Good morning from Australia. It has been a whirlwind of speaking engagements since I arrived here as a guest of the Alliance of Girls’ Schools. They were motivated to bring me here after Beth Blackwood, a leader in the Alliance and head of the Presbyterian Ladies College (PLC), realized that many of the young women at her school could think of no Australian role models, other than the actress Cate Blanchett (and a few women long dead).
In Perth, the first stop of the tour, I spoke to four schools: St. Mary’s Anglican Girls School, Iona Presentation College, Santa Maria College and Beth’s PLC. All were brimming with energy, talent and opportunity, a reminder of Alexis De Tocqueville’s take on American women and how they were the strength of the country. The questions were pointed and interesting, and spanned the range from politics in the U.S. to work/life balance.
I am finding that the Australian culture is even tougher than our own when it comes to women and that balance, as there is a push here toward motherhood rather than work outside the home. The media here is even tougher on women in public life, and the girls know it. I think they understand that only the strong survive.
At Santa Maria College especially, I was stunned by the knowledge of and interest in U.S. politics by the 200 senior level girls to whom I spoke. It might have bested any American school.
At each stop, young women wanted to know how we could bring The White House Project here. Any takers out there?
Next up: Adelaide. Last night, before retiring, I read some of the questionnaires filled out by the young women in advance of my visit. Fascinating who they admire, and what they expect. But more on that tomorrow, stay tuned.
Marie
June 12, 2007 at 5:30 pm
Marie– be sure to seek out Anne Skipper while you are in Adelaide. she is a former business partner and fantastic advocate for women’s leadership. Safe travels and keep those blogs coming……..Rayona
June 12, 2007 at 8:09 pm
Marie, I agree that Australia has far less of a gender equity culture compared to the U.S. For example, twice the proportion of Australian moms work part-time compared to moms in the U.S. (who tend to work full-time). That might be good for balance, but it’s terrible for gender equity in either the home or workplace. However, you missed a couple of really amazing points:1) The Australian Labour Party has required for several years that half of all candidates for Parliment be women, 2) For a current hero, look no further than Prue Goward who, as Sex Discrimination Commissioner appointed by the convervative Liberal Party (part of the ‘coalition of the willing’), has fought for increased childcare funding and paid parental leave. I can’t imagine Prue surviving in the Bush administration! Enjoy Adelaide!
June 13, 2007 at 12:15 am
I ruefully chuckled at a writer’s comment that Australia has far less gender equity than the US.
We men and womem of America still do not have the required and overdue Equal Rights Amendment to the US Constitution! Women still are paid at least 25% less than their male counterparts and are not even mentioned in our present Constitution!!! So much for gender equity!
On the other hand, correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t Australia have some very supportive legislation related to quality paid daycare for children, and fully paid maternity leave, etc?
Americans do not have anything of the sort. Best we have is UNPAID Family Leave so women can tend to family crises (so the government doesn’t have to budget for that).
Sorry if I sound rueful, because we all are. in this time of the iraq war, our Prsident Bush vowed he would “enshrine women’s rights in the Iraq and Afghanistan constitutions”. He didn’t, but our brave American servicewomen fought there sucessfully to do that. But they come home without codified equal rights.
Shame on America.
I spearhead the state of Florida’s ERA ratification effort, and would appreciate your comments and linking us to your web sites: http://www.RatifyERAflorida.net!
We forge on as we have done 24/7 for 6 years in Florida. Florida COULD be one of the required 3 more states to put ERA in the Constitution:
EQUALITY UNDER THE LAW SHALL NOT BE DENIED OR ABRIDGED BY THE UNITED STATES OR BY ANY STATE ON ACCOUNT OF SEX. That was pased out to the states in 1972! Meanwhile, all nations since WII have an ERA!
June 13, 2007 at 8:42 am
The cheap shots at the coalition of the willing and the current administration are so unnecessary. It’s hardly the way to project and promote an image of serious, reasoned discourse. Isn’t Rosie O’Donnell off the air? I do believe that women are voting and girls are being educated in Afghanistan, as distinct from their status under the Taliban – and even, gasp listening to music for enjoyment. Something to be ashamed of? Hardly. It’s good that our leadership sees cultures outside our own. It gives a sense of perspective, indeed, and may lead to some less harsh commentary on how awful America is. I can’t wait until she spends a couple of weeks in Russia or Tanzania. Personally, I’m happy to live in this country and proud for all I’ve done to help adolescent girls find confidence in themselves through both sport and academic competitions over my 33 years of middle school education.
June 13, 2007 at 11:23 pm
(I know most of the people reading this blog might not like to hear what I have to say below, but I challenge you to read and think about my different perspective, anyway. Although I do not agree with the content of most of the emails from The White House Project, I still read them to educate myself on a different point of view. I ask you to respectfully do the same with my comment. Thanks.)
Marie observes about Australia: “There is a push here toward motherhood rather than work outside the home.”
Okay…..what’s wrong with that?
I currently work outside the home part-time and am finding it EXTREMELY DIFFICULT to effectively combine working outside the home with mothering my children. It seems I never have enough time to do either to the best of my ability! Surely it would make sense to applaud mothers who choose to stay at home longer with their children, instead of encouraging them to get out the door to a job, while leaving the important task of raising their children mostly to someone else. How can it be right for mothers to have such a responsible social task as raising a child, yet not have enough time to do it the best way they know how?
I’m in the middle of reading an excellent book by fashion designer Dana Buchman. She makes some good points, mainly that “having it all” comes with a heavy price tag. She says that in juggling a big career, marriage, and kids, you might never feel like you are doing your best at any of them. And, I know what she means!! My own constant ride on this merry-go-round is exhausting and wears me down both physically and emotionally.
Even with my part-time job, I feel that many times, my children are getting the “leftovers” of what I have to offer. Are “leftovers” good enough for the enormous social task of raising a child? I don’t think so and I applaud the country of Australia for placing mothering above working.