The Place of Women in Australian Families Has Changed Significantly in the Last 50 Years - Essay Example

Lindsay Australian Women's and factors that affect them in families An Assignment Submitted by Name of Student Name of Establishment Date of submission Introduction For many years, women have been marginalized in politics and family affairs, both in developed countries and developing ones. This is usually attributed to the rules developed by the patriarch society that holds men as the stronger sex, thus developing a notion that women are weak. This notion has been instrumental in psychological view of women towards their role in families. In many countries, although it is a modern era where there has been increased advocacy for human and women rights in social, political and economic spheres, women are still underestimated, in contrast to the treatment of men. Although many countries are exploring modalities of engaging women in representational politics, much has not been done and there are still many challenges facing the participation of women in families’ decisions in Australia. Statistics The gender roles of women and men in Australia have been clear-cut since the primitive hunter and gatherers communities. According to Australian Bureau of statistics women employment pattern has changed significantly over the last 25 years (from 40% in 1979 to 53% to 63% in 2004) .In March 1999, women were spending much time in taking care of the children compared to men. For instance, 3hours and 58 minutes were spent by women as mothers compared to 2hours and 4 minutes for men in childcare. Further, 70% of women pushed for time for families compared to 56% of men and 52% who did not have dependent children. The statistics are clear indication that women role is still engrained in families despite the fact that many laws have been developed in Australia to enhance their involvement. The social assigned family duties to women are attributed to the male’s decision to dominate them in politics, education, social spheres, economic empowerment and employment (Lindsay & Dempsey, 2009, p. 165). Essence of women representation in politics and advocacy for equality in families Many research studies have indicated that representation of women in government has a great probability of empowering them in families, which is vital in enhancing gender parity. The concept of representation of women has been supported by many feminist theories, which have been the most vocal advocacy of the empowerment of women (Lindsay & Dempsey, 2009, p. 181). The feminist political theory, which was conceived in the late 1980s and early 1990s as a new field of feminist theory holds that public policies, state and institutions have a major impact on the relationship among genders (Lindsay & Dempsey, 2009, p. 177). According to this model, policies and their influence on the gender relations have a big and major contribution to the analysis of political science and the state. The state, which was viewed basically as patriarchal or male dominated, is contemporarily evaluated in terms of class, power, economic and social groups in the perspective of feminists. Further, it affirms the subordination instrument subjected to women influence of structuration and influence of gender roles, and to a more positive perspective- the reduction of women’s economic dependency on men. Feminist political theory further encompasses matters of women inequality that are constructed around policy decision making (Saxena, 2000, p. 53). By researching on women, it can be noted that being the primary caretaker of children than men, involvement of women, increasing the participation of women in the political spheres is vital in enhancing the social cohesion, quality of life and general political orderliness. Female representation in politics not only accelerates or promotes the rights of women but advances children’s right. In national legislatures especially in Australia, it is notable that women are proactive in advancing family friendly legislations and advancing gender equity. This is evident in many countries where there are many women in parliament, who advocate for numerous social issues that are generally good for the populace. For example, in Australia, women representatives have fought for equitable distribution of resources in communities especially in education, nutrition and health. However, this has not been achieved much as the patriarch society still discriminate them both in family and political sphere. (Krook, 2006, p. 88). Challenges facing women in representation Women face a number of barriers in realizing optimal representation in family governance. Their involvement is limited by the assumption that their sphere is homes and families, which curtail their ability to enter the public domain of politics. This further prevents the women from engaging in active contestation for political positions, which in turn affect legislation of families in politics (Hunt, 2014, p.5). The main challenges that face women in representation are the male dominated society, the perception of being inferior and unable to take challenges and fragmentation and failure of feminists (Hinojosa, 2012, p. 62). Till now, the Australian society is still male dominated. As such, the rules and undertakings favor men at the expense of women. Gender inequality, cultural attitudes about the roles of different gender types and the division of labor in families and households have limited the prospects of women to enter and engage actively in political life. This fact is further augmented by the patriarchal societies that develop local powers that make it difficult for women to face. In many cases, when women enter the political arena, they are not likely to hold powerful positions and are relegated to low rank ministries or management positions. Further, in autocratic countries such as Saudi Arabia, the interest of women is not likely to be represented and in some cases, the political standing of women is based on their kinship where male relatives hold powerful positions. As such, it makes it difficult for other women especially the educated and qualified ones to penetrate the political arena (Desai, 2006, p. 35). There is a common perception of women being inferior and subject to constant scrutiny in their private lives, which affect their autonomy. As such, the private lives are given much publicity than the success in their political lives. As such, the quest for privacy hampers them from engaging in active politics. The perception that women are to be controlled hampers their political growth, which in general affect their political careers and women representation (Lindsay & Dempsey, 2009, p. 165). Although in the current world women have started gaining courage and affirmative action has assisted in increased representation of women in political parties, there are several