Zelda D'Aprano: 'The case presented was not equal pay for equal work, but for doing away with the differential in salaries, the claim being that the 25% difference in salaries was discrimination on the grounds of sex. The evidence given by Bob Hawke, the ACTU advocate of the time, was irrefutable. The women sat there day by day as if we were mute, while the men presented evidence for and against our worth. It was humiliating to have to sit there and not say anything about our own worth. I found the need to sit there silent almost beyond my control, and was incensed with the entire set up. When the decision of this case was presented everyone was shocked, for it had nothing to do with the evidence or case presented.
This decision meant that women could only obtain equal pay for equal work as very few women were doing the same jobs as men. The result for the women in the meat industry meant that only 12% of women would receive equal pay. It finished up, though, that only 12% of the women got equal pay. They didn’t get what Bob Hawke fought for, just equal pay for equal work. Then nothing happened. Zilch!
I got a phone call from the secretary of the Insurance Staff Federation, Diane Sonnenberg. She asked me if I would come to a meeting of an organization called VEWOC, which stood for Victorian Employed Women’s Organizations’ Council. It was made up of the trade unions with female members. I went to the meeting. She was there but no-one else turned up. Not one other person. We started talking and she said that maybe we needed to chain ourselves up like the Suffragettes did. We laughed, but I thought about it and said I was prepared to do it. I wanted to do it as part of VEWOC but the secretary of the Clothing Trades Union almost had a fit over the phone.' Zelda by Zelda D'Aprano Spinifex Press 1995
5...ZELDA D'APRANO CHAINED
Zelda D'Aprano : 'We decided I would chain myself up against the Commonwealth Government Building doors, because the government should set the example. Private industry won’t do anything if the government won’t. I said I would like a few women there to give me moral support. So, a woman came from my office, Val Ogden came from the Metal Trades Union and Bette Olle came from the Union of Australian Women. They all had banners. This was our lunch hour and I asked Val if she would nip down to the shop and get me something to eat and drink. I couldn’t drink all morning in case I needed a toilet while I was chained up.' Zelda by Zelda D'Aprano Spinifex Press 1995
Zelda by Zelda D'Aprano Spinifex Press 1995
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6...POLICE RESPONSE
Zelda D'Aprano: 'She was away when the Federal police came and ordered me to unlock the chain. I wouldn’t have anyway but Val had the key. Eventually they got big bolt cutters and they snipped through the chain like paper. I also had a Justice of the Peace, a woman, in the background in case I was charged but I wasn’t. I received a phone call from Alva Geike. She congratulated me on my courage and said that if I did another one she and a friend of hers, Thelma Solomon, would like to be in it too. She wanted to know when we were going to another one. Well, I suggested there could be a problem for them as they were both teachers. I said “what about the press?” Alva replied that we would just ask the press not to take any photos. She was even more naïve than I was.
So, I heard there was a teacher’s strike being talked about and suggested we could do something then. If they were on strike anyway, then there was no reason they should be at school.' Zelda by Zelda D'Aprano Spinifex Press 1995
7...ARBITRATION COMMISSION CHAIN UP
Zelda D'Aprano: 'That is exactly what happened. We decided to chain ourselves up at the Arbitration Commission. In the meantime a young girl who worked in the office of the liquor trade union said she would like to be in it, too. So when we heard the teachers were going on strike I rang her. I got onto the secretary, Jimmie Munro. I knew him from the Communist Party. I told him there was a young woman who wanted to join us in her lunch hour. “Oh, no “, he said “we couldn’t have that. The members of the union might want to know why she was doing that”. So, that was another Communist who bit the dust in my opinion. Then I rang the Metal Trades Union, my other comrade Laurie Carmichael. I asked if it would be alright for Val Osborne to come. “Oh, no” he said. “We like to have notice for things like this”. I told him we didn’t have any time for notice and that it had to be the next day when the teachers’ strike was on. He said it was still no. All this was my university.
The next day Thelma, Alva and I chained ourselves up. Alma Morton attended, too, though she didn’t chain herself up. The same Federal police came. They warned me if ever I did this again serious action would be taken.' Women's Web - Women's Stories, Women's Actions
Yvonne Smith: 'We stood outside calling out slogans which could be heard outside the (Arbitration) Court and waving banners such as:
- UNEQUAL PAY IS SEX DISCRIMINATION
- MAKE 1969 EQUAL PAY YEAR
- EQUAL PAY IS A HUMAN RIGHT
- LET'S NOT BUILD ON CHEAP LABOUR
- DELIBERATE DELAY ON EQUAL PAY
- MEAT INDUSTRY WOMEN SUPPORT EQUAL PAY UAW magazine - Our Women June-Aug 1969 in Women's Web
8...THE WOMEN'S ACTION COMMITTEE (WAC)
Zelda D'Aprano: 'We then got down to the seriousness of an organisation of women who would be prepared to be militant in the cause of women.' (Power, Profit & Protest)
Dear Friend,
You are cordially invited to attend a meeting of women who feel the need to establish a women's action committee.
... The inaugural meeting will be held at the home of Miss A Geike
... Hoping for your participation.
Kind regards, Zelda D'Aprano.
The meeting called by Alva, Thelma Solomon and I took place on the 23nd March, 1970 and fourteen women came ... The women immediately began doing things. Letters were being sent to firms which discriminated against women in advertising for staff, letters were sent to sponsors of television programs who were using sexist advertising and a petition was circulated on the abortion issue. We agreed on The Women's Action Committee for the name of our organisation and drafted a list of demands which we adopted as policy. ... The policy was:
ECONOMIC EQUALITY
a.
