Latest news with #genderequality
The Guardian
a day ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Queensland to repeal diversity quotas for Brisbane Olympics board
The Queensland government plans to repeal a requirement that half the board overseeing the organising of the Brisbane Olympics be women and at least one member Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. The change to the Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (OCOG) board is contained in an obscure clause in broad-ranging legislation sponsored by the deputy premier, Jarrod Bleijie, in May. It is not mentioned in either its explanatory speech or explanatory notes. According to a written briefing by the Department of State Development, Infrastructure and Planning, made during consideration by a parliamentary committee, the bill would 'enhance efficiency and effectiveness' by 'removing certain requirements for the appointment of OCOG board directors'. That includes 'that 50% of nominated directors be women' and 'that at least one of the independent directors is Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander'. The bill has yet to pass parliament but is certain to do so if all government members vote for it. Renee Carr, the executive director of Fair Agenda, said 'women should be an equal part of making the critical decisions that shape its legacy'. 'There's been important progress in recognising women's contribution to sport – as athletes, coaches, and in leadership. We should be leaning into what's possible, not going backwards,' she said. 'Hosting an event of this scale will impact Queensland's economy, infrastructure and tourism. Women's voices and expertise must be an equal part of planning a games that delivers for the whole community.' The executive director of QUT's Carumba Institute, Prof Chelsea Watego, said the plan to remove the requirement was an 'appalling decision'. She said the Sydney Olympics was able to make decisions with a board that included an Indigenous representative, Lowitja O'Donoghue, so there was no case that excluding them would make it more efficient. 'It just tells you how far backwards Queensland has gone under an LNP government,' she said. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email Watego said that Brisbane, Queensland and Australia would be on the international stage. 'We're under a microscope, and we have to think very seriously about what this tells the world about who we are as a nation, who we are as a state, and the location of Indigenous peoples and women in relation to that.' Minister for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tim Mander said: 'The Crisafulli government has accepted the recommendation of the independent 100 Day Review of the Games to streamline governance arrangements. 'The act is currently before the state development, infrastructure and works committee.' The Planning (Social Impact and Community Benefit) and Other Legislation Amendment bill 2025 has a wide-ranging scope, and more than 700 individuals and groups made a submission during a parliamentary inquiry process. Among other changes, the bill will reduce the size of the OCOG board from 24 to 15. It also amends regulation of renewables projects to make them easier for opponents to challenge in court and exempts Olympic venues from legal challenge. The OCOG board is appointed by multiple different agencies separate from the state government, such as the federal sports minister and the president of the Australian Olympic Committee. A legal provision will still apply requiring consideration of the state government's policy on gender equity on boards. The policy sets a non-binding target for gender equity, and does not cover Indigenous representation. The Brisbane Olympics will be held from 23 July to 8 August 2032, with the Paralympics running from 24 August to 5 September. Queensland has never held an Olympics but has hosted the Commonwealth Games, most recently in 2018. A binding provision that the 2032 games be 'climate positive' has also been reportedly removed from the Olympic host contract. It will now aim 'at removing more carbon from the atmosphere than what the Games project emits'.
The Independent
2 days ago
- Health
- The Independent
What to know about the impacts of the Supreme Court's ruling on transgender care for youth
The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld Tennessee 's ban on gender-affirming surgery for transgender youth in a ruling that's likely to reverberate across the country. Most Republican-controlled states already have similar bans. In his majority opinion Wednesday, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that Tennessee's ban does not violate the Constitution's equal protection clause, which requires the government to treat similarly situated people the same. Since President Donald Trump returned to office this year, the federal government has been trying to restrict access. Here are some things to know about gender-affirming care and the court's ruling: What is gender-affirming care? Gender-affirming care includes a range of medical and mental health services to support a person's gender identity, or their sense of feeling male, female, neither or some combination of both. Sometimes that's different from the sex they were assigned at birth. The services are offered to treat gender dysphoria, the unease a person may have because their assigned gender and gender identity don't match. Studies, including one from 2023 by researchers at institutions including London Children's Hospital and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, have found the condition is linked to depression and suicidal thoughts. Gender-affirming care encompasses counseling and treatment with medications that block puberty and hormone therapy to produce physical changes. Hormone therapy for transgender men causes periods to stop, increases facial and body hair and deepens voices. The hormones used by transgender women can have effects such as slowing growth of body and facial hair and increasing breast growth. Fewer than 1 in 1,000 U.S. adolescents receive gender-affirming medications, a study released this year found. Gender-affirming care can also include surgery, including operations to transform genitals and chests. These surgeries are rarely offered