Tamara, 20, in Adiyaman camp in Turkey. The most important thing she was able to bring with her is her diploma, which she holds. With it she will be able to continue her education in Turkey.
To blithely relegate trivial matters as ‘first world problems’ not only dismisses the very real issues that some first world residents face on a daily basis, it also prevents a mutual understanding between the West and the developing world because sometimes both 'worlds' experience the same problems; First world problems can also be third world problems.
A recently completed study by researchers from the University of Ballarat provides insight into some of the issues raised by The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Regional Australia’s inquiry into fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) and drive-in, drive-out (DIDO) workforce practices in regional Australia.
...
In relation to the mental health of study participants, 50 per cent reported moderate to high levels of depression symptoms, 45 per cent reported moderate to high levels of anxiety symptoms, and 45 per cent reported experiencing moderate to high levels of loneliness when on-site, indicating that these are critical issues for some FIFO workers.
What a way to wrap it up. This kid, well I can't imagine how motivational he will be when he's grown up? Gee, mashallah. Hope he channels it into something useful, I can only imagine how far he will go then! Kudos to supportive parents I imagine as well.
I wrote this piece for Richard's F1, and you can find the original piece here! It's a fabulous site for keeping up to date with the latest in motorsport and I am honoured to be part of the team.
***
The late and much loved Kiwi driver Jason Richards will be honoured this weekend at the V8 Supercar’s ITM 400 Auckland with a trophy in his name.
The James Richards Memorial Trophy, designed by the artist Frank Watson, has been commissioned by the V8 Supercars Championship and will be presented at the newly upgraded South Auckland circuit at this weekend’s third round of the 2013 championship season.
The one-off award and trophy will be presented to the driver with the most combined points over the four races of the Pukekohe weekend.
"We believe this is an appropriate way for us to recognise Jason’s contribution to our sport and our championship. He was a fierce competitor but at the same time was a true gentleman and a fan favourite," said V8 Supercars chief executive David Malone.
Richards was only 35 when he lost his battle with cancer in December 2011 and was mourned by thousands after his passing.
The popular driver and proud New Zealander had joined the Brad Jones Racing team in 2009, and was seen as one of the up and coming stars of the series, going on to do even bigger and better things.
He also drove for a variety of outfits before BJR, including Team Kiwi Racing, Team Dynamik and Tasman Motorsport. Richards raced in the V8s for eleven seasons and was a three-time podium winner at the Bathurst 1000.
Richards’ widow, Charlotte and his two children will present the trophy with their blessings.
"While Jason raced mostly in Australia, there was no more proud New Zealander," Mrs Richards said.
"To have the trophy named in his honour and to have it presented for the first time in the 50th anniversary of his favourite New Zealand race track is special.
"I hope this trophy not only recognises what he achieved in the sport and how he went about it but also inspires other young Kiwis that with big dreams and hard work, you can achieve anything."
On his passing, V8 SuperCars boss of the time Tony Cochrane also paid very high respects to the driver.
"Jason Richards was, and will always be remembered, as a highly respected race car driver and champion on and off the race track. Jason will be remembered for his great grin and his love and loyalty to his family. Both of which made him an immensely admired figure in pit lane," Cochrane said in a statement.
It is fantastic to see Jason commemorated in this way, and the team at RichardsF1.comagain, pays their respects.
So it was a good weekend for the V8s and particularly Brad Jones Racing's Fabian Coulthard who won two out of the weekend's three races!
I've written wrap ups of race two and three on the trusty Richard's F1 site: you can find the link to race review two here (Bright's Drought Over), but here is what I wrote for the final...
Kiwi driver Fabian Coulthard sealed the deal at the Symmons Plains track yesterday taking advantage of a late safety car appearance, chalking up his second V8 win at the Tasmania Microsoft Office 365 in race three for the weekend.
The Lockwood Racing Holden driver also won the 60/60 Super Sprint race on Saturday and, coming off fine form over the Albert Park weekend, converted the speed into Championship points.
