The amazing 70's was an extraordinary time. Young girls were hearing the words of Helen Reddy on the radio telling them: I am woman….I can do anything. For the first time women found their collective voices and girls like me were inspired not only ask for more but also to expect so much more for our lives. Women like Helen Reddy, the Women’s Lib movement and the Women’s electoral lobby meant that when I entered the workforce after the end of the 1970’s not only was I inspired that I could to do anything, but I could still be doing it if I got married or I got pregnant AND while I was doing it I could actually expect to be paid the same amount as a man. The 70’s were so much more than just about burning our collective bras. It was about women having financial independence.
How ironic is it that Australian women won the right to drink in a public bar in 1965 before they won the right to keep on working when they got married. During the 1960s women working in the public service and in many private companies were forced to resign from their jobs when they got married. This was finally overturned in 1966. The right to equal pay came much later.
As the sixties ended, the Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission ruled that the general female award minimum wage would be 85 per cent of the male wage. The notion of the man as the "breadwinner" prevailed and it was assumed that men needed to be paid extra to provide for their family as married women generally did not work outside of the home. So the law entrenched that women's work was to devalued not because it was of lesser value but because it was performed by a woman.
“I am woman” was released in 1971 and became an anthem for a decade of change that would reverberate in the lives of women and girls in Australia forever.
In 1972, Beatrice Faust, a University of Melbourne graduate and civil liberties campaigner, established the Women’s Electoral Lobby (WEL), which changed everything for women in Australia. For the first time, a federal election would have women’s issues as front and centre of the debate. The WEL published in newspapers in November 1972, an Australia-wide survey of candidates’ attitudes to child care, equality in education and work and planned parenthood were published.
Regardless of the fact there was actually not one female MP among his ranks, when Gough Whitlam led the Australian Labor Party to victory on a slogan of “Its time” in 1972, the time had really come for the 70’s show to herald in enormous changes for women.
"It's time" for the 70's show
1972
Progress towards equal pay - The newly elected Whitlam Labor government appointed Elizabeth Reid for the role a women’s advisor (a world first) in order to make government more responsive to women’s needs. First task was to approached ACAC to review its previous decision in 1969. Finally, the commission ruled that women and men undertaking similar work that had similar value were eligible for the same rate. A million female workers became eligible for full pay, and an overall rise in women’s wages of around 30%.
However, it was a struggle for women and their supporters to have the value of jobs classified as ‘female roles’ assessed fairly and the decision only applied to women working under federal awards and conditions — about 40 per cent of the female workforce. While there was progress, more change was needed to help bring financial independence to women.
Divorced single women were finally being supported – The single mother’s benefit was extended to single mothers who were divorced women, or whose husbands were in prison or a mental hospital. It was previously only available to widows. The benefit was later extended to include all single parents
Childcare became a right so that women could still work once they became mothers – The Federal Child Care Act meant that centre-based day care facilities were funded for children of sick or working parents. This was soon followed by family day care, after school hours care and playgroups.
1973
Paid maternity leave for Commonwealth employees was introduced - The Maternity Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Act, provided Commonwealth public servants with 12 weeks paid (and 40 weeks unpaid) maternity leave.
1974
Finally equal pay (well in theory anyway, 50 years later, it is still a thing!) - The commission finally granted an equal minimum wage to all Australians, regardless of their sex, and the ‘breadwinner’ component of a male wage was removed in recognition of the fact that more Australian women were providing for their families.
The following week a woman called Muriel Heagney died in poverty at the age of 89. Why is this important? This remarkable woman was a long time campaigner for equal wages for women at a time when no-one thought it was important but sadly she is virtually unknown. http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/heagney-muriel-agnes-6620
My world changed because of a nun called Sister Helen Mary - In 1974, a nun at my catholic girls high school (that only went to year 10 because really why would girls ever want to go to university!) decided that girls can do anything even maths. Sister Helen Mary made one decision that actually changed everything for me. For the first time in the history of my school, she allowed a group of girls in study advanced maths with the boys in our brother school. I graduated 10 fully equipped to be a secretary with 90 words per minute shorthand and 50 words a minute typing but this one decision opened up opportunities that actually changed the entire course of my life.
1977
Victoria outlawed employment discrimination on the basis of gender and marital status (other states would then follow) – The Victorian Equal Opportunity Act created the Equal Opportunity Board and the Office of Equal Opportunity Commissioner. The Act outlawed discrimination based on marital status and gender in employment, education, accommodation and provision of goods and services.
1979
Maternity leave became enshrine in law for everyone - Women employed on a long-term basis (i.e., 12 months or more) were entitled to 52 weeks of unpaid maternity leave. Paid maternity leave had to wait another 40 years!
I am woman, hear me roar (Helen Reddy 1971)
It has taken nearly half a century and I am not sure we are there yet but we can hear women now literally roaring in careers in nearly all corners of life.
Those of us who have lived through that 70’s show have not only seen the changes first hand but also the challenges that women have faced and still face to change collective psyche of a nation to embrace the fundamental notion of women’s right to be financially independent and to be financial equals.
But while women are roaring, it is important to note that while the collective psyche of a nation was slowly changing, many women were left behind:
Older women—those aged 55 and over— was the fastest growing cohort of homeless Australians between 2011 and 2016, increasing by 31%. It is likely this trend will continue given the ongoing shortage of affordable housing, the ageing population and the significant gap in wealth accumulation between men and women across their lifetimes.
https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/age-discrimination/projects/risk-homelessness-older-women
For me, the deaths of Helen Reddy and Susan Ryan were mixed with both immense gratitude and some sadness. Gratitude for what they achieved and for what in many ways we now take for granted but also some sadness that women like them and women like Muriel Heagney, Beatrice Faust and Elizabeth Reid do not hold a place that is absolutely front and centre of Australian history.
And to Sister Helen Mary who in 1974, in my little catholic school in a hidden corner of North Queensland, embraced her own little bit of feminism when she decided that girls can do anything including maths, thank-you!
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