The End of Equality: Anne Summers

"Thirty years ago we began a revolution in this country. It was a revolution that recognised the legal, social and attitudinal barriers to women achieving equality of opportunity and as it progressed – as these barriers were ripped away – I doubt if anyone in this country escaped the ramifications."

"For thirty years we have seen progress towards equality – or so we assumed. If I can speak for myself, I had always been optimistic, even confident, that this was a revolution that was unstoppable and irreversible."

"So it came as quite a shock to me to discover a year or so ago that in fact things were not as they should be, and that we had not merely stalled on our road to equality but that we were actually starting to go backwards."

These are the words of Anne Summers, speech given during an even organised by the Women's Health Association of Victoria in October 2004 at Federation Square. The event, 'Equity and Equality: Key Issues for Australian Women', brought together women from women's health organistions across Victoria, and from the community and health sectors more broadly, to confront the reality that despite 30 years of feminism women's rights are actually going backwards in this country.

The event was introduced by our CEO and Women's Health Association of Victoria Chair Melissa Afentoulis, with preceding remarks by Dr Linda Hancock, Chair of the Victorian Council of Social Service. Anne's remarks were based on her research for her latest book, 'The End of Equality'.

In one area after another, Anne described the ways that women are increasingly worse-off: less women in full-time employment than ever, average female weekly earnings remaining just 66% of male, increasing numbers of female sole-parent households, increasing numbers of women living in poverty, the childcare crisis, the lack of women in positions of power and the continuing unabated issue of sexual and family violence.

"Although we never achieved full equality of opportunity between women and men in Australia, we did for a couple of decades at least have it as a national goal. It was up there on the political agenda and no prime minister, however conservative he – and the leaders were all, and still are, men – would have dared challenge its right to be there."

"And, we were making progress. We could report encouraging statistics on women in the workforce, women’s earnings, women’s appointments to top jobs. This is no longer the case. We have stopped even having the national conversation about women’s entitlements and women’s rights. Instead, all the talk is of families, or mothers, and women, especially women who are mothers, are left to feel that that’s the only part of their lives that is held in any esteem."

You can read an abridged transcript of Anne's speech in our newsletter, 'Women's Health West News', Summer 2004. FIND OUT MORE about Anne's work as well as suggestions for taking action on her website.