Time trends in socio-economic inequalities for women and men with disabilities in Australia: evidence of persisting inequalities

Introduction The socio-economic circumstances and health of people with disabilities has been relatively ignored in public health research, policy and practice in Australia and internationally. This is despite emerging evidence that the socio-economic circumstances that people with disabilities live in contributes to their poorer health. Compared to other developed countries, Australians with disabilities are more likely to live in disadvantaged circumstances, despite being an economically prosperous country; it is therefore likely that the socio-economic disadvantage experienced by Australians with disabilities makes a significant contribution to their health. Despite the importance of this issue Australia does not routinely monitor the socio-economic inequalities for people with disabilities. This paper addresses this gap by describing time trends in socio-economic conditions for Australians with and without disabilities according to the severity of the disability and sex. Methods Cross-sectional analyses of the Australian Bureau of Statistics Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers were carried out at three time points (1998, 2003 and 2009) to estimate the proportions of women and men (aged between 25 and 64 years) who were living on low incomes, had not completed year 12, were not in paid work, living in private rental and experiencing multiple disadvantage (three or more of the indicators). Results People with disabilities are less likely to have completed year 12, be in paid work and are more likely to be living on low incomes and experiencing multiple disadvantage. These conditions worsened with increasing severity of disability and increased or persisted over time, with most of the increase between 1998 and 2003. While women with milder disabilities tended to fare worse than men, the proportions were similar for those with moderate and severe/profound disabilities. Conclusion People with disabilities experience high levels of socio-economic disadvantage which has increased or persisted over time and these are likely to translate into poorer health outcomes. A large proportion experience multiple forms of disadvantage, reinforcing the need to tackle disadvantage in a coordinated way across sectors. People with disabilities should be a priority population group for public health. Monitoring socio-economic conditions of people with disabilities is critical for informing policy and assessing the impact of disability reforms.

Forever troubling: feminist theoretical work in education

My life and intellectual history are closely connected to the late 20th Century rise of the second wave women’s, student and civil rights movements. These decades also witnessed the professionalization of women’s traditional fields of work— teaching and nursing—with their introduction into the academy. But as all feminists know, and my intellectual and personal history illustrates, there is no gradual progress towards the betterment of all or a fairer redistribution of power, and there is no safe discourse of equality. Any restructuring of the social relations of gender arising from local, national or global social, economic and political shifts often reasserts masculine privilege.

Resistance and reconstruction: Older women talk about childhood sexual abuse

Research which explores the experiences of women, who have experienced childhood sexual abuse is, in the main, focused on young and middle aged women. The perspectives of older women is often absent or hidden in the literature. This study explores the experiences of 16 Australian women aged 57 years and older who have experienced childhood sexual abuse. It aims to privilege their views and highlight their particular contexts in order to redress professional assumptions regarding the notions of recovery. Additionally, in discussing their experiences, the women contribute to insights regarding the patterns of inequality which are produced as a result of dominant discourses that promote ageist and sexist prescriptions in the construction of the self. These insights demonstrate how the women have resisted a range of oppressive patterns in their everyday lives. The study follows a feminist research framework and aims to contribute to the fields of social work practice and critical feminist gerontology.

Midwifery work and the making of narrative

This paper draws on a study of birth support conducted across three Melbourne maternity units. Midwife informants were asked to participate in semistructured interviews with two researchers and describe the activity and role of lay birth support people. In the course of the study, the activity of the midwives themselves became a research focus. The study found that one of the key tasks midwives described was assisting birthing women to develop and negotiate satisfactory birth narratives that could encompass the intense and sometimes difficult experience of birth. Midwife informants offered strategies for the development of such narratives as part of their professional and personal labour in the birth room.

Failure to thrive: mid-career women in higher education

Gender underrepresentation in higher education (HE) is a persistent global phenomenon. The purpose of this research was to re-examine it through symbolic interactionism (SI). Eight women aspiring to leadership were invited to participate in semi structured interviews after attending a leadership programme specifically designed to enhance their prospects. Analysis indicated ambiguities and contradictions surround notions of leadership, as well as opportunities for leadership. This was evidenced by their appraisal of the existing leadership, speculations regarding their leadership capacity, how the participants position themselves and are positioned in their workplace. Actively “paying it forward” was seen as facilitating promotion, and line managers’ familiarity with the work undertaken by aspirants. Formal leadership training was advocated rather than experiential processes. 