One rate of pay for the job performed. That is, a basic salary for all adult workers, plus increments for qualifications and necessary experience etc;
b. Equal opportunity in employment;
c. Credit given to women should be under the same conditions as men. No male guarantor should be required.
d. Maternity leave of one year with no loss of seniority or superannuation. Maternity allowance equal to the woman's full salary for six weeks (as recommended by the ILO);
e. Child care, kindergarten and child minding facilities should be increased;
f. Part time work should be made available for women who require it;
g. Retraining centres should be set up for women returning to the workforce after rearing children.
SOCIAL EQUALITY
a. Women should not be used or considered as sex symbols eg in advertisements, bathing, beauty queen competitions, employment etc.
b. All business and political organisations, state functions and public places should be open to women;
c. The attitude of society to women's role, and so called 'feminine behaviour' must be changed to allow women to develop their full potential.
EQUAL EDUCATION
a. No distinction should be made for girls and boys (Primary School);
b. No distinction should be made for girls and boys (Secondary School);
c. Girls to be made aware of the longevity of their working lives;
d. Girls to encouraged to undertake apprenticeships in all suitable trades.
ABORTION LAW REFORM
a. Abortion should be available at low cost to all women after consultation with their doctor;
b. A substantial increase in family planning clinics. Partly used suburban Baby Health Centres should be used for this purpose;
c. Liberal sex education should be provided for children.
The Women's Action Committee does not have any political affiliations. It is a pressure group working for the equality of women. As individuals, all members have the right to belong to any political organisation of their choosing. Zelda by Zelda D'Aprano, Spinifex Press 1995
9...WOMEN'S ACTION COMMITTEE PAMPHLET ON SUFFRAGE
Women's Action Committee pamphlet:: '... the great victory of the suffrage movement was that it demonstrated for the first time that women can organise as women to raise demands that meet our needs, and that through struggle we can win these demands. The demands the women's movement puts forward today ... are demands which directly affect all women, and one's the majority of women can agree upon. It is about time we showed Australians what feminism is all about ... That the struggle for women's suffrage was unable to end the oppression of women - the oldest, deepest form of oppression in history - does not mean that it failed or should not have been waged. It simply means that those of us in the feminist movement today must pick up our sisters' struggle, inspired by their example, and carry it further.' Bon Hull papers Melbourne University
10..CONSCIOUSNESS RAISING
Zelda D'Aprano: 'The women in our committee decided to have a Consciousness Raising group. We had read that our sisters in America were doing this and decided to give it a try. ... We spoke of our childhood, our feeling towards parents and sisters and brothers, of our experience with men, our marriages, our lack of confidence, our feelings of inadequacy and our general non-being. What a Revelation! For the first time in our lives, women were able to understand each others' hearts and minds and heads. One elderly woman remarked that she never thought it possible for women to interrelate with each other free from judgement, condemnation and bitchiness. We discovered with time that those of us who were in this initial group all had an extremely warm and close feeling towards each other - the result of Consciousness Raising.' Women's Web Women's Stories, Women's Actions www.womensweb.com.au
Melbourne Women's Liberation Newsletter: 'In consciousness raising groups women gain self confidence through mutual support. This enables them to challenge assumptions about women's roles. The twofold gains of consciousness raising - enlarged consciousness and greater self-confidence - constrain women to act politically in the cause of radical feminism. As we become aware of our oppression we fight for our own liberation.
One Melbourne woman said: 'It is a process of reducing your isolation, of understanding your situation in terms of other's situation. You learn that other people have similar problems. They can help you deal with yours and support you when you are trying to deal with the situation. You learn to understand yourself, and to understand how society works. Politics is not something that exists in a book or what happens in Parliament. It has everything to do with relationships, with other people at work, in the family, in social settings.' University of Melbourne
Pamphlet: 'Conscious raising, in which you will talk about personal experience without broad analysis, will accomplish the following - Clean out your head, Uncork and redirect your anger, Learn to understand women, Discover that your personal problem is not only yours.
Suggested order of consciousness raising (a topic a week, or month)
1. Discuss your relationship with men as they have evolved.
2. Have you ever felt that men have pressured you into having sexual relationships. Have you ever lied about orgasm?
3. Discuss your parents and their relationship to each other and to you.
4. How do you feel about marriage, having children, pregnancy etc.
5. Discuss your relationship with other women. Have you ever felt competition for men?
6. Discuss your relationship with women in your family.
7. Problems of growing up a girl - socialization: Were you treated differently from your brother?
8. How do you feel about getting old (and your mother getting old)? What do you fear most?
9. Sex-objects - Do you feel like one? If so, how? Do you ever feel invisible?
10. Are you a nice girl? Is your smile like a nervous tic?
11. What would you most like to do in life and what stopped you?
12. What do you most want this movement to accomplish?
Note: We have CR groups in Women's Liberation. If you are interested in getting involved in one please ring the Women's Centre on 51655 weekdays 9-12 and Saturday mornings 9-2.' University of Melbourne
11..THE BANKS CAMPAIGN
Zelda D'Aprano: 'I had already selected the flat I wanted to buy in Carlton ... The agent said I would have no trouble in obtaining a loan from the bank as the sum required was so little. Two thousand five hundred dollars would adequately cover the deficiency to buy the flat which was valued at eleven thousand four hundred dollars. (The bank) grasped on the insurance policies (I had) as a means of avoiding the granting of a loan and suggested I go to the insurance company for a loan. I was worried and went directly from the bank to the AMP society and took the lift to the appropriate floor for house loans.
