Misogyny Speech Analysis

This workplace gender inequality is similarly evident in both the political and legal arenas, with 2012 statistics finding that ‘10 percent of all Federal Parliamentarians across Australia were women (66 out of 226)’. Furthermore, it has been identified that of the ‘current 932 individuals who make up the private Bar of the Queensland Bar Association, only 19.7 percent are women’, and of the whole of Queensland’s’ magistrates, only 36 out of 93, are women. As these statistics so clearly indicate, women are grossly underrepresented in the political and legal arenas, and the workplace in general. There are varying arguments that can reason this inequality, however, the most persuasive and logical places the blame on the orthodox gender roles that society has adopted and endorsed. As a result of these gender roles, men are automatically assumed to dominate more masculine occupations such as construction, engineering and law, while women often subjected to domestic occupations, such as, childcare, retail, nursing and education. Women are subsequently judged on their perceived gender role and not on their merits or competence, and are therefore unable to ‘equally contribute to and benefit from economic, social, cultural and political life’. The underrepresentation of women in the workplace is astounding and the reasons for why this inequality has riddled the Australian workforce can be answered by

It is also evident that since female and male candidates are equally qualified for political positions and have the same success rate in elections, the gender gap can be explained through the lack of female participation in elections. Many governments, including the Canadian government, have contemplated introducing quota systems to reduce the scope of the gender gap and ensure female representation in parliament. However, in a democratic system, quotas can be viewed as a “violation of liberal democracy” because they favour a specific people group (“50% Population”). The solution, therefore, rests in the hands of the next generation of female leaders. It is up to young, educated women to embrace Virginia Woolf’s parting message in her essay A Room of One’s Own of acquiring “a room of [their] own” (Woolf 4). In other words, young women are faced with the task of developing a sense of independence and having the “habit of freedom and the courage” in order to pursue a career in politics (Woolf 112). Even though there are initiatives in universities aimed prepare women to run for politics such as the She Will Run, it is essential to acknowledge that gender parity in the political environment will not be achieved automatically ("50% Population”). As instructed by Woolf, young women must move past stereotypes, suppress

A recent study by the Australian Government Department of Social Services (2008) looking at the challenges facing women in leadership roles highlighted the following areas as being significant;

In light of this year’s monumental and thought provoking presidential election between business magnate, Donald Trump, and New York senator, Hillary Clinton, the misogynistic rhetoric drew controversial division amongst the country. The value and significance of a woman have advanced from the cult of domesticity to a politically intricate executive, but that graduation exhibits seldom progress for women in media such as television, film, and theater. The depiction of females deters the accuracy and complexity of African American and latino women and limits their characteristics as peripheral, unoriginal, and one-dimensional objects of a man’s pleasure. Absurdity conveys in continuously seeing women setting the tables, giving a kiss on the cheek

One identified contributor to women's slower than expected assent into leadership is the persistence of assumptions and stereotypes that women are intrinsically "communal" or "dependent" and "passive", and therefore, lack the capacity to succeed as leaders. (National Academy of Sciences National Academy of Engineering Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, 2006 as cited by Isaac, Kaatz & Carnes, 2012).

Statistics Canada shows that women make up of 50.4% (2010) of Canada’s collective population, however, only 25.3 % of those women are situated in the House of Commons (Women, 2015). Why would this be the case? Canadian women have suffered for a long time now regarding the concern that not only dictated history but has also harshly influenced today’s society, which is the social gap between men and women. It is arguable that this gap has prevented women from the ability to seek their highest potential due to the lack of recognition they would receive, mainly because of their gender. Women have been stigmatized in society as being inferior to men in many aspects of life, such as, “not being as intelligent or as strong as men” even if they are.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott in charge of the Coalition government, Bill Shorten at the fore of the Australian Labor opposition, Deputy Prime Minister

It might surprise you that while feminist rallies and peaceful protests are taking place worldwide, Australia has in fact retracted their level of female political representation in the last five years. While other nations are progressing in their level of gender equality, the drag in women with an interest in politics is largely to

As being two of the most unliked topics in society, when the two of them are brought together we are faced with a conflicting subject. Politics pursuing the image of justice and fairness, and sexism being a differ in equality between male and female. Although no one can truly be non-sexist, when powerful leaders of our country including a past prime minister, the man who conducts the running of the country makes blunt sexist comments toward a fellow female leader’s numerous times and also toward the women of Australia, it is understandable that women feel a need to fight back for equality.

She accomplishes this through the use of facts, and emotional connotations of various credible interviewers to relay the message that women can do something to achieve leadership in America, as well as change today’s statistics when it comes to positions of power. Since the year 1979, women have not made gains in Congress (Newsom). In today’s world, the media is the message as well as the messenger and it’s not too late for women to do something about it. Even though boys are growing up with the phenomenon that it is a necessity to be misogynist stereotypes, Newsom, effectively convinces her audience that these kids are conforming to hyper-masculinity, and leading women to be controlled and looked down upon by men. She presents such a powerful message by successfully demonstrating how media perceive women without supremacy through the use of pathos, ethos, and

First, being a woman and embracing my femininity has both positive and negative impacts on my ability to lead. Because I am a woman I have to work harder to glean access to similar caliber opportunities as men. Even though the gender gap is not as large as it was in decades past, it still exists with in my society and is a huge obstacle to my

Civic participation is a fundamental component in one’s life when they become citizens to a country. It begins with an informed decision to engage as a citizen in the democratic process. There are a myriad of ways in which citizens can be active in society. This includes; being involved in political parties, government-making decisions, joining particular organisations of interest as well as the community and its local affairs. It is through this engagement that one attains a sense of identity. However, barriers can also arise when one attempts or chooses to actively participate in the community. This therefore, hinders individuals from further obtaining a form of inclusion amongst society. This overarching idea is evident in Julia Gillard’s misogyny speech. This speech is an excellent exemplar of how gender roles and prejudice against women can trigger and prohibit individuals from actively participating in society.

It is argued that Julia Gillard’s ‘misogyny speech’, delivered before Parliament on the 9th of October 2012, was the result of systematic gender bias present in the Australian psyche. The ‘misogyny speech’ was launched against the then Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, highlighting sexist and misogynistic observations the leader had made in the past. Since the second-wave feminist movement of the 1970s, renowned commentators have discussed the negative contrast between the depiction of men and women in the public sphere. Examining the representation of women in politics, combined with their negative portrayal in the media, it is clear gender inequality is thriving.

Women must take on somewhat of an androgynous sex-role identity. They must not go about their career fitting the typical gender stereotypes. They must be capable of responding with either a masculine or feminine behavior depending on the situation they are placed in. If women are capable of doing this they have a chance at appearing to be a competent campaigner (Robson, 2000).

Gender and leadership? Leadership and gender? A journey through the landscape of theories start off by giving a statistical summary of percentages of women in higher echelon position in the workforce. With this information in the intro, the article quickly highlights the limited representation of women in exclusive positions in Fortune 500 companies. Next, the paper examines multiple theories why this problem exists in the workforce. The four theories examined are biology and sex; gender role; causal factors; and attitudinal drivers (Appelbaum et al, 2003, p. 44).