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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 4 Hansard