Women in the Queensland Parliament

Women won the right to vote in Queensland in 1905, but had to wait until 1915 and the election of the first Labor government to govern in its own right before they became eligible to stand for Parliament. Prior to 1989, women were only occasionally and randomly elected to the Queensland Parliament and until that year, only 11 women had sat in Parliament, and there were long gaps separating their representation.

Highlighting hybridity: A critical discourse analysis of teacher talk in science classrooms

There is evidence that alienation from science is linked to the dominant discourse practices of science classrooms (cf. Lemke, J. L. (1990). Talking Science: Language, Learning, and Values. Norwood, NJ: Ablex). Yet, in secondary science education it is particularly hard to find evidence of curriculum reform that includes explicit changes in pedagogic discourses to accommodate the needs of students from a wide range of backgrounds. However, such evidence does exist and needs to be highlighted wherever it is found to help address social justice concerns in science education. In this article, I show how critical discourse analysis can be used to explore a way of challenging the dominant discourse in teacher-student interactions in science classrooms. My findings suggest a new way of moving toward more socially just science curricula in middle years and secondary classrooms by using hybrid discourses that can serve emancipatory purposes. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals. Inc.

Psychosocial risk factors for pregnancy risk-taking in young women in emerging adulthood: Evidence from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health

This study represents the first longitudinal investigation of distal psychosocial predictors of pregnancy risk-taking in young Australian women. Participants were from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health. Two mail-out surveys assessing sociodemographic, education/competence, psychosocial wellbeing, and aspiration/identity factors, were completed at ages 18 and 22 by 1647 young women in emerging adulthood, and a third survey assessing pregnancy risk-taking behaviour was completed by a subsample of 90 young women at age 24. Higher psychosocial distress at age 22 was a risk factor for pregnancy risk-taking at age 24 (beta=0.29-0.38). Post hoc analyses suggested that the strongest component of psychosocial distress when predicting pregnancy risk-taking was higher depressive symptoms (beta=0.44-0.68). Demographic, education, unemployment, and future aspirations factors at age 18 and 22 were unrelated to pregnancy risk-taking at age 24.

Going up? Women in the public sector

Abstract: Purpose – This paper aims to document women's reflections on their careers over a ten-year period to provide quantitative baseline data on which to frame follow-up in-depth interviews. The participants work in the public service in Queensland (Australia) and had been recommended for, and participated in, women in management (WIM) courses conducted in the early 1990s. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected by means of a survey (containing closed and open items) which gathered demographic data and data related to employment history, perceptions of success and satisfaction, and the women's future career expectations. Findings – Findings revealed that the percentage of women in middle and senior management had increased over the ten-year period, although not to the extent one might have anticipated, given that the women had been targeted as high flyers by their supervisors. While not content with their classification levels (i.e. seniority), the majority of the cohort viewed their careers as being successful. Practical implications – Questions arise from this study as to why women are still “not getting to the top”. There are also policy implications for the public service concerning women's possible “reinventive contribution” and training implications associated with women only courses. Originality/value – The study is part of an Australian longitudinal study on the careers of women who attended a prestigious women-only management course in the early 1990s in Queensland. This is now becoming a study of older women.