This was my first visit to this monstrous building and what a monstrosity it was. A huge lump of concrete. A young man came forward at the enquiry desk and, after explaining that I had two policies with the company and was after a loan to purchase a flat, he went and conferred with an older man then returned and told me they do not grant housing loans to women ... I controlled myself as I spoke. 'Do you mean to tell me that you take money from women, but we cannot get a loan? ... What do you mean by taking money from women then refusing to give us loans?' He tried to explain that a woman may incur a debt and then get married. 'So, what if she does?' I asked. He went on to say that she may get pregnant. 'So, what if she does?' and my voice was like steel.
'Who would pay the debt back?' he asked. Then I let go, 'And who's going to pay the ... policy payments she has undertaken if she marries and gets pregnant? That doesn't stop you from signing up women for policies, does it?' ... The man became alarmed and assured me that all insurance companies had an agreed policy towards loans to women. ... I told the WAC of the experience and we immediately started a campaign on all of the banks.' Zelda by Zelda D'Aprano Spinifex Press 1995
Jean Taylor: 'The Women's Action Committee (in 1970) continued to wage a campaign against the banks regarding giving refusing to give loans to women without a male guarantor; wrote innumerable letters to the paper and continued to challenge patriarchal laws and attitudes which discriminate against women.
In 1970 there was also an action for adequate childcare on May 13; The Female Eunuch by Germaine Greer, The Dialectic of Sex by Shulamith Firestone, Sexual Politics by Kate Millet and Sisterhood is Powerful ed Robin Morgan were published.' Maureen O'Connor papers, University of Melbourne
12..ANTI FEMINIST REACTION
After the first meeting John Sorell commented in the Herald, March 16, 1970: 'It's another of those tiresome female suffragette bodies - this time called the Women's Action Committee ... I think Bon Hull is fighting a losing battle. I've seen this sort of organisations before. They generally peter out after some enthusiasm at the start. And the reason they peter out? The apathy of the women themselves. They realize they have never had it so good.' Zelda D'Aprano:, Thelma Solomon papers Melbourne University
Thanks to Zelda D'Aprano Spellbound posters, Dublin
13..WOMAN IS MOVING
Woman is Moving - A Herstory of the Women's Liberation Movement in Victoria, Zelda D'Aprano: 'In society, women and girls relate primarily to men: any organisation duplicates this pattern: the men lead and dominate, the women follow and submit. We close our meetings to men in order to try and break through this pattern, to establish our own leaderless groups and to meet each other over common experiences as women. If we admitted men, there would be a tendency for them, by virtue of their experience, vested interests, and status in society, to dominate the organisation. We want, eventually, to be - and help other women to be - in charge of our own lives. Therefore we must be in charge of our own movement, directly, not by remote control. This means that not only those with experience in politics, but all must learn to make their own decisions, both political and personal.
For this reason, groups small enough for all to take part in discussions and decisions are the basic unit of our movement. We feel that the small group makes personal commitment a possibility and a necessity, and that it provides understanding and solidarity. Each small group is autonomous, holding different positions and engaging in different types of activity. As a federation of a number of different groups, Women's Liberation is essentially heterogeneous, incorporating with it a wide range of opinions and plans for action.' Zelda D'Aprano papers, State Library of Victoria
Zelda D'Aprano: 'The Women's Action Committee was five months old when, late one Saturday afternoon, I picked up the phone to hear Bon's (Bon Hull) voice saying "Oh Zelda, I hope you won't be ashamed of me." "Why should i be ashamed of you?" I asked. "I was arrested this morning ..." Bon (had) wended her way through the various city arcades towards McGills in order to do a survey ... She reached the General Post Office ... stood in the background beside another elderly woman and they began to converse and observe the (anti-Vietnam War) proceedings. Within minutes a brawl broke out ... Bon was arrested and charged with offensive language and resisting arrest. (She) explained that had she been guilty of the charges she would have faced up to the consequences, but she was entirely free of guilt concerning the numerous swear words the police had accused her of using - nor did she resist arrest. Never would she pay the fines ... Bon was the first woman Victorian woman to enter prison because of the Vietnam War ... ' Zelda by Zelda D'Aprano p207 Spinifex
The Herald 11 November 1970: "I had chosen to go to prison because I feel that to pay fines for things I did not do or say would be morally wrong," Mrs Hull said. "Under the conditions of my conviction I fear for my fellow citizens and for the future of my country."
The Sun Friday November 13 1970 p 3: "Mrs Bon Hull, 55, who went to jail on Wednesday "on principle" was released from Fairlea prison late yesterday after a red headed man paid her fine. Mrs Hull said at her Glen Iris home last night she had been "intimidated" into accepting the gesture of the unknown man." Zelda D'Aprano papers State Library of Victoria
Jenny: 'Sisters, change is a living possibility.' Melbourne Feminist Collection 1
Jean Taylor: 'November 20, 1971 the first abortion law reform demonstration was held in the city of Melbourne.' See Chapter 17 'Whose Right to Choose - Our Lives, Our Bodies' Maureen O'Connor papers University of Melbourne
14..1970 WE EARN 75%, WE PAY 75% The Trams
Zelda D'Aprano: 'We started straight away. We went on the trams and paid 75% of the fare because we received 75% of men’s wages. About that, I went to the Communist leader of the tramways union. He was a man who had spent time in jail because of his union activities. I told him what we were going to do on the trams. I said that our argument was not with the staff and I asked him to let them know. “You can’t do that!” he said. He was another Communist for whom, when it came to women, it was a different ball-game. We went ahead and did it anyway.' Zelda by Zelda D'Aprano Spinifex Press 1995
Zelda D'Aprano and Bon Hull Courtesy Zelda D'Aprano
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15..1971 THE 'FAIRLEA FIVE' PROTESTERS
Joan Coxsedge: 'On the Thursday before Easter in 1971, I was one of five Save Our Sons (SOS) women sentenced to fourteen days gaol, joining Jean McLean, Chris Cathie, Rene Miller and Jo MacLaine-Cross. A few months earlier, we had walked into the headquarters of the Department of Labor and National Service in Melbourne and handed out our anti-conscription leaflets, while explaining the options to a trickle of anxious young men registering for National Service.