challenges that women face while in political parties. The political parties are the best platform for political association, but women are still stigmatized and discriminated against when vying for major positions in political parties. Further, the competitive nature, with minimal affirmirtive action keeps off women resulting in limited representation of women (Tremblay, 2008, p. 27). Women suffrage and steps that can be undertaken to enhance women representation in parliament Currently, women representation is still low relative to their male counterparts. Scholars hold that active women participation in the politics of high realm is vital for their increased representation. Further, this is crucial in the policy quality that affects both men and women. As such, there was development of the notion of mirror representation that was geared towards realizing gender parity in public offices and political arenas. Mirror representation is based on the assertion that officials elected from the same gender are likely to influence policies and legislations that favor that gender. A major critique of mirror representation presumes that members of a particular sex operates under the premise of the shared identity, without taking into account other issues such as culture, age, socioeconomic status or education (Desai, 2006, p. 35). However, the supporters of mirror representation posit that women have different representation with public policies and government institutions than men thus they deserve fair and equal representation based on this fact. According to political scientists, representative democracy is usually impaired, unjust and partial when women, the majority gender fails to see or perceive themselves mirrored in the political leadership sphere. Cultural and social representation in relation to mirror representation Unlike men, women are subjected to numerous barriers that may have a negative impact on their desire and endeavors to run for an elected office. These obstacles that pull back the mirror representation entail political socializations, sex stereotyping, balancing of work and family and lack of sufficient preparation for political activity (Saxena, 2000, 53). Sex stereotyping: This mode of stereotyping assumes the feminine and masculine natures that are interrelated with leadership. Politics entails competition and aggressiveness, and therefore participating in it requires masculine traits. As such, the bias subjected to women is based on the incorrect perception that femininity results in weak leadership. As such, the pressure is on women to promote their masculine characters in the electoral campaign to garner support from people, which would be vital for their ascension to leadership. This would be essential in attracting voters who identify with social structured roles of genders (Hunt, 2014, p. 20). Political socialization: The notion of socialization in politics depends on the notion that during the early childhood, women and men were socialized differently in relation to politics. As such, girls viewed the political leadership as male’s domain. The main socialization agents are higher education, school, family, religion and mass media. These agents influence people to either nurture the desire to engage in politics or be dissuaded from it. As such, it is imperative for these social agents to develop a paradigm shift by enabling boys and girls to each develop the desire to engage in politics and seek political positions in future. Balancing family and work: The society places more family responsibility on women. This makes it difficulty for women to balance the work life and family life as they also maintain homes and take care of children. Due to the difficulty in work-life balance, it is assumed that women mat decide to delay their political ambitions till when their children become older. In other cases, women may resolve to stay childless so as to engage in politics. Policies that can be utilized to ensure fair representation of women in politics There are six policy areas that have been discovered to increase and strengthen the representation of women in political spheres. These are education, quotas, legislative, financing of gender sensitive budgets, and grassroots women empowerment (Hardy-Fanta, 2006, p. 27). Education opportunities for women Many research studies have found that women with high education level are more likely to delay marriage and childbirth, and are more aware of child nutrition and immunization. Further, they are likely to participate in politics despite the challenges subjected to them by the patriarch society. Basing on this, it is imperative for policy makers and governments to develop education equalization policies that would ensure fair and equal education to both boys and girls. These can be obtained through a number of ways (Saxena, 2000, p. 52). One of the ways is abolishment of education fees that would call for parents to take into account financial issues before making decision of how to educate their children. In poor families, inequality in education occurs as a result of financial difficulty and failure to raise fee resulting in girls being discriminated whereas boys are favored. When school fees is abolished or reduced to a reasonable level, both boys and girls will enjoy equal education policy hence high chances of improving women representation in politics. A good way of enhancing girl education is developing of a girl -friendly education system with a bias to creating a safe environment for young women and girls. In schools and the external, girls are more likely to face a number of risks such as harassment and bullying that may affect their performance and attendance. As such, girls schools should be situated in regions where there are few instances of violence and other factors that may affect their psychology such as engaging in work that is likely to make them dirty or tedious work. When more girls enroll in schools and are in safe environment, they are likely to perform better hence high chances of undertaking careers that would enable them to enter in politics, hence improved women representation. Encouraging communities and parents to support and institute education agendas that encourage gender equity is a vital step in promoting girl education. The perceived cost of educating girls may be handled through cash transfer programs and policies that reward parents and communities that educate girls. Quotas Quotas can be defined as modalities that governments and policy makers can utilize to ensure that a large number of women are represented in political spheres and institutions. There are several types of quotas (Hinojosa, 2012, p. 5). Sex quota systems entail a critical value below which the government is said to be imbalanced thus it is vital develop modalities of ensuring that the discriminated gender is represented in