menshealthaustralia.net

 I was NOT a victim of sexism in the City (UK)

An ex-bond girl broker reveals why she loved her money-driven career, by Venetia Thompson.

From lap dances to all-night drinking sessions, ex-City bond broker Venetia Thompson experienced the testosterone-fuelled excess of the trading floor at first hand. After being sacked for writing an exposé, she was encouraged to accuse her bosses of sexism, but refused. Here she explains why her adrenalin-packed year in the Square Mile was the happiest – and craziest – of her life.

 Stop attacking the gender gap

Julia Gillard and her fellow travellers are primed to use Labor’s job market reregulation to impose intrusive new concepts of “gender equality” on employers and the economy. They are frustrated that, despite impressive gains in female workforce participation over the past generation, men still earn more than women from paid work. But turning the gender pay gap into a target of public policy confronts several problems.
First, as the “Making it Fair” report notes, Australians do not share the longstanding “anger” of committee chairwoman and former union official Sharryn Jackson. They see pay equity as a “non-issue”. Nearly two-thirds of Australians “incorrectly” believe it is about paying men and women the same for doing the same job. They don’t share the frustration that some occupations remain “segmented” by gender. They accept that some women pass on promotions because they become more reluctant to put in long hours of work after starting a family.

 Most unpaid overtime worked by men & fathers with young children

The fact that Australians work many more hours of unpaid overtime than other OECD countries made the news today – but the gender breakdown in the report showing it is mostly men (p 12) and particularly males with young children (p 13) did not, unfortunately, attract any comment.

 Education gap is leading to a 'Great He-pression' (USA)

What started as a "man-cession" is turning into a "Great He-pression." The unemployment rate for men is running 2.7 percentage points higher than for women - a "just unprecedented" spread, according to economist Mark Perry at the University of Michigan at Flint. One obvious reason: The downturn has hammered manufacturing, construction and other male-dominated sectors, while going easier on female-heavy fields such as health care and education. But a less-appreciated factor could make an even bigger difference in the long run. For years now, women have been earning the most college degrees. That trend is accelerating, leaving experts to wonder if men are somehow missing the latest economic wake-up call. Read more...

 ACTU abandons men

The impact of the recession has hit male employment harder than female employment. This article in the Age shows that "in net terms, almost all the loss of full-time jobs has been among men". On top of this, the impact of unemployment on men's mental health and sense of identity is greater than that for women who often have other social roles that they can fall back upon if they find themselves unemployed. In addition, the impacts upon families and children are greater with high male unemployment than with female unemployment, as men are more likely to be the primary breadwinners. With this background it is extraordinary to see this media release from the ACTU (who should be supporting the male labour force), claiming that "Australian women are underemployed and underpaid".