One turned tail for home stating he would not sign up and others announced they would become conscientious objectors. Suddenly it seemed we had become a threat. Within minutes, six Commonwealth police appeared and asked us to leave. We refused and sat down on some benches. They dragged us out of the office and dumped us in the lift lobby, but we stayed put. Eventually a very flustered fellow came along and announced that he represented the Employers Federation, the owners of the building. He was accompanied by a posse of Victoria Police who ordered us to move on. Once again, we refused to budge. The state wallopers hustled us down to the basement car park into two police cars waiting to ferry us to Russell St HQ, where we were charged with wilful trespass under the Summary Offences Act used by Victoria's reactionary Bolte Government to stifle dissent. Our case was the last to be heard that Easter Thursday - which in itself was a worry - and if the powers-that-be wanted a certain verdict they certainly picked the right magistrate. His allegiance to the League of Rights was was well known. After going through the usual legalistic numbo jumbo, he dished out a mandatory fourteen-day gaol sentence with no option of a fine..
Fairlea Women's Prison - 'With a nervous heart, I bade farewell to my friends ... and was driven in a separate police car to Fairlea Women's Prison, adjoining the Yarra Bend National Park. But there was nothing park-like about Fairlea. It was grey and dismal and surrounded by a high fence topped with barbed wire. Earlier in the year, Fairlea women had rioted against the harsh conditions. The minute we stepped over the threshold we knew why. We had become 'its', the property of the state, and weighed, checked for scars and any other oddities and made to wash our bodies and hair with carbolic soap, a very unpleasant experience.' Joan Coxsedge Cold Tea for Brandy Vulcan Press 2007
Fairlea Prison SLV jc005473
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16..1971 ANTI MISS TEENAGE QUEST CAMPAIGN - 18 June - Anti Miss Teenage Quest demonstration
Zelda D'Aprano: The Women's Action Committee (also) decided to protest at the MISS TEENAGE QUEST being held at the Dallas Brooks Hall. There we were with our banners draped from the balcony, protesting against the exploitation of women's bodies for charitable purposes. We were approached by the newspaper reporters and again it was essential for one of us to speak on behalf of our movement. I was afraid to project myself now because of my employment situation, but someone had to do it, and I not only had the confidence but also the least to lose. Our women all had the courage, but they still lacked confidence.
When we left the hall, we decided to have supper at a pizza place in Carlton. After supper, I was the first to wander out. As I stood waiting for the other women, a car slowly drove along the gutter and came to a halt. The driver tried to attract my attention as Thelma approached. I grabbed hold of her arm and said in a voice loud enough for the fellow to hear, "I saw him first and he's mine." Thelma took up the challenge and said, "But you had the last one." Alva by this time was in the group and she started, "You two both had your turn, what about me!" And there we were, all arguing over who was going to have the bloke ... the fellow got such a shock, he drove off like a rocket while we doubled up with laughter.' p 197 Zelda by Zelda D'Aprano Spinifex 1995
Courtesy Zelda D'Aprano
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17..THE SELLING OF SEX - Beauty Contests
Alva Geike: 'In some instances the selling of sex is illegal. But when it comes to beauty contests moral judgements are forgotten. Maybe you don't agree that in beauty contests women are selling their sex.The way to prove our assumption is very clear. Stand near a group of young men at any beach beauty contest and listen to their comments. OK, you say, but this is not just a beauty contest, the girls' personalities and intelligence and interests are considered. But have you ever seen an ugly girl, or even a plain one, win a (rightly called) beauty contest? At parades female contestants are paraded around like cattle, judged like cattle, and the winner is given a blue ribbon just like cattle at the Royal Melbourne show. And just because the comments of the males are a little more sophisticated than at a beach contest does not mean that they are any less crude.
Beauty contests perpetuate the following myths:
a. That so-called beauty is more important than any other quality a young woman might have such as a helpful personality or brain.
b. That women are only of use to the community as ornaments.
c. That women are cute bunnies, not intelligent human beings.
If parents and daughters heard these remarks there would certainly be a marked decline in entrants.' WAC papers Melbourne University archives
Una Stannard: 'Women's mask of beauty is the face of a child, a revelation of the tragic sexual immaturity of both sexes in our culture. The cult of beauty in women, which we smile at as though it were one of culture's harmless follies, is, in fact, an insanity, for it is posited on a false view of reality. Women are not more beautiful than men. The obligation to be beautiful is an artificial burden, imposed by men on women, that keeps both sexes clinging to childhood - the women forced to remain a charming, dependent child, the man driven by his unconscious to be - like an infant - loved and taken care of simply for his beautiful self. Women's mask of beauty is the face of the child, a revelation of the tragic sexual immaturity of both sexes in our culture.' Songs from the Women's Movement Bon Hull papers Melbourne University
Chris Sitka: ' ... Did you understand sister that when I disrupted the beauty contest you had contorted yourself to be in - did you understand how much I loved you.