Coulthard pipped Ford driver Mark Winterbottom three laps from the finish followed by James Courtney in the HRT Holden. The Drivers’ Championship lead is still in Jamie Whincup’s hands however, who came in fifth under the rear wing of Jason Bright in the BJR Holden. Will Davison, Jonathon Webb, Scott McLaughlin, Shane van Gisbergen and Garth Tander rounded out the top ten places.
Coulthard was naturally pretty stoked to claim his first two official wins this weekend.
“We got three fake ones at the Australian Grand Prix and it’s great to get one under the belt,” the New Zealander said. “We came in confident after the performance at the Grand Prix. You can’t ask for much more and the team did such a great job today.”
It was a well fought race, with lots of action for viewers. It almost ended tragically in fact, with the young Scott Pye crashing head-on into the wall in the final stages of the race.
It has been reported an issue with the brakes (i.e. they failed!), but fortunately Pye is fine and amazingly walked away with only sore joints. The Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport rookie said there was no warning before the brakes went.
“I’d been pumping (the brake pedal)… but I pumped it and it went to the floor, so there was nothing I could do… My eyes were dragged to that Armco wall and I knew I was going in.
“I saw the Armco wall took some of that impact and got pushed back. It’s a freak accident; it’s one of those things,” he lamented.
Pye will be out of contention for the Auckland race this weekend, but the team are hopeful they will be back for Perth.
“A big hit like that puts such a shockwave of force through the chassis that I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s stuff that’s damaged at the back of it,” team owner Lucas said afterwards.
“Until we have it back to an absolute shell we’re not going to know the extent of the damage.
“New Zealand is definitely out of the question but touch wood we’ll have it back for Perth.”
Subsequently, the race was temporarily halted behind the safety car and restarted with only a few laps to go. It was the race’s second restart after the full course yellows were brought out earlier in the race to clear the rear diffuser of Tim Slade’s Mercedes on the track.
Various cars took damage throughout the race that they will have to carry over or repair in the next few days before they head off across the seas to the New Zealand meet. Todd Kelly battled issues throughout the race and stopped quite early on Lap 20 with another engine failure in his Nissan Altima.
Lowndes, who was hoping to break the record for all-time wins, didn’t have a spectacular weekend and finished in eleventh place.
Jonny Reid from Wilson Security Dick John Racing, praised the format of the race nonetheless.
“The race format was really good and I’m sure the fans enjoyed it. The racing was absolutely crazy in the early laps of both legs with cars running door to door and some big dust clouds where cars were spearing off.”
We wish all the drivers and their teams the best of luck in getting their gear across for the next meet in only a few days! Stay tuned for more V8 news from RichardsF1.com!
Well, the good times never stop in the drilling world! This last week has included travelling to three different rig sites, driving for too many hours and even a rodeo somewhere in the middle! Spending all this time in this world does expose one to interesting conversations and lines though...and I thought they might be worth sharing :)
NB: Generally, each person is referred to as 'old mate', or OM for short. 'Old Mate' is Australian for 'that random dude', or someone whose name you have forgotten.
***
Over the two way radio, two of my colleagues are catching up on the public truckers' channel:
OM 1: Where did you put the [xx piece of equipment]
OM 2: Oh I duno, do you want me to come and show you?
OM 1: Yeah, you should probably get over here.
OM 2: Do you miss me already do ya?
Random Truck Driver Sounding Annoyed: Do you guys want to get a channel?
***
The explanation of the Pope-selection system:
Old Mate: When they get together to pick the pope, they just have a bit of the smoke, and then when it's really good and they've decided, they'll have a bit of that white smoke... that's what you see.
Me: Oh, that...makes perfect sense... (!)
***
I work with an Arab looking man who was on the rig floor. One roughneck decided to call him from my shack.
Roughneck: Rig floor, do you copy? [No reply]
He looks at me and grins. Oh dear, I thought.
Roughneck: Rig Floor? Durka Durka Jihad Jihad! [Looks over and laughs. I'm confused. Does he know I am Arab too? Am I supposed to reply?]
