Suchergebnisse

The differences between men and women have existed since the beginning of time. These differences, when integrated into cultural norms over time, serve as the basis for acceptable gender roles and behaviour. In today's American society, nowhere are these roles more apparent than in the workplace. Conse‐quently, gender‐related conflicts are commonplace in corporate American culture and ultimately affect everyone in some manner. This article explores some of the reasons for these conflicts, identifies the affected parties, and recommends strategies aimed at improving the overall situation.

Nova Scotia enacted human rights legislation in 1963,2 but it was not until 1972 that the Act was amended to include sex as one of the prohibited grounds of discrimination. 3 Since 1957 women in Nova Scotia had had equal pay protection, 4 but this brought about no noticeable improvement in the status of women in the labour force. Some commentators have suggested that equal pay laws in fact worsened that status by giving employers economic incentives to maintain and consolidate low-paying all-female job ghettoes to avoid the effects of the legislation. 5 Equal pay legislation could have no application to women who were denied access to jobs and promotions, stratified in "women's" jobs and discriminated against in "conditions of employment" other than pay. It was in response to public pressure for comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation for women8 to back up equal pay provisions that the 1972 amendments were passed.

On July 2, 1964, President Johnson signed into law the Civil Rights Act of 1964,' the most far-reaching civil rights legislation in history.Much has been written about the act, but almost without exception the writers have been concerned with the ban of discrimination in employment on the basis of race or color. But the most radical and troublesome characteristic of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act is its outlawing of employment discrimination based on sex. It is the purpose of this note to examine this largely ignored aspect of the act. The inquiry will first examine the regulation of sex discrimination generally under the federal constitution and federal and state laws.Emphasis here will be placed on the treatment of discrimination under the fourteenth amendment, the Railway Labor Act, the National Labor Relations Act and, of primary importance, the interaction of Title VII with the similar provisions of the Equal Pay Act of 1963. The legislative history of the inclusion of the word "sex" in Title VII will be examined, and a synopsis will be presented, to indicate the types of employment practices which have been deemed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to be violative of the provision of the act. Finally, there will be an examination of the two aspects of the law which give rise to the greatest problems: the bona fide occupational qualification exception under which discrimination is permitted, and the relationship between Title VII, state fair employment practice laws, and state laws regulating the employment of women.

Opening address I / Dr Helen Watchirs OAM -- Opening address II / Hon. Susan Ryan AO -- Opening address III / Chris Ronalds AM, SC -- The Sex Discrimination Act and its rocky rite of passage / Margaret Thornton and Trish Luker -- A radical prequel : historicising the concept of gendered law in Australia / Ann Genovese -- Women's work is never done : the pursuit of equality and the commonwealth Sex Discrimination Act / Marian Sawer -- To demand equality is to lack ambition' : sex discrimination legislation-contexts and contradictions / Susan Magarey -- The Sex Discrimination Act at 25 : reflections on the past, present and future / Beth Gaze -- The Sex Discrimination Act : advancing gender equality and decent work? / Sara Charlesworth -- Reproducing discrimination : promoting the equal sharing of caring work in CEDAW, at the ILO and in the SDA / Caroline Lambert -- Equality unmodified? / Reg Graycar and Jenny Morgan -- And which 'equality act' would that be? / Simon Rice -- Rethinking the Sex Discrimination Act : does Canada's experience suggest we should give our judges a greater role? / Belinda Smith -- Equality as a basic human right : choice and responsibility / Archana Parashar -- Raising women up : analysing Australian advocacy for women's rights under international and domestic law / Susan Harris Rimmer -- Can we feminise human rights? / Margaret Thornton -- Sex, race and questions of aboriginality / Irene Watson and Sharon Venne.