government institutions. For example, it may be mandatory that the legislatures must exceed 20% (Hardy-Fanta, 2006, p. 18). Legal quota system ensures that the representation in women in political bodies and parties is governed by law. This may be governed by constitutional law or electoral law (Hinojosa, 2012, p. 5). Voluntary quota system may be utilized by political parties at a voluntary will although they may not be mandated by law (Hardy-Fanta, 2006, p. 19). There are different methodologies of using the quota system in the different political process of selecting different candidates at different levels that can promote the participation of women in politics (Childs, 2008, p. 28). These are: Potential candidacy where there is a mandated selection from a certain pool of aspirant will include a specified percentage of women (Hardy-Fanta, 2006, p.21). Nominated candidacy in which voluntary or legal quota systems are enforced at the nomination stage guaranteeing a certain portion of nominated candidates to be women (The National Democratic Institute, 2014). The Election level where there are reserved seats for women in a competitive election. The quota system is radically shifting the representation of women to the better as more women are joining active politics. Through affirmative action, many countries such as Rwanda and Germany have ensured that the voices of women are heard (Hardy-Fanta, 2006, p. 19). Legislation There have been many occasions that legislation on equality has played a critical role in ensuring access and participation of women in politics and governance. Although many women have entered legislation, much has not been done as they anticipated. However they have managed to address a number of issues that affect women and their prospects for quality life, education and politics. The issues that have been addressed drastically are reducing gender based and domestic violence and minimizing home based discrimination through inheritance right and property equalization. The economically and socially empowered women are likely to enter into politics hence increase women representation. Women grassroots empowerment movements Women grassroots movements have played a major role in improving the social lives and economic empowerment of women in grassroots levels. The movements have addressed important issues such as food distribution, improved living standards, education, and shelter. If the women lives are improved in terms of their social and economic aspects, then the higher the chances of entering and engaging in politics, which is imperative in enhancing women representation in political arena (Lovenduski &Baudino, 2005, p. 170). Financing Gender responsive budgets address the interest and needs of different social groups and individuals, while at the same time maintaining the gender equality issues when formulating budgets and policies. The budget may not be equally split on female-male basis but should reasonably address the needs of each gender. In this case, the budget should efficiently ensure that the allocation of funds are placed where they are mostly needed, strengthened position of the government in advocating the underrepresented and poor groups, and enhanced flow of information on the needs of discriminated individuals. Gender sensitive issues is vital ensuring equality in all aspect of people lives and is imperative in promoting economic empowerment of women and consequently the representation in political life (Shapiro, 2009, p. 83). Research Extensive research on a sensitive matter such as gender equality is vital in formulating policies that address the negative issues that affect women. The most notable issues that prevent ascension of women to the political leadership are discrimination of girl child, violence against women, glass ceiling in organizational managerial position and state discrimination or prevention of women from engaging in politics. Research sheds more light on issues that have been ignored in the past and the findings can be utilized in developing policies and programs that address the issues (Childs, 2008, p. 28). Conclusion For numerous years, women have been discriminated against in politics. This may be attributed to the male dominated society that view women as weak sex and thus develop informal rules that bar them from actively engaging in politics. However, there are advantages of increased women representation that ensure cohesive societies and uphold the right of women and children. Although there are several challenges for fair representation of women in politics, policies that favor women in education, developing quotas that ensure fair representation, financing gender sensitive budgets, grassroots women movement, and legislation are vital in enhancing the participation in politics. Although much progress has been made, more is needed to be done so that women can be fair represented in governance and other political bodies. References Abhayaratna, W. (2008, July 23). Australian Social Trends. Retrieved from http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4102.0Chapter7002008 Childs, S. (2008). Women and British party politics: Descriptive, substantive and symbolic representation. New York: Routledge. Desai, M (2005). "Transnationalism: The face of feminist politics post-Beijing". International Social Science Journal 7 (184): 319–330. Eileen, M (2009), The Motherless State: Women's Political Leadership and American Democracy, University of Chicago Press Hardy-Fanta, C. (2006). Intersectionality and politics: Recent research on gender, race, and political representation in the United States. New York: Haworth Press. Hinojosa, M. (2012). Selecting women, electing women: Political representation and candidate selection in Latin America. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. Hunt,A.(2014). Despite Leaps, Women Lag in Politics.Retrieved on May 7,2014. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/17/us/politics/despite-leaps-women-lag-in-politics.html?_r=0 Krook, M (2006). "Reforming Representation: The Diffusion of Candidate Gender Quotas Worldwide". Politics & Gender 2 (3): 303–327 Lovenduski, J., & Baudino, C. (2005). State feminism and political representation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Saxena, K. (2000). Women and politics. New Delhi: Gyan Pub. House. Shapiro, I. (2009). Political representation. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. The National Democratic Institute.(2014). Women’s Political Participation. Retrieved on May 7, 2014. https://www.ndi.org/womens-political-participation Tremblay, M. (2008). Women and legislative representation: Electoral systems, political parties, and sex quotas. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Lindsay, J. & Dempsey, D. (2009). Families, Relationships & Intimate Life, Melbourne: Oxford University Press. Read More