Me: You got it wrong; I think you mean Durka Durka Mohammed Jihad...?
***
Another lady visited the site, a lovely blonde engineer. It was hilarious watching all the guys register a woman on site. Later on, I had a conversation to one of the crew about the whole 'affair'...
OM 1: Oh did you see the chick come on site? There were eyes popping out everywhere!
Me: Ha! That's great. Did you guys get a good look did you?
OM 1 (seemingly a little dismayed): No, I didn't get a good enough look. I will next time though...
Me: It's getting crazy now there are two of us women on site ay!
OM 1 (looks at me with a slightly worried expression): I know. It's so distracting. All of us just go a bit silly really. Even when you came on we went a little silly.
Me: Don't you guys get over it once you know who we are and that?
The two crew members looked at each other.
OM 1 and 2: Nope.
***
***
While at the Rodeo (this isn't a rig conversation, but it was funny...)
Announcer: Racing is not discriminiative, it's speedway.
One of the very worthwhile groups that I work with is the Institute of Mechanical Engineers, and I've gotten involved this year to try to increase their student involvement and relevance. One of the ways we are doing so is with a Student Night, this week! I don't really want to use this space as just free-for-all advertisements and plugs, but I thought this would be worth it.. (and I really like the posters I made!).
We have an awesome line up set up - including:
Martin Johnstone - BP Maintenance Planning Superintendent
Jonathan Martin - Arrow Energy LNG Implementation Manager
Michael Rosengren - Asset President BMC
Milton Carruthers - Hatch Associates Principal Mechanical Engineer
Leslie Yeow - IMechE QLD President, Energex
Ranehipura Dharmasiri (Daya) - IMechE rep, Queensland Rail
Jacqui Mcgill - General Manager, South Walker Creek Mine
Jessica Holz - Umow Lai Consulting Engineers
Belinda Herden - Turnarounds Engineer, BP, IMechE Young Member of the Year Award Recipient (2012)
The details can be found HERE on the Facebook page (and that's where you can register!). It's this week on the 11th of April!
...and I know this is what you have been waiting for, here are the posters!
Hello all! How are we this week? I’ve been flat chat at work doing the oil and gas thing, while also working on getting a few things moving on the Youth Without Borders side and writing a whole bunch of different articles… anyhow, enough about me! Let us look at interesting things on the net recently…
This one is pretty cool: Miracles of Engineering in Peru: Drinking Water Out of a Billboard!
“Each generator captures the air humidity and from there it goes to a reverse osmosis system. Each tank stores about 5.28 gallons of water. These 5 generators purify the vital liquid and its total is gathered in one tank,” said one of UTEC’s engineers involved in the project. The billboard has already produced about 2,496.42 gallons of drinking water in a 3 month period, an amount that equals the water consumption of hundreds of families per month.”
And, don’t wait for someone to come and take you by the hand. Don’t wait for the leaders and Imams. They have their hands full. You must initiate the process.
You must lead the way.
There is a perception among many of us that it is fine to be an Indian Muslim, Pakistani Muslim, Algerian Muslim, and Palestinian Muslim. And so on. But, for some reason, there is a false perception that it is not fine to be an Australian Muslim. The ‘Australian’ part is seen by some as ‘kufr’ (unbelief). Don’t be fooled by this simplistic and false understanding.
Don’t be afraid to say you are a Muslim and an Australian. Don’t be afraid to say that you are an Australian Muslim.
It sounds harsh, but it has to be said. It’s important to understand that doing good things does not make you good. It is important to understand that good people can and frequently do do bad things. Not all good doers (confession: I positively loathe the term “do gooder”) are nice. You need to enter the aid world understanding that you will have to work and deal and maybe even share quarters with some truly nasty individuals. You need to understand that you, too, may do things that are not nice, things that you’re not particularly proud of. And you need to understand that this is nothing at all about your competence as a humanitarian. Being deeply committed to reducing the amount of injustice in the world, and expending great amounts of energy and personal resource towards that end in no way precludes you from treating your staff unjustly. It’s the opposite of “but he/she/they mean(s) well…” argument, all too frequently used to justify everything from poor individual performance to ridiculously reasoned startup NGOs.
