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Trials and Triumphs -
3 months in the life of EngenderWelcome to our summer newsletter,
indeed the summer sun has helped keep our spirits up as
we, along with others in the third sector, manage the
challenges of the economic downturn. When times are hard
there are always those who say that equality is a luxury
we can’t afford but nothing can be further from the
truth! It’s the people most impacted by inequality that
will bear the brunt of the irresponsible, unsustainable
and greed driven decision making that has caused the
crisis of capital.
Indeed, the business
sectors response to the Equality Bill was predictable
enough, ‘now is not the time for further burdens on
business etc…’ but the proposal that employers who have
more than 250 employees publish what they are paying
their male and female staff is long overdue (by 40
years!) and fairness shouldn’t be determind by economic
climate…. Fair is just, well, fair. As we said in The
Herald ‘UK employers have had their chance to pay women
equally and have failed. Compulsory gender pay audits
and the end of so-called ‘gagging clauses’ preventing
employees from disclosing salaries may provide us with
one of the tools we need to tackle the pay gap –
transparency,’ You can see the full article
here.
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The financial crisis and
expenses row are clear indicators of a need to move away
from the current unsustainable economic model of
exclusion and self interest to one of inclusion and
sustainability. Our Women Thinking Equality group summed
it up well, if we measured Scotland’s success by the
well being of our people and not our GDP what a
different world it would be! Women’s time caring would
all of a sudden gain value; flexible working would be
come the norm; pregnant women would not been seen as a
loss (to businesses); and addressing inequality would
not be seen as a burden, but rather an opportunity to
release new potentials…imagine!
So, despite the recession
and the funding challenges that it brings, we have been
and will be busy seeking out and creating opportunities
to advance women’s equality. Whether we are arguing for
a sustainable and equitable economic recovery plan,
responding to the Equality Bill process or supporting
women to develop their own responses to local issues
there is even more need for you support and involvement
in making Scotland a better place for women.
Anyway, recession or not,
Engender have a lot to show for the last few months so
here it is…..
As ever, please don’t
hesitate to contact us if you want more info or if we
can provide any training or consultancy for you.
Karen
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Women
Thinking Equality Reports Published |
 Good food, good
company and more women and men thinking equality at the
launch of the WTE papers
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The remit of the Women
Thinking Equality project was to bring together a wide
range of women to look at how the various
discriminations in society overlap and interact and to
ask if there is a common ground among them that can help
us to challenge the inequalities that arise.
The project papers - covering age,
disability, economics, religion or belief, sexual
orientation and transgender – were launched in style
with an Indian buffet at the Raj in Edinburgh. Engenders
Executive Director, Niki Kandirikirira, spoke of how
timely the project was as with the equality strands
increasingly competing for space it was vital to take a
step back and identify the underlying structures that
sustain inequality in all its forms.
Find out more about WTE and read the
reports here |
| The Single Equality
Bill |
The UK Governments
Single Equality Bill was published in April and had it’s
second reading in May. The bill replaces 116 pieces of
equalities legislation with one all-encompassing act covering
age, race, sex and disability discrimination among others. Can
this ‘one-size fits all’ approach to equalities work?
Read
more… | |
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| UN Committee calls on UK to conduct
‘comprehensive review of equality policies’ |
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Engender Board members Marsha Scott and Emma Ritch
headed over to Geneva in May to attend the hearings of the UN
committee on Economic, Cultural and Social Rights, with
includes commitments to gender equality. Engender submitted a
shadow report (the first time we have done this) which
assessed the equalities landscape from a Scottish perspective.
We were pleased that the committee recognised the stalled
progress of gender equality in the UK in their concluding
observations as they expressed concern in areas such as the
the gender pay gap, the discriminatory nature of pension
provision for women and the low rape conviction rate.
Significantly, the Committee called on the UK government to
undertake a ‘comprehensive review of it’s policies to overcome
gender inequalities’.
Read
more… |
Read
more...
Engenders
Shadow Report…
Summary
of the concluding observations…
The
New Covenanters? Bringing the voices of Scottish Women to
Geneva |
| …. And then there were 11 |
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Engender are delighted to announce our three
new board members who joined us in May. Hazel
Smith, Wendy
Davies and Emma
Ritch have a huge range of experience between them and we
are sure will be an asset to the organisation. |
The Engender Board look forward to working
with new members |
| Engender Response to the Criminal Justice
bill (extreme porn) |
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The Criminal Justice (and Licensing) Bill currently
going through the Scottish Parliament contains a proposal to
make possession of extreme pornographic material an
offence.
Read
our response to the proposals here… |
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Women inspiring women – Engender work with Oxfam |
Exploitation or Empowerment? |
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We’ve been working on a very exciting project with
Oxfam to produce a short film as part of the EU funded Genderworks
programme. Aimed at supporting and encouraging women to get
involved in local, national or international campaigns, the
DVD will focus on the work of several women’s organisations
from around Europe.
Find
out more here… |
The trend of recent years has been for elements of the
Adult Entertainment industry to creep into our everyday lives
(home pole-dancing kits and burlesque classes) and we’re
consulting our members to ask if these activities can ever be
empowering for women or is it a mainstreaming of the sex
industry that is ultimately harmful to women and girls. We
have two volunteers who are leading this consultation which
has so far included a survey of members and a meeting and we
look forward to publishing their findings as our next position
paper. |
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What’s On |
Engender Consultants |
| Events during the summer months and
beyond…
Read on... |
Don’t forget that Engender have a team
of dedicated, dynamic, professional consultants with a passion
for equality and a wealth of experience in gender.
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Our Consultants can support your organization to meet
your Gender Duty obligations and can meet with you to discuss
your needs and tailor a training, research or development
consultancy to meet your exact requirements. Contact the
office for further details.
Make equality a reality… |
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| Become an Engender Member… |
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Engender is a membership organisation open to
individuals and organisations who have an interest in gender
equality. If you support our vision of a fairer Scotland why
not join us and ensure that women are kept on the agenda.
Download
a membership application
here:
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| 1A Haddington Place, Edinburgh, EH7 4AE,
Tel: 0131 558 9596 www.engender.org.uk |
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