to minors. There are documented uses of genital surgery for adults dating back to the 1920s. But for youth, gender-affirming care has been more common since the 1990s. What is the controversy? As a medical consensus emerged in support of gender-affirming care for youth, the issue also became politically divisive in other ways. Some states approved measures to protect transgender people, who make up around 1% of the nation's population. Many critics dismiss the idea that gender is changeable and lies along a spectrum. About two-thirds of U.S. adults believe that whether a person is a man or woman is determined by biological characteristics at birth, an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll conducted in May found. In the last five years, most GOP-controlled states have passed laws to block transgender girls from sports competitions for girls. About half the Republican-controlled states have now banned transgender people from using school bathrooms that align with their gender identity. Opponents of gender-affirming care sometimes refer to it as 'mutilation" and say people who transition when they're young could later regret it. What could the ruling mean for bans in states besides Tennessee? In addition to Tennessee, 26 other states have passed bans or restrictions on gender-affirming care for youth. Judges have struck down the bans in Arkansas and Montana, though the legal fights there aren't over. All of the laws have been adopted in the past five years and nearly all have been challenged in court. The Supreme Court's decision means that federal challenges to those laws aren't likely to prevail. However, some of the lawsuits against them are based on arguments rooted in state constitutions, and it's still possible that judges could find more protections in those state constitutions than are in the U.S. Constitution. What will the ruling mean for states without bans on gender-affirming care? It probably won't make any difference immediately. Several of those states have laws or executive orders intended to protect access to gender-affirming care for transgender minors. But the question about whether the care will continue isn't only about what's legal. It's also about funding. That's where Trump comes in. Trump campaigned last year pledging to rein in rights of transgender people. He's followed through on many fronts, though court challenges have resulted in some of his efforts being blocked, at least for now. What has Trump done on transgender issues? He has ordered that no federal taxpayer money be used to pay for the care for those under 19. Enforcement of that order is on hold. Trump has also tried to block federal funding from institutions — including hospitals and the universities that run some of them — that provide gender-affirming care for youth. A judge has blocked that effort while challenges to it proceed. His administration published recommendations that therapy alone – and not medication – be used to treat transgender youth. The position contradicts guidance from major medical organizations. But it could impact practices. Other actions Trump has taken including initiating the removal of transgender troops from military service; ordering that transgender women and girls be kept out of sports competitions for females; erasing the word 'transgender' from some government websites; and saying the government would recognize people only by their sex at conception. That's resulted in efforts to move transgender women inmates to men's prisons and change how passports are issued to transgender and nonbinary people. A judge this week blocked the Trump administration from limiting passport sex markers for many transgender and nonbinary Americans.
Associated Press
2 days ago
- Health
- Associated Press
What to know about the impacts of the Supreme Court's ruling on transgender care for youth
The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming surgery for transgender youth in a ruling that's likely to reverberate across the country. Most Republican-controlled states already have similar bans. In his majority opinion Wednesday, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that Tennessee's ban does not violate the Constitution's equal protection clause, which requires the government to treat similarly situated people the same. Since President Donald Trump returned to office this year, the federal government has been trying to restrict access. Here are some things to know about gender-affirming care and the court's ruling: What is gender-affirming care? Gender-affirming care includes a range of medical and mental health services to support a person's gender identity, or their sense of feeling male, female, neither or some combination of both. Sometimes that's different from the sex they were assigned at birth. The services are offered to treat gender dysphoria, the unease a person may have because their assigned gender and gender identity don't match. Studies, including one from 2023 by researchers at institutions including London Children's Hospital and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, have found the condition is linked to depression and suicidal thoughts. Gender-affirming care encompasses counseling and treatment with medications that block puberty and hormone therapy to produce physical changes. Hormone therapy for transgender men causes periods to stop, increases facial and body hair and deepens voices. The hormones used by transgender women can have effects such as slowing growth of body and facial hair and increasing breast growth. Fewer than 1 in 1,000 U.S. adolescents receive gender-affirming medications, a study released this year found. Gender-affirming care can also include surgery, including operations to transform genitals and chests. These surgeries are rarely offered to minors. There are documented uses of genital surgery for adults dating back to the 1920s. But for youth, gender-affirming care has been more common since the 1990s. What is the controversy? As a medical consensus emerged in support of gender-affirming care for youth, the issue also became politically divisive in other ways. Some states approved measures to protect transgender people, who make up around 1% of the nation's population. Many critics dismiss the idea that gender is changeable and