How deeply it hurt me to watch you smile and curtsy before your oppression as if before some privilege. How I cried realising you were proud to climb out of your obscurity into the deceptive limelight of patriarchal approval.
And then to think you hated and feared our cry for freedom - because you have not even begun to admit suffering - but lie under the triviality of your femininity.
Do you know how strong you could be sister if you could rise above the frail femininity that denies us recognition of the vast power latent in our repressed minds and bodies.' Melbourne Feminist Collection 1 pub The Women's Centre, 16 Little Latrobe St Melbourne
Women with Disabilities Feminist Collective: 'Public Meeting - The Role of Beauty Quests and Charities, their relationship to fundraising. Saturday June 18 3pm 1983 YWCA - Audio loops and wheelchair access All Welcome.' Thelma Solomon papers University of Melbourne
Reject Beauty Quests, Reject Charity Tanya McIntyre SLV rp000149
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18..THE PUBS CAMPAIGN Having Fun, Feeling Alive
Vashti: 'No Room at the Inn - On 27th April forty angry women stormed the public bar of the Polaris Inn hotel insisting on their right to drink at the bar. A month earlier a woman was refused service at this pub which professes to be a liberal and trendy place for students. On the 20th April, thirty women asked for service and were rudely refused. The cops were called and the women were forcibly thrown out ... Word spread through the feminist underground and the next Saturday about forty women gathered in a dark side street waiting for the time to strike.
"Help! Help! It's on!" they cried as we stormed down the street and thrust into the bar ... We won. Paranoia became obvious when groups of women entered bars which had previously refused women and were hurriedly served ... This marks the beginning of revolutionary action by women no longer content to sit down and meekly talk of their oppression. Beware! Zelda D'Aprano papers University of Melbourne
Zelda D'Aprano: 'We had some wonderful times. Women had been worried about their 'reputations' for so long that men were stomping all over them. We decided to be the type of woman that doesn't worry about that sort of thing and we were! I recall one night after a meeting when we went to Lygon Street for a coffee. When I left the coffee shop and waited for the women, a car crawled into the gutter - a gutter crawler. Just then one of the other women came out. I grabbed her and said distinctly 'I saw him first, he is mine. You had first go last time.' The other women came out and all joined in the pretence of fighting over him. Well, the bloke just shot off like a bat out of hell. Another time when I was out with Molly Hadfield a bloke tried to do a line with me. I said to him 'oh, darling, this is my beat'. He also shot off like a bat out of hell.
We had so much fun. We felt alive, so alive. It was a wonderful experience being part of the Women’s Liberation Movement at that time.' Women's Web - Women's Stories, Women's Actions
Zelda D'Aprano: '... More and more women are becoming aware of their own identity as people, and as they become so, they become aware of the violence of our male dominated society and its effects on humanity. We refuse to sit back and allow this lunacy to continue at our expense ... We want a society free from all power structures and institutions. A society based on co-operation, not competition, and where all people are responsible for making decisions governing every aspect of their existence. It is only within this type of society that human fulfillment, human dignity and human liberation can become a reality.' Zelda by Zelda D'Aprano Spinifex Press 1995
19..BACKGROUND TO RIGHT TO WORK AND EQUAL PAY DEMANDS
Zelda D'Aprano: 'When making a study of industry at the turn of this (20th) century, we find that men began work in offices, clothing factories, textile factories etc as apprentices, learning the basic knowledge of the industry in order to further their skills or move up the ladder of promotion. As technology improved, women entered these industries at lower salaries learning the minimum of skills, only to remain in these same positions for life. These industries in other words have become fragmented, with women being taught one or two basic skills down below, while men undertake the more serious tasks of management or higher skilled labour.
Because women have limited skills, they are aware that their bargaining power is minimal, and they fear for the security of their jobs. The employer class have always women as a labour reserve. In a period of economic crisis, it is the women who are shunted out, and it is precisely because of this situation that the employers are reluctant to invest money in the training of women in higher skills. They enter the workforce and because of their passive conditioning (it's unladylike to fight the boss) plus their fear of insecurity, are averse to campaigning for higher wages or better conditions; with the result that as more women enter the workforce over a number of years, the wages in this particular industry fall behind. Men drift out of the industry seeking more remunerative jobs, and men cease to enter the industry; resulting in the industry becoming "woman's work" at very depressed salary rates. This factor deprived the vast majority of women in industry from obtaining wage justice from the "equal pay" judgement.' Paper presented at National Women's Liberation Conference in Melbourne August 1971 State Library of Victoria
The Working Women's Group was set up in the middle of 1972 by: Bon Hull; Patricia Filar; Helen Anderson; Barbara Jones; Pat Freeman; Barbara Van Meurs; Rivka Pile; Zoe Phillips; Kay Hamilton; Janey Stone; and Tess Lee-Ack.
WOMEN ON WOMEN - hear them speak
Vivien Brophy "Women in the family"
Zelda
D'Aprano "Women at Work"
Myra Roper "Single Women"
Cheltenham Public Hall 8 pm Sat 5 May 1973 Organised by Women's Liberation, Chelsea
20..1972 EQUAL PAY FOR WORK OF EQUAL VALUE
Zelda D'Aprano: 'During 1972 the equal pay issue was again before the Arbitration Court. Almost sixty years of asking, begging and pleading, and women were still cheap labour.
