I've never had to fight for "equality." I've never
burned my bra - and marched in any demonstrations.
I've always considered myself lucky in all the jobs
I've ever held. I loved my work and was happy in the
organisations for whom I worked. I like to think that my
promotions were granted on merit. I worked hard, and I
feel that I earned my salary.

Maybe I was one of the lucky ones because I also had a very
understanding and supportive husband. Give and take all round
for us both.

Hi Foxy

What type of workplaces were you in. Just curious.

Cheers Mavs

Are, I see you worked for the CSIRO.

Science or admin?

Cheers Mavs

Hi Foxy

I’m old enough to have both experienced and witnessed discrimination against women in education and the workplace, but these have become much less overt and widespread in recent decades. If anything, they made me more determined to, like you, pursue a career built through (I hope) merit-based promotions.

I did take part in a couple of Reclaim the Night marches in my distant youth, though I understand that bra-burning was mainly a myth:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-45303069

At the time, it seemed that full equality was inevitable. The moral case was compelling. Legal discriminations such as the ban on married women working had been being dismantled, equal pay was legislated, and overt discrimination was outlawed.

We have made a lot of progress since then. But if you look at the data, women still haven’t achieved equality. It’ not just the gender pay gap, it’s under-representation in positions of power and authority, disproportionate shares of housework, lower retirement incomes and greater likelihood of sexual assault and harassment. Some indicators are better for women – life expectancy, for example – but most are not.

https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/people-and-communities/gender-indicators

What I dislike about writers such as Arndt and Fiamengo is their cynical and deliberate misrepresentation of data and historical events to profit by pandering to some pretty ugly prejudices. I see the men who fall for this stuff (and they are almost all men) as their victims.

Hi Maverick,

I've had a varied career - over two continents.
It included CSIRO (science).

Hi Rhian,

I agree with your summation. And I hope that things will
be even better for my grand-daughter's future in this
country. She's currently only 8 years old - so there's
time. Plus she's very stubborn and determined. I can't
imagine her not being her own person no matter what she
chooses to do.