lies along a spectrum. About two-thirds of U.S. adults believe that whether a person is a man or woman is determined by biological characteristics at birth, an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll conducted in May found. In the last five years, most GOP-controlled states have passed laws to block transgender girls from sports competitions for girls. About half the Republican-controlled states have now banned transgender people from using school bathrooms that align with their gender identity. Opponents of gender-affirming care sometimes refer to it as 'mutilation' and say people who transition when they're young could later regret it. What could the ruling mean for bans in states besides Tennessee? In addition to Tennessee, 26 other states have passed bans or restrictions on gender-affirming care for youth. Judges have struck down the bans in Arkansas and Montana, though the legal fights there aren't over. All of the laws have been adopted in the past five years and nearly all have been challenged in court. The Supreme Court's decision means that federal challenges to those laws aren't likely to prevail. However, some of the lawsuits against them are based on arguments rooted in state constitutions, and it's still possible that judges could find more protections in those state constitutions than are in the U.S. Constitution. What will the ruling mean for states without bans on gender-affirming care? It probably won't make any difference immediately. Several of those states have laws or executive orders intended to protect access to gender-affirming care for transgender minors. But the question about whether the care will continue isn't only about what's legal. It's also about funding. That's where Trump comes in. Trump campaigned last year pledging to rein in rights of transgender people. He's followed through on many fronts, though court challenges have resulted in some of his efforts being blocked, at least for now. What has Trump done on transgender issues?He has ordered that no federal taxpayer money be used to pay for the care for those under 19. Enforcement of that order is on hold. Trump has also tried to block federal funding from institutions — including hospitals and the universities that run some of them — that provide gender-affirming care for youth. A judge has blocked that effort while challenges to it proceed. His administration published recommendations that therapy alone – and not medication – be used to treat transgender youth. The position contradicts guidance from major medical organizations. But it could impact practices. Other actions Trump has taken including initiating the removal of transgender troops from military service; ordering that transgender women and girls be kept out of sports competitions for females; erasing the word 'transgender' from some government websites; and saying the government would recognize people only by their sex at conception. That's resulted in efforts to move transgender women inmates to men's prisons and change how passports are issued to transgender and nonbinary people. A judge this week blocked the Trump administration from limiting passport sex markers for many transgender and nonbinary Americans.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Employers could be forced to tell workers what their colleagues earn under a new government pay transparency plan
Employers could soon be forced to tell workers what their colleagues earn under new government plans to boost pay transparency. Ministers are consulting on how to end pay discrimination by looking at measures that would make salaries clearer even before the recruitment process has started. In a radical overhaul of equality laws, the government is considering measures such as making it mandatory to publish salary brackets on job descriptions and forcing companies to publish pay structures and progression criteria. Also thought to be on the table is increasing fines for firms that fall foul of equal pay rulings, the Times reports. Equal pay rulings could also be expanded to include race and disability equality, rather than just gender, and employers may be banned from asking about a candidate's salary history. In a consultation the government said it was committed to 'ending pay discrimination at work and tackling the gender pay gap'. It added it would 'examine the broadest possible range of potential options to achieve this, including pay transparency measures' and listed a number of initiatives employers could undertake. The overhaul to equality laws would also make public authorities personally responsible for socioeconomic disadvantages in their decisions. A spokesperson for the Conservatives told the Times the new measures would penalist the middle classes and those who are prviately educated. A government spokesperson rubbished the claim, adding: 'Positive discrimination is not permissible under the Equality Act, and this remains the case with the socioeconomic duty. 'What our duty will do is require specified public bodies to consider how their choices might tackle socioeconomic inequality of outcome.' The new equal pay rules could be enforced by a new governmental body, the Equal Pay Regulatory and Enforcement Unit, which would be given the power to isues fines, injunctions and change employee contracts. Tina McKenzie, policy chair at the Federation of Small Businesses, told the Times: 'Encouraging greater pay transparency is a good thing in principle but some of the measures being suggested simply don't fit the reality of small business life. It's also important to remember that many small firms don't formally advertise roles at all; they hire through word of mouth or their own networks. 'This is a clear case where it would be excessive for government to impose detailed regulatory rules on small employers who simply don't have HR departments.' A government spokesperson said: 'This government is pro-business and many businesses already go well beyond the requirements of the law in order to support pay equality. 'We are seeking to build the evidence base before deciding whether any changes in relation to pay transparency are necessary. By collecting evidence on how best to tackle pay disparities, we will be able to make sure that we maximise the benefits to both workers and employers.'