Sylvie Shaw, with the assistance of Bon Hull, Alva Geikie and Libby Brook, had produced a document entitled 'Women in Employment'. Much of this research was used when the Women's Liberation Movement decided to seek leave to place a submission in support of equal pay before the courts. Again the same women assisted Sylvie in her research. The submission presented came in two parts; one in support of equal pay and the other seeking an equal minimum wage for women.
"The Women's Liberation Movement urges the Commission to award 'equal pay for work of equal value'. We call for rates of pay to be determined according to job content, where the sex of the worker is irrelevant. However, it is not sufficient to grant equal minimum rates for particular job classifications ... We rely on the Commission to be consistent with Convention 100 and make an award, if legally possible, in terms which will prevent employers paying differential actual rates to males and females. Further, the Women's Liberation Movement supports the ACTU's claim to grant women the same minimum rate as men. At present the minimum wage applies only to men ... The first step to enable women to participate in the workforce on an equal basis is to grant women EQUAL PAY FOR WORK OF EQUAL VALUE [emphasis in original]." Zelda D'Aprano, p 210, Kath Williams, the unions and the fight for equal pay Spinifex 2001
Our submission ended with these words: 'The Women's Liberation Movement believes in equality for women in all spheres of society. In the employment field we believe that women have the following rights:
1. The right to work.
2. The right to equal job opportunity.
3. The right to equal pay for work of equal value.
4. We feel that discrimination based on sex is a fundamental denial of justice to half the Australian population.'
... The bench brought down a decision granting women equal pay for equal work, but rejected our claim for an equal minimum wage with men ... so we again sought leave to place a submission before the Arbitration Commission when it resumed ... I was selected to present the submission and, after several discussions, the submission was prepared. It wasn't a very lengthy document, for what could we say at this type of case apart from pointing out the anomalies that would be created by an increase in the male minimum wage in reference to equal pay for women?
In conclusion -
1. We support the ACTU claim for $11.50 to increase the total wage, and support regular adjustments to salaries;
2. We suggest that the Commission indicate in its decision that it still has an open mind to a further claim for an equal minimum rate, and the establishment of all rates, whether award rates or the minimum wage, without regard to sex.
Thank you.' p263-4 Zelda by Zelda D'Aprano Spinifex Press 1995
21..PART OF WOMEN'S LIBERATION NOW - Winding Up
Jocelyn Clarke: 'By 1971 they found somewhat to their surprise that they were part of a national and international Women's Liberation Movement. The 1960's were a time of change:
- more women were in the paid workforce,
-
the contraceptive Pill, though the demographic effects were less than the psychological effects,
- protest. The Vietnam War was a political apprenticeship for many women. However, the catalyst was equal pay.' Rivka Pile papers, Melbourne University
Zelda D'Aprano: 'We had a pubs campaign, we held public meetings - topics at the first meeting were Economic Equality; Abortion Law Reform; the Changing Role of Women; Equal Education; Legal Discrimination. We held campaigns on sexist advertising; Miss Teenage Quest; Apprenticeships for Girls; Relationships with the Unions; Maternity Leave; Women and Work. We wrote letters such as complaints about employment practices of sexist companies.
The committee was using the term Women's Liberation by the end of the first year. One of the books we read which was influential was Germaine Greer's The Female Eunuch. We were part of the Women's Liberation Movement and 'a meeting of WAC decided there was no longer a need for our existence as a separate group. We then as individuals joined our local Women's Liberation groups and so became part of the movement.' Thelma Solomon papers University of Melbourne
Women's Liberation papers Melbourne University archives
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22..WE WERE BUGGED
Vashti's Voice June-July 1974: 'According to the Age (14/5/74), from late 1971 a "leading member of Women's Liberation in Melbourne" was spied on by ASIO. This included having her phone tapped. Not wishing to help ASIO further, we shall refer to this woman as Ms Z ... We suggest to all women who have been involved in the Women's Liberation Movement that they write to the current Attorney General requesting to see their ASIO file. They may be flattered to find out that they, too, are considered dangerous and a threat to society.' Women's Liberation Archives University of Melbourne
23..1974 TRAMWAY WOMEN'S STRUGGLE
Vashti's Voice July 1973: 'The tramways male employees have persistently boycotted all meetings connected with the tramway's women's attempt to achieve equality; women are not allowed to train as drivers, nor can they generally rise above being conductresses. The Women's Liberation Movement wholeheartedly support the women in their struggle.' Melbourne University archives
Letter from group of Melbourne tram conductresses,
'9 September, 1974
Mr P Ryan, General President, Australian Tramway & Motor Omnibus Employees Association
Dear Sir, We the undersigned female members of the Australian Tramway and Motor Omnibus Employees Association ... believe we are being victimized by the branch members in Victoria and appeal to you as the General President of the Association to right this matter. We are being deprived of the right to become tram drivers through a resolution passed at a stop work meeting in 1956. We have been told that this resolution has to be rescinded before we can become tram drivers ... We understand that our union ... believes in equal rights, equal opportunities and equal pay and therefore no discrimination of the sexes ... We feel that if this matter is not resolved, the principle of unionism will be downgraded in the eyes of genuine members of the Trade Union movement.' personal papers, Joyce Barry from For Love Or Money: a pictorial history of women and work in Australia Megan McMurchy, Margot Oliver, Jeni Thornley ed Irina Dunn design Pam Brewster Penguin 1983
24..TAKING MEN'S JOBS? (Again) 1974 Minimum Wage Case
Western Union Refuge Group: 'Married women in the paid workforce are increasingly being accused of intensifying unemployment and of taking men 's or young people's jobs. These attacks also imply that women are responsible for the breakdown in social relations by the diversions of their energy from reproduction, nurturing and socialising functions within the family, primarily through their participation in the paid workforce. Consequently, they argue strongly that women should return to the home to take up the traditional maternal role. These arguments insidiously work through women's liberationists' viewpoints of equal opportunity, claiming that liberationists and society deny women the choice and right to stay at home. But while holding some truth in that the women who stay at home are financially exploited and given low status, they are based on the false assumption that an environment exists in which women can make a free choice of whether to work or not.' University of Melbourne
But the 1974 Minimum Wage Case established equal minimum wage for females and males.