It's that time of year again, V8's season! I've been writing for the awesome website, Richard's F1, and here is re-post one of the most recent articles - a preview of this weekend's Championship round, the Tasmania 365.
***
Not too far from the picturesque town of Launceston, Tasmania lies the scene of the next V8 Supercar series showdown, the Symmons Plains Raceway. The short racetrack will be hosting Race 3, 4 and 5 of the Championship, the Tasmania Microsoft Office 365.
This weekend will be the first time the series will host the new 60/60 Super Sprint race format, which is designed for more exciting racing – perhaps V8′s version of 20/20 cricket.
It could also prove to be a historic race for Craig Lowndes, who if he wins, will break Mark Skaife’s all time record of 91 race wins. Skaife has in fact asked permission from Channel 7 to leave the commentary box early and be the first to congratulate the driver if he does manage the feat.
Let’s hope for a big weekend of exciting racing then! Don’t know what to expect? Continue reading below…
The Circuit
2013 TASMANIA MICROSOFT OFFICE 365
Date:
5-7 April 2013
Venue:
Symmons Plains Raceway, near Launceston, Tasmania
Lap Length:
2.410km
Race Lap Record:
51.4713s, Rick Kelly (Holden Commodore VE) – 2009
Event Schedule:
Free Practice Session 1 (lower 50% in points table)
Fri 11:00-11:30
Free Practice Session 2 (all drivers)
Fri 12:15-12:45
Free Practice Session 3 (all drivers)
Fri 13:30-14:00
Free Practice Session 4 (all drivers)
Sat 09:35-10:05
Race 1 Qualifying
Sat 11:50-12:10
Race 1 Heat 1 (25 laps, 60km)
Sat 14:45-15:15
Race 1 Heat 2 (25 laps, 60km)
Sat 15:40-16:10
Race 2 Qualifying
Sun 10:10-10:25
Race 2 Qualifying Top-10 Shootout
Sun 10:35-10:50
Race 2 (42 laps, 100km)
Sun 14:05-14:50
Race 3 (42 laps, 100km)
Sun 16:30-17:15
Past Winners:
Will Davison (Ford Falcon FG)
2012 (Race 1)
Jamie Whincup (Holden Commodore VE)
2012 (Race 2)
The Symmons Plains circuit is a short and narrow strip at 2.41km, on which drivers will be clocking an average speed of 167km/h. The top speed is usually around the 270km/h mark, however the fast track is quite hard on brakes and we will see a lot of middle pedal action over the weekend.
The best overtaking spots are the notoriously slow and tight hairpin at turn four, known as Brambles hairpin, as well as the left turn at the end of the back straight. As one of the slowest turns (if not the slowest), it is proving a concern for a few of the series newcomers, including Nissan, as explained below.
Rewinding to 2012
The 2012 event was run in a two-race format, and the Ford Performance Racing duo of Will Davison and Mark Winterbottom claimed a team 1-2 after a late-race scrap for the lead in Saturday’s 59-lap race.
Polesitter Winterbottom had been shuffled down to third place in the opening laps, and used the compulsory pit stop to leapfrog ahead of second-placed Jamie Whincup in the TeamVodafone Holden.
Winterbottom then set about chasing down his teammate, who started to lose pace as a right-leg cramp set in, but he was ultimately unable to find a way past. The pair crossed the finish line 0.6 seconds apart, while Whincup fended off a late-race challenge from Shane van Gisbergen in the Stone Brothers Ford.
Sunday’s race was staged over 84 laps, and Whincup merrily won is despite suffering a dramatic spin in the early stages of the race.
Teammate and polesitter Craig Lowndes led the early proceedings before the first round of pit stops, but he suffered a rare blunder shortly after, tagging new leader Davison at the hairpin and breaking his front-left suspension.
Davison struggled with the handling of his car thereafter, and surrendered the lead to Winterbottom and Whincup, who head recovered from his earlier spin and was now chasing down the Ford.
A new racing format
The new and exciting Super Sprint format, debuting at Tasmania the Saturday, consists of two separate 60km halves, with a 15 min half time break. Sunday’s schedule includes two 100km races (all with no refuelling).
With the Super Sprint format, the grid position during the first half will be decided by qualifying, while the position on the second half depends on the car’s position at half time.
The second half of the race will also see a side by side rolling start, and points and podium results will be awarded after this race.
With the short length of this track and the high risk of small mistakes sending drivers to the middle or back of the pack, this format will definitely spice things up and hopefully provide some interesting racing and results.
The format has been a talking point among the drivers for some time now.
“I’m not sure how the double file re-starts will go, especially at Symmons Plains where the front straight is like one big corner and not a whole lot of room to manoeuvre into Turn 1 and 2. That could provide some action, but hopefully we’re in front of that,” James Moffat, driver for Team Norton Nissan said.
“The format is going to be interesting,” added Ford Performance Racing driver Mark Winterbottom.
“The fact we stop mid-race on Saturday and then do the rolling re-start poses a lot of unknowns. It will be trial and error for everyone and there has been a lot of talk around the new 60/60 Super Sprint so until we do it we can’t really judge how it changes the racing.”
Facts, Stats & Predictions
It must be said that Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes, given their form in the previous two races and their history on this track are sure favourites to take out this weekend’s podium. Given the track though and the new style of racing on Saturday however, anything is possible.
The Symmons Plain’s meet should also provide an opportunity for a few of the manufacturers to either consolidate or improve their position. Ford Performance Racing for example, need to better their performance of the season so far, with Will Davison frustrated at his team for only having one place in the top 14 in the table. The Nissan Altimas, having done well in the first two races, are concerned about the effect of the Symmond Plains hairpin (the slowest corner on the calendar) on their capacity to race well.
“The thing that is probably worrying me the most is the hairpin at Symmons Plains,” confirmed Nissan Motorsport team co-owner, technical director and driver Todd Kelly.
V8 Supercars reports that Kelly even suggested the perfect lap in qualifying would struggle to net a top 10 time for the new Altimas because the Nissan VK56DE V8 engine is lacking the meaty torque curve of its Ford and Chev push-rod rivals.
The horsepower deficit in general is likely to hurt both newcomers, with the track consisting of a number of long straights and requiring all and any extra power. The underpowered Nissan and Erebus AMGs are likely to take some pain…
Another issue of note includes the possibility of carnage with the second half of the Super Sprint’s rolling start. This is even more of an issue this week with the back to back races across the seas as explained in our previous story. If a car is too damaged over this weekend, it might be more than just one race the team will have to forgo…
In all, it looks set to be an action-packed and intriguing weekend in Tasmania – make sure you keep visiting RichardsF1.com for all of the latest news and analysis from Tasmania!
Hi all! Just wanting to share some exciting news with you all. I have the amazing fortune to be a contributor in the Griffith Review’s awesome 40th Edition of Women and Power! It will be available in late April.
The empowerment of women it is one of the most remarkable revolutions of the past century. But like all good revolutions it is still not settled.
In a generation women have taken control of their economic fate, risen to the most powerful political positions in the land and climbed to the top of the corporate ladder. Just when it seemed there was general acceptance of this change, a misogynist backlash persists.
The impact of this revolution extends across the whole society – from homes to schools, politics to the military, marriage to media – challenging long held verities.
In Women & Power, Griffith REVIEW will bring an international perspective to these dilemmas, exploring the changing relationship between women and power in public and private spheres, here and abroad.
Have social changes caught up with economic changes? Are children paying a price for the rise of the two-income household? Can women have it all? Does it matter whether Julia Gillard's fruit bowl is empty or full?
Women & Power will bring provocative and insightful perspectives on these questions. The empowerment of women was one of the great changes of the past 50 years, handling its consequences remains a pressing challenge.
***
The piece is a short memoir about my life so far on the rigs… it comes out in late April! I will also be at the Sydney Writers Festival speaking on this, so quite excited indeed at the opportunities, Alhamdulilah!
The Griffith Review, edited by my amazing friend and mentor Julianne Shultz…
…celebrates good writing and promotes public debate. It steps back from the issues of the day and gives writers the space to grow on the page.
Essays reflect on the underlying significance of events and trends, explain the details that get lost in the news and examine the unintended consequences of public policy.
I am really excited about contributing to this wonderful edition, so stay tuned – and maybe even get the edition!
How many times have you thought: I wish I was a fly on the wall on a drilling rig so I could listen to what they talk about...
Oh, just me then?
Well let me fill you in on a few of the unique conversations I have on a day to day basis with the men I work with. The following conversation took place between me and an old fella (OF) I had literally just met and I think almost offended by asking how many head of cattle he had - I thought that was 'general farm talk' but apparently not, that was me asking how much money he had... Anyway, one learns.
OF: So where are you from?
Me: Brisbane...
OF looks at me suspiciously
OF: What are you born in Australia are you?
Darn, I thought. He got me on that one... When I replied in the negative, he simply nodded...
OF: Mm I thought so! (With a smirk!)
Later in the conversation, out of the blue...
OF: So I didn't see you at the local town's big dance the other weekend, you need to get to those sort of things.
Me: Oh really?
OF: Yeh, I can introduce you to some people. There's this lovely boy from the so-and-so family and they're really quite wealthy, I can introduce you. He's not a bad kid, about your age, he'll be good.
Me: (not sure if he is being serious, and thinking 'did this guy -whom I just met - seriously just offer to set me up with a random Australian country lad? Me, an obviously brown, Muslim non-Australian born chick? Wow, isn't multiculturalism awesome...) Oh how kind, thank you?
OF: Yeh no worries, next time we are in town I'll introduce you to him, you can go from there.
Who knows what will happen next time I go down town!
***
I walked into the drillers' room - or the doghouse as it is called, as was greeted with this: (D=Driller)
D: You hear that sound?
Me: Nope...what sound?
D: That ticking, it's your biological clock. You might be here now, but one day you'll just switch and you'll be wanting to iron clothes and feed babies... Trust me!
Me:...
But what if my biological clock draws me to the ninja mafia instead?
It is an interesting world, a little bubble if you will, where you meet the craziest personalities but also some of the most interesting... I love it. Stay tuned for more, and do share if you enjoyed it!
I wrote this post originally for Richard's F1 - check it out here!
Exciting times for the V8 Supercars! Following the unveiling of the Austin 400’s race format of Ultimate Sprints on Wednesday, there is now talk of Chevrolet joining the fray as an unofficial manufacturer over the May event!
A spokesperson for Holden Motorsport said that: “A firm decision on its marketing plans with Chevrolet for Texas is yet to be made and that nothing is currently being ruled out.”
The Chevrolet link can be made a number of ways and has been done before by the parent company, General Motors. It is particularly timely as well, considering that the Holden VF commodore will soon be available in the United States, under the Chevrolet SS badge.
Previous cases of rebadging include Todd Kelly’s Commodore VE in Bahrain as the Chevrolet Lumina, and Rick Kelly’s rebadging as a Buick a couple of years earlier in 2005 when the series made its brief foray to China.
Rebadging makes business sense, as the cars are then marketed as exports in that nation. This is likely part of the campaign to introduce Holden to the States, after the rebadged Aussie sedan debuted in at the NASCAR Daytona Speedway earlier this year. Shipments of the Commodore to the US are penned to begin in November.
The Car Of The Future Holden Commodore has already been sent to the southern states of America to market the race, and is already dressed up in Chevy bodywork.
The 28 cars will compete over a weekend in four races of 100km each, two on Saturday and Sunday respectively. The reported crowd estimate is 87,000; however with no major local star looking likely to compete, as well as the NASCAR All-Star weekend and the Indianapolis 500 qualifying action all over the same few days, it might be a tougher sell than expected.
For comparison, last year’s debut Formula 1 race drew crowds of 265,000 over the three days – meaning around 88,000 a day. However a recent two day Grand-Am meet just garnered 27,000. The V8s will likely fall somewhere in between.
Interestingly for the Australians, this might be a way past the 2016 manufacturing deadline. Mark Reuss, head of GM in North America, has indicated Holden could keep building the new VF Commodore beyond 2016 if US demand takes off.
“That’s a champagne problem to have. I’m sure the guys at Holden can find a way to keep building it if they had to. General Motors and the guys at Holden can be very resourceful,” he said
Commodore fans will be hoping the Americans love their V8 beast more than ever!
The questions of women in the workforce and how that affects society’s fabric have been posed since the early days of the feminist movement. The question of what is gained – or lost – as women assume a larger role in a country’s economic burden is not so much just about the economic aspect, but spans the issues of the political, social and cultural impacts as well.
Women on the job in Afghanistan, by United Nations Photo, on Flickr, 2012 CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
As a young woman growing up in a Western country with heritage and cultural influences from the East, the question of women’s role in society more broadly has been of interest. The different cultural expectations of women, and the interestingly underlying and sometimes unexpected similarities give an indication of how far women have come, but also how far we still have to go.
Women are said to be more intuitive with different values, including empathy and support. They are also said to be better team players and are able to look at problems more holistically. On a more extreme level, workers in traditionally male dominated industries such as oil rigs have anecdotally welcomed women as they “make it seem more like the real world” and “bring a different mentality so we even end up talking about different things”.
These are all sweeping generalisations though; can it really be said that “all women are empathetic” and that is why they are good for the marketplace? Is it fair to pigeon hole an entire gender into an expected set of stereotyped values?
Perhaps these generalisations are more damaging than beneficial and are part of the reason women are thought of in a particular way, limiting their ability to contribute in a meaningful manner.
An interesting article on the Financial Times also questions this focus on “what women bring”, concluding that perhaps it just comes down to the skill set of the individual and this is where the focus should remain. This particularly applies to women in senior and leadership positions in companies.
Or to put it another way, the women who “make it” perhaps do so because they are far better than the men. It might mean the focus should be less on “what women bring” and more on getting them into leadership roles in the first place. (Source)
Generalisations aside though, the increase in the number and proportion of women in the workforce does have implications on society more generally. There is no more obvious platform for this societal shift than of the oft asked question “Can women have it all”. Interestingly, it is a question posed usually by women themselves.
“Busy Mom”, by gwilmore, on Flickr, 2005, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Anne Marie Slaughter’s well read essay in the Atlantic, “Why Women Still Can’t Have it All” in 2012 was a profound example of an ambitious, accomplished female role model who argued that women weren’t able to have it all – ‘all’ meaning an ambitious career and a fulfilling family life. The article, based on Slaughter’s personal life as a senior US Department of State employee, provoked responses from around the globe and shocked many, opening up a public conversation about what the result of having women in the workforce meant for our society.
It would seem that from a purely economic point of view, having women a part of the workforce and contributing to nation building in a corporate sense does nothing but improve, gain, increase and enrich productivity and our work place environment. Where things are perhaps lost is not in the office or on site but outside that world – in homes and within families. This is not to say that having women in the workforce is purely detrimental to families, but that society needs to accommodate the fact that women spend more time away from the home and the resultant shift needs to be accounted and allowed for. Society has accepted that women are part and parcel of the working world, now the cultural change needs to follow so that the overall outcome is of one positive benefit for all.
Women collectively breastfeeding for IWD – the right to work and family, by Amadeus Sanz, on Flickr, 2008 CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Sometimes images like this suggest that even with women in the workforce and contributing to our society, mentalities still have a way to go.