Education and work in service of the nation: Canadian and Australian girls' fiction, 1908-1921

This chapter compares early twentieth-century Australian novels by Ethel Turner, Mary Grant Bruce, and Lilian Turner to Canadian novels by Nellie McClung and L.M. Montgomery to demonstrate important differences in attitudes towards education and work. Girls’ fiction in these white settler colonies has many similarities, containing strong ideals related to domesticity, education, employment, and femininity. In the Canadian fiction, attitudes towards women’s higher education and employement are generally much more positive. Although both Australian and Canadian girls’ fiction typically conclude with marriage, Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables and Nellie McClung’s Pearlie Watson are offered the opportunity to pursue higher education and use this education to teach others. In contrast, Lilian Turner’s Paradise and the Perrys, Ethel Turner’s Fair Ines, and Mary Grant Bruce’s ’Possum emphasise the importance of domesticity while also showing how girls sought to earn income without leaving home. Through our comparison of these Canadian and Australian novels, all published between 1908 and 1921, we demonstrate how the different feminine ideals embodied through these heroines are inevitably intertwined with the needs of the nation

Hegemonic masculinity and the gendering of men in disaster management: implications for social work education

Disaster studies have been slow to address gender issues in the management of disasters. Given the neglect of gender in the previous scholarship on disasters, most of the recent writing on the gendering of disasters has understandably focused on women's experiences in relation to risk management, emergency responses, post-disaster recovery and reconstruction. There has been little interrogation of the ways in which hegemonic masculinity and men's privileged positioning in patriarchal gender regimes impact on the various stages of disaster management. In this paper I draw upon my experience in researching men and masculinities in Australia to draw connections between men's privilege, rural masculinities, men's experiences of trauma, men's violence and men's gendered experience of disasters, especially in relation to bush fires. The paper relates insights arising from these studies to men's responses to disasters, their involvement in disaster management and their post-disaster experiences. The implications of this analysis for a disaster curricula in social work education is outlined.

Migrant women entrepreneurs : exploring the barriers

This two-volume work provides balanced and thorough coverage of women entrepreneurs in multicultural and international contexts as well as in the Western world.

The effects of ethinylestradiol and progestins ("the pill") on cognitive function in pre-menopausal women

Oral contraceptives (OCs), often referred to as "the pill", are the most commonly employed form of reversible contraception. OCs are comprised of combined synthetic estrogen and progestin, which work to suppress ovulation and subsequently protect against pregnancy. To date, almost 200 million women have taken various formulations of OC, making it one of the most widely consumed classes of medication in the world. While a substantial body of literature has been dedicated to understanding the physical effects of OCs, much less is known about the long term consequences of OC use on brain anatomy and the associated cognitive effects. Accumulating evidence suggests that sex hormones may significantly affect human cognition. This phenomenon has been commonly studied in older populations, such as in post-menopausal women, while research in healthy, pre-menopausal women remains limited. The current review focused on the effects of OCs on human cognition, with the majority of studies comparing pre-menopausal OC users to naturally cycling women. Human neuroimaging data and animal studies are also described herein. Taken together, the published findings on OC use and human cognition are varied. Of those that do report positive results, OC users appear to have improved verbal memory, associative learning and spatial attention. We recommend future research to employ blinding procedures and randomised designs. Further, more detailed information pertaining to the specific generation and phasic type of OCs, as well as menstrual cycle phase of the OC non-users should be considered to help unmask the potential impact of OC use on human cognition.

