Data revealed yesterday by Essential Research puts the issue of sexism in Australia into stark relief.
Asked how much discrimination against women and sexism occurs across the media, in workplaces and in politics, most voters thought there was some or a lot in workplaces, the media, politics, sport and advertising. But that outcome masked a huge gulf between men and women: 47% of men think some or a lot of discrimination against women occurs in the workplace, but 72% of women believe that. Forty eight per cent of men think there’s some or a lot in the media, but 71% of women do; 73% of women believe there’s sexism in politics, 49% of men do.
Only in advertising did more than half of men — 51% — see discrimination against women, compared to 69% of women. In sport, only 46% of men saw sexism compared to 69% of women.
In short, women are around 150% as likely as men to be aware of sexism and discrimination.
The numbers suggest how sexism continues to be the lived experience of most women, whether it’s the lower pay or the unwanted sexual attention in the workplace, the crassly anti-women ad, the asinine comment from a male shock jock, the obsession with Julia Gillard’s body or the double standard on appearances for female politicians. Many men — nearly half — are also aware of the problem, commendably, but plainly many other men simply fail to see what women still have to endure.
General David Morrison’s comment about the latest Australian Defence Force scandal — that “the standard you walk past is the standard you accept” — has quickly become an iconic line about sexism in Australia. Sadly, not merely do many Australian men continue to walk past the problem, but they don’t even notice it as they do so.
So, it is better to give than to receive?
Unless you’re on the rough end, receiving, do you really know how it feels?
Most humans have the capacity to develop empathy. It’s how we learn to understand people whose experiences are different from our own. Ie everyone else.
Is it possible that women are 150% more likely to find fault and the other forty six percent men are too busy getting on with life to notice
Yeah, great one Glenn bringing the conversation to new heights. The difference is that anyone (women, Aborigines, gay people etc)who experiences the events cannot explain them to others not from that group because it’s like explaining water to a fish. Glenn mate, you don’t see it because it’s not your water nor apparently are you empathetic, more Morcombe and Wise.
More importantly one wonders why JG got crucified in the press and by the opposition when she attempted to put some of these things on the table for debate. (Including by crikey).
It is an important issue. And I have no doubt that LNP are about 50 years behind where we would all want to be on this so it is absolutely valid to draw this out.