination against women. Article 1 of CEDAW describes for the purpose, the definition of discrimination. It says that any form of distinction, exclusion and restriction on her enjoyments of rights, on the basis of her sex, irrespective of her marital or non marital status, are the discriminations. This rule is applicable in all countries being a signatory of UDHR has to be obliged with these. Hence with Article 2 UDHR hold every state to be responsible for any violation of rights of women described in it.  But generally the question that arises in the minds of few people that when this institution has a list of rights important for all men and women then why there is a need of special protection given to the women. It is felt that those rights on the facts of its ‘humanity’ are not sufficient to protect the rights of a woman.[5] It guarantees protection to women against discrimination in every possible areas, political, economical, marriages and work place. The convention is not only about guaranteeing rights but also motivating people about their change of attitude in men and women through educating them. education is the most important tool for bringing change in society related to unfair treatment of women. An uneducated man is more likely to treat a woman in his house unfairly also an uneducated woman is more likely to live a poor and miserable life. Article 2 of CEDAW, imposes the duty on States to insure the application of these rules also to adopt some legislature and mechanism to prohibit the kind of discrimination against women. In Australia there is an Act for the equal opportunities for women at workplace known as EOWW Act, 1999. There is an agency that works with the employer’s to check the measures taken by them to balance the environment at the workplace. Equal importance should be paid to the participation of women in international political institution including United Nations.

Double Discrimination

It is not only  the sex on the basis of which women are treated unfairly but apart from being a women they sometimes are also mistreated by others on the basis of them being pregnant, old aged, disabled and indigenous. A woman being pregnant or belonging to indigenous community suffers from double discrimination, one on being a woman and secondly, a pregnant woman.[6] The consequence of discrimination is different on one who suffers single discrimination and one who suffers double discrimination.[7]

Reservations for women

Keeping in mind all these discriminations, International Human Rights agencies ask nations to enter some reservations for women in their legislations. Almost all nations have reservations for women and children in their statutes may be in different forms. The reason behind this may be that the mechanism for treating all human beings not sufficient to provide security to a woman who is going through some special condition. Like, the labor laws gives benefits to a female worker on her being pregnant. She is given paid leaves and also her job must be secure during her leave.

Regional institutions on non Discrimination

Apart from UN there are also regional Human Rights mechanisms across the globe. Most early of them is European Convention on Human Rights, 1950.  Apart from having Article 14 on non discrimination it also describes a list of discriminations that need to be in conjunction with other conventions on this. In 2000, the council for Europe had adopted protocol 12 of the European convention.

Second was America to adopt a Convention on discrimination in 1964, it prohibits the discrimination on the basis of sex and guarantees equality to all citizens. There is also an additional protocol adopted by them on the area of economy, social and cultural rights in 1988, known as protocol of San Salvador, is also against the discrimination on the basis of sex. In Africa, there is a charter on human and a people’s Rights, adopted in 1981. It contains a non discriminatory provisions covering sex and provisions of equal protection before law. Most importantly it contains the injunction to the state that it should insure that the discrimination against women in any form must be eliminated. African Union adopted the move which may be called a history to the formation of CEDAW in 2003 and it was enforced in 2005.

The Arab charter on Human Rights was first adopted and then after one year was revised in 2004, by Arab League of Nations. The reason was to bring the charter in conformity with the existing Human Rights conditions. The charter consist some very promising provisions on the equal enjoyments of rights by the people.

Concluding Remarks

It is very appreciating what the Human Rights organizations and Government are doing but we as a member of our respective societies also owe some duties of not supporting any kind of discrimination against women. For this we need to educate people on this issue that it is their right to get equal treatment by others. They can not be discriminated on the basis of their sexes. If anybody is doing this he or she should be subjected to penalties as per the laws of respective countries.

References

1. Julie Mullins, ‘Gender Discrimination’, Children in need Inc. (2010) viewed on 14^th May 2012 from http://childreninneed.org/magazine/gender.html
   1. Fact sheets No. 22, Vienna Declaration and Program of Action, Decrimination Agianst Women : Conventions and Committee, Page-1, from http://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=decrimination+against+women&source=web&cd=12&ved=0CLgBEBYwCw&url=http%3A%2F%2Flawcommissionofindia.nic.in%2F101-169%2FReport133.pdf&ei=TJOwT4azG8jyrQe44q31Aw&usg=AFQjCNENbHcRTxYC0jpVgdNf2lo-JLtlhw&cad=rja
   2. Fareda Banda, Protection on Mechanism to address Laws that discriminate against Women, Office of High Commisioner on Human Rights- women’s right and Gender Unit,(2008), Page-1, viewed from http://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=protecting+women+against+descrimination&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CJQBEBYwAg&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ohchr.org%2FDocuments%2FPublications%2FFactSheet22en.pdf&ei=boqwT4HQC4q8rAfT2cDcAw&usg=AFQjCNFUC8XdLl91bxtB4H0wT-2CJb77Eg&cad=rja
   3. C. Mackinnon Towards a Feminist Theory of the State , Boston,(1989),  Harvard University Press.
   4. Deborah Bailey Wells, New group addresses gender Issue in IP, Intellectual property today, March 2007, Page 30
   5. F. Banda and C. Chinkin Gender, Minorities and Indigenous Peoples (London, Minority Rights Group, 2004), para 5.

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