The construct validity of the work-related flow inventory in a sample of Australian workers

The purpose of this study was to examine the construct validity of the WOrk-reLated Flow inventory (WOLF; Bakker, 2008). This instrument was administered to 711 men and women who were working in Queensland, Australia. The results from the confirmatory factor analysis showed that the WOLF has moderately acceptable construct validity, with the three-factor model being a borderline fit to the data. Tests of the convergent validity of the WOLF yielded satisfactory results. However, the analysis of the discriminant validity of the WOLF showed that the instrument poorly discriminated between work enjoyment and intrinsic work motivation. Follow-up exploratory factor analysis, using recommended procedures for determining the number of factors to extract, revealed a two-factor solution, with the work enjoyment and intrinsic work motivation items loading on the same factor. Drawing on literature on psychological flow and motivation, as well as the findings of the present study, questions are raised over the adequacy of the conceptual basis of the three-factor model of work-related flow, the discriminant validity of the WOLF subscales, and the appropriateness of the wording of several of this measure's items. Using alternative methods and measures to investigate flow in work settings is recommended.

This is not the work

For the exhibition THIS IS NOT THE WORK, feminist artist-run-initiative LEVEL continue their investigation of alternative curatorial methods.

Surveying a selection of community-engaged artist projects from different locations around the world, this exhibition followed the pathways of women-centred social networks in order to initiate further collaboration and conversation. The projects documented in this exhibition are examples of artists working with women and community in challenging and unpredictable ways, demonstrating feminist sensibilities and a commitment to non-hierarchical and collective structures. As in the past, LEVEL uses the gallery as a conceptual base-camp or frontline rather than a just site of display.

Farmers’ work-day noise exposure

Objective: This study aims to understand the extent offarmers’ exposure to hazardous noise, and trial and testthe ability of an on-farm noise audit report to improve awareness and preventative action towards farm based noise hazards.Design: Visits were made to working farms where noiseand dosimetry measurements undertaken. During return visits, the noise measurements were explained ina brief report. A follow-up questionnaire was imple-mented gathering feedback on the use or otherwise ofthe report.Setting: Working farms in Western Victoria and SEQueensland including dairy, beef, wool, prime lamb andcropping.Participants: Participants were 14 female and 37 male farm workers.Interventions: Noise exposure assessment of dailyactivities through dosimetry; measurements of noisy tasks and machinery; supply and interpretation of anoise audit report.Main outcome measures: Participants were suppliedwith a ‘noise report’ of their workplace together with an explanation of the report’s meaning to farm workers.Results: Men and women have similar at risk expo-sures. The average noise exposure was 1.09 Pa2h(LAeq,8h= 85.3 dB). This implies 163 000 Australian agricultural workers are at risk from hazardous noise.On-farm noise audit reports were a relevant and valuable feedback to farmers in relation to their potential noise hazards.Conclusions: Of those measured 51%, and by extrapo-lation 163 000 Australian agricultural workers, have noise exposure levels greater than the recommendedAustralian Standard of 1.01 Pa2h (85 dB). Men and women are equally exposed. On-farm noise auditreports are an effective feedback to increase awareness and improve hearing health

Midwives experiences of establishing partnerships: working with pregnant women who use illicit drugs

OBJECTIVE: To present the interpreted experiences of midwives who choose to work with pregnant women who also use illicit drugs. DESIGN: Twelve (n=12) Australian midwives were interviewed. Each interview was audio-taped, de-identified and transcribed. The interviews were analysed using a systematic, thematic analysis approach informed by Heideggarian hermeneutic phenomenology. FINDINGS: Three themes identified from the data that encapsulate the experience were establishing partnerships, making a difference, and letting go and redefining practice. The interpretations of establishing partnerships which includes engagement, genuine regard and compassion, with a subtheme courting the system are presented in this paper. The midwives' experiences were both positive and negative, as they were rewarded and challenged by the needs of women who use illicit drugs and the systems in which they worked. CONCLUSION: The midwives in this study found that establishing partnerships was essential to their work. They appraised their experience of working with pregnant women who used illicit drugs and found strategies that attempted to meet the needs of the women, the system and themselves. The participants revealed that to support women and families who use illicit drugs in their community, partnerships must be based on deep respect and trust. Significant components engagement, genuine regard and compassion that are central to midwifery partnerships require revisiting to address the needs of this vulnerable population of women.

Resistance and reconstruction: older women talk about childhood sexual abuse

 This research explores personal stories of 16 Australian women aged 57 years and older who have experienced childhood sexual abuse. It privileges their views and examines how they managed the impact during their lives. The project contributes to professional knowledge by developing anti-ageist practices for social work and human services.