25..WOMEN WHO WORK IN SHOPS PROTEST
Leaflet: 'Women who work in shops are underpaid and work very long hours ... Next Friday and Saturday women from all walks of life are meeting to talk together, march together and offer each other support in the fight to alter the conditions under which women have been exploited for too long.
We Want -
- Equal pay
- Minimum wage
- Equal job opportunites
- Non-discriminatory job re-classification
- Child care centres in or near our places of employment, and in the suburbs
- Shorter working week
- Improved working conditions and staff facilities
- Reduction of competition in commission selling to a fairer, more honest basis.
We must join with each other to bring about these changes.
Friday, March 8th, Saturday March 9th, Women's Centre, 16 Little Latrobe Street, Melbourne Renee Remeril papers, University of Melbourne
26..WOMEN PICKET EVERHOT
Vashti's Voice autumn 1975: 'The sacking of seventeen women workers at Daffin-Everhot, Bayswater, was a classic case of discrimination in employment. As the dispute developed, it became even more plain that again, to solve economic difficulties and crisis of employment, the first answer to be thought of is to push women out of employment because they, theoretically, can be economically supported by husbands, fathers, brothers, sons etc, and second, because militant action from fellow workers will be lacking because to a large degree the men workers will support the theory that work for men is more important than work for women ... (On) the fifth week "Picketing resumed on Thursday, with support from Women's Liberation and some from WEL ... Women's Liberation says the whole dispute is blatantly a case of discrimination against women.' Women's Liberation archives University of Melbourne
Edie: 'John Grace / King of the place / Thought he was ace / till he had to face / the women of the place.' Women's Liberation Newsletter Jan/Feb '75
27..'80 WOMEN SAT ON THE STEPS OF PARLIAMENT HOUSE AND REFUSED TO MOVE'
Vashti's Voice: 'In September 1976 on the opening day of the Spring Session of State Parliament, 80 women sat on the steps of Parliament House and refused to move. That demonstration, organized by Melbourne Women Against Rape Collective and supported by the Melbourne Women's Liberation Movement, was part of a wider strategy to bring attention to the oppressive and discriminatory law on rape and its practice in the courts.
The sit-in and the distribution of our leaflet Put Men on Trial for Rape, not Women, attempted to bring attention to the flaws in the new law recommendations, and to demonstrate our anger and frustration that a male parliament and legal body can formulate laws which affect half the population, unrepresented as they are, and can do so in relative secrecy.' See Chapter 14 Working Collectively Victorian Women's Liberation Newsletter No 4 May 19
28..AUSTRALIAN WOMIN AGAINST INCEST (AWAI) Vigil
Dee, for AWAI: 'Victoria's vigil was a raging success. We converged on St Paul's Cathedral (in the city) at midnight, set up camp and stayed for seventy-two hours. In this time we handed out 6,000 leaflets on issues of incest and accumulated 3,000 signatures on a petition requiring funding for services. For me, the most encouraging part of the vigil was talking to hundreds of concerned young womin. The media were pigs; we had no press or television coverage and only minimal radio coverage - what better way to kill the womin's movement than to tell everyone it's dead? Remember this is the post-feminist era? At the end of the vigil we swarmed into the office of the Victorian Minister for Community Service Ms C Hogg and presented her surrogate with our demands.' See Chapter 14 Working Collectively Victorian Women's Liberation Newsletter No 4May 19
29..ACTION AGAINST CLAUDIA WRIGHT DISMISSAL
Women's Liberation Newsletter 1977: 'Press Release - The Women's Liberation Movement deplores the dismissal of Claudia Wright. We demand her immediate reinstatement as broadcaster by Radio 3AW. Thousands of women all over Victoria listen to Claudia daily, and to many she has been an important independent voice in their fight for autonomy and liberation, and women's rights. It is not true that her ratings have declined recently.
We object to the silencing of her voice and the attempts to repress her enquiring mind which has made some people in positions of power uncomfortable. Claudia is the latest in a long list of articulate women who have been robbed of their livelihood because they were brave enough to speak truths about the real position of women in our society - Elizabeth Reid, Penny Ryan, Sylvie Shaw, Zelda D'Aprano, Edie Turnevich (of Everhot), Irena Dunn (Westaff), and so the list continues. There are some of the women all over Australia who have espoused the feminist cause, together with hundreds of others who have been victimized for their beliefs.
Women everywhere we know will join with us in protest - because for women everywhere, who have no voice, Claudia was that voice.
One woman's view of the demonstration at 3AW: 'At 8.30 on Saturday morning about thirty early rising and glazy eyed feminists gathered at the (Women's Liberation) Centre to demonstrate against Claudia Wright's sacking. Placards and banners in tow we marched to 3AW where we found another small group of women already there from Women's Electoral Lobby and the Working Women's Centre. We managed to get into the courtyard but due to some misunderstandings and the reluctance of some women for action we were locked out of the studio. The police were called, and the media came as well (thanks to a small 'phone call to AAP).' Zelda D'Aprano papers University of Melbourne
Interview with Claudia Wright -
Vashti's Voice Spring '75: 'If you can get to your position in the terms you want, equal opportunity is the cause of it. If you don't have a relationship with a man that is economically equal, you can't be equal ... If you're beholden in any way it's a mark against your ability to make statements, to scream and rage and kick. And why does this heterosexual society stop love between women and women? We have to get down to the basis of it - stopping this conditioning ...