Zawya
6 days ago
- Health
- Zawya
United Nations (UN) Women Launches a Multi-County Care Policy to Recognize and Support Unpaid Care Work
'This policy has finally put words to the struggle I have faced for years. I care for my aging mother and three grandchildren while running a small business. Now, I feel seen and supported.' — Jane Mutheu, Caregiver and Small Business Owner, Kitui County. In a stride toward gender equality and women empowerment, UN Women Kenya successfully launched the Evidence to Policy for Kenya Care Economy project in three counties — Kitui, West Pokot, and Laikipia to reshape Kenya's care infrastructure. The project, supported by the Gates Foundation, seeks to address the burden of care work, which is often shouldered by women. It aims to ensure that care work is recognized, reduced, rewarded, redistributed, and represented to foster a more inclusive society. Kenya's National Care Policy — the second of its kind in Africa after Cape Verde — is a transformative model for addressing structural gender inequality. The Policy seeks to transform how unpaid and paid care work is recognized, valued, and addressed in Kenya. At its core, the policy aims to recognize, reduce, and redistribute unpaid care work and reward and represent paid care work through decent work and social protection mechanisms. Unpaid care work, though vital for the physical, emotional, and social well-being of children, the elderly, persons with disabilities, and the ill, often goes unrecognized. In Kenya, women spend an average of 4–5 hours a day on unpaid care work compared to just one hour by men according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS). This imbalance not only contributes to time poverty but also reinforces broader gender inequalities, limiting women's access to education, employment, leadership, and income. The Evidence to Policy project builds on the foundation of Kenya's 2023–2026 UN Women Strategic Note, which prioritizes economic empowerment and gender-responsive governance. With the care economy largely dependent on unpaid and unrecognized female labor, this project seeks to create equitable systems that support all caregivers, especially those from vulnerable backgrounds. The project introduces the Care Diamond framework — government, civil society, private sector, and households — as key actors in delivering and sustaining care systems. In West Pokot, UN Women Kenya Country Representative, Ms. Antonia Sodonon, accompanied by implementing partner Village Enterprise led the launch. The implementing partner works with grassroots communities to integrate care considerations in economic development initiatives. Laikipia County was part of the local rollout, implemented in partnership with Hand in Hand Eastern Africa (HiH-EA). Community dialogues here focused on balancing caregiving responsibilities with income-generating opportunities. In Kitui County, UN Women Kenya's Deputy County Representative, Dan Bazira, alongside the Governor Dr. Julius Makau Malombe, senior, Anglican Development Services Eastern (ADSE) and the State Department for Gender and Affirmative Action took part in the launch. The gathering aimed to advance inclusive dialogue, promote awareness, and deepen understanding of care work's impact on women's participation in public life. 'This policy is not just about women. It's about families, economies, and building resilient societies,' said Mr. Bazira, emphasizing the importance of stakeholder collaboration. 'It's a groundbreaking model on the continent—one that promotes the 5Rs of unpaid care work: Recognize, Reduce, Redistribute, Represent, and Reward.' Through this policy, the Government of Kenya is taking a critical step to correct that imbalance. It will guide the collection of time-use data, promote investment in public services like childcare and eldercare, and push for decent work conditions for paid care workers. This initiative aligns with global commitments under SDG 5.4 and national frameworks such as the Constitution of Kenya, Vision 2030, and the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), specifically the President's 9-Point Agenda on Women. Government Buy-In and Bold Commitments In Kitui, Governor Malombe committed to aligning county development plans with the care policy. 'Care work fuels our communities, yet it's invisible in our budgets and policies. This must change. We are investing in Early Childhood Development, centers, water access, and GBV recovery centers because we know care is foundational,' he said. The Director of the State Department for Gender, Ms. Grace Wasike, urged further action: 'We must train domestic workers, build support systems for the elderly and disabled, and strengthen our collaboration across all government levels.' Implementing Partners Driving Local Impact In all counties, funded by Gates Foundation and supported by UN Women, grassroots partners are at the heart of the project. ADSE in Kitui is engaging communities to build care-responsive programs. Village Enterprise in West Pokot is integrating care into livelihoods. HiH EA in Laikipia is promoting gender-responsive technologies like kitchen gardens and time-saving tools. "This care policy is a promise — that women's unpaid labor is not a given, but a choice we must honor, value, and support," concluded Elizabeth Obanda, Women's Economic Empowerment Team Lead, UN Women Kenya. The policy is expected to usher in system-wide changes in how care is organized and shared—between the state, private sector, families, and communities. By addressing care work, it lays the foundation for inclusive economic growth, gender equality, and social protection—ensuring women and girls have the time, resources, and opportunities to thrive. The launches marked a milestone in translating Kenya's National Care Policy into action at the county level, engaging communities, governments, and development partners in making visible the invisible labor that sustains households and economies. The county-level launches are a first step in what UN Women hopes will become a nationwide movement. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of UN Women - Africa.