Housewives - 'An American journalist called Mike McGrady decided to become a househusband for a year while his wife went out to work. He began to manifest the whole suburban neuroses - he used to get angry and resentful when his wife came home late from work, he used to think she'd been having a better time than he'd had, out there in the world. The housewife position creates an inner inbalance that you swallow.' Marie Rowan papers University of Melbourne
30..1978 SPORTSCRAFT STRIKE
Women's Right to Work Campaign -
Picket SPORTSCRAFT
12-2 Thursday 25th
12-2 Friday 26th
10-12 Saturday 27th
Sandra Bloodworth: 'In November 1976 they reduced our bonus by 5%. Now they want to reduce it by 20%,' explains a striking worker at Sportscraft in Melbourne. She is one of the thirty five clothing workers on strike for the first time in protest at the company's second attempt to reduce their wages ... See Appendix 1
'The cuts could mean as much as $40 a week. We need the money. Most of us have houses to pay off. There are migrants who come here for a better life. They have young children and they pay so much for a woman to look after them. At school, too, there are a lot of expenses.' Women at Work ACTU Working Women's Centre, Melbourne from Sandra Bloodworth Migrant Women Organize: the Kortex Strike of 1981, Sweatshop Rebels, Redback Press Melbourne 1983
31..1980 STRIKE OUTSIDE THE ARBITRATION COURT
Melbourne Sunday Press April 28: 'Women strike outside the Arbitration Court, Melbourne, in protest over the dismissal of two Turkish women from a clothing factory.' Renee Pomeril papers Melbourne University
MELBOURNE METROPOLITAN BOARD OF WORKS (MMBW) WOMEN UNITE
A woman employee of the MMBW claims she's been sacked for refusing to wear the official uniform. As a result, thirty typists employed by the Board decided to also refuse to wear the uniforms. Male officers, of course, do not have to wear a uniform.
32..WOMEN FIGHT BACK RALLY
Women's Liberation Newsletter September 1981: 'Women Fight Back Rally 5 pm City Square "We want jobs for women; children's services; community health; decent education as a right not a privilege; school dental programs; women's refuges; housing; welfare services as a right, not a charity - the women's mobilisation is an ongoing campaign of women fighting for our rights.' Karen Bird papers University of Melbourne
33..THE KORTEX STRIKE OF 1981
Sandra Bloodworth: 'The strikers had no knowledge of meeting procedures, they spoke lots of different languages (mainly Turkish, Greek, Arabic, Croatian and Italian) and few spoke English fluently, yet: The men who came to the picket lines quite naturally fell in behind the women's leadership. They brought the coffee, minded children on the picket line and, where necessary, played an active role in the fighting. They helped translate leaflets, and at mass meetings it was mostly men and members of the VTEB and the International Socialists who handed them out. This freed the women to do more political work such as preparing speeches, speaking to women who might be wavering, leading chants when the bosses' bus arrived ... It was not only on the pickets that attitudes began to change. In the homes the men took over childcare and household duties to free the women to attend the pickets for long hours. Here was an example of how women's issues and those of class exploitation are bound together; how a struggle can change attitudes and break down divisive stereotypes.
As they fought to change their circumstances, the Kortex strikers also changed themselves and those around them. Sandra Bloodworth Migrant Women Organize: the Kortex Strike of 1981, Sweatshop Rebels, Redback Press Melbourne 1983
34..ALL WE HAD WERE OURSELVES - WOMEN
Zelda D'Aprano: ... The strength and
courage of women was becoming more and more apparent to me. (Bon Hull
was the first Victorian woman to enter prison because of the Vietnam war
and had been just two or three years prior to becoming involved in the
women's movement a liberal party voter.) We had no one on
our side, no political parties, no governments, no armies, no police,
no trade unions and no religions. All we had were ourselves - women -
and we had our backs to the wall for there was nowhere we could go. We
were forced by sheer need to combine with each other for what we wanted
and the only way forward was the possible unity of sisterhood among women.
I now knew that the
personal is political, and all human suffering, whether it be at work,
in the home, in human relationships or through lack of money can only
be tackled in totality. To attempt to solve one-dimensional problems is
to fragment humans and this will achieve nothing because the person is
one being, and all these problems are interrelated and interconnected.' Zelda by Zelda D'Aprano Spinifex Press 1995
Zelda D'Aprano: 'The Women's Liberation Movement was responsible for saving my sanity, for it was through my consciousness raising within the movement that I became enlightened about patriarchal power and the politics of my being ...'
Jocelyn Clarke: 'I've heard people say 'but that's all idealistic', so it is, but once you've done away with your ideals, what have you got left? There's nothing to work towards.' Thelma Solomon papers University of Melbourne
Alina Holgate: 'I think it is important to ask women what their concerns are, and to support them, searching for ways in which they can become more powerful, instead of starting with powerlessness and obstacles, and a solution imposed from above.' She Works Hard for the Money researched by Alina Holgate and Karen Milgram for the Women's Legal Resources Group, Melbourne, Jan '85.
In the next chapter, 'Finding Our Voice - Liberation', we look at the explosion of Women's Liberation that woke us up and, sometimes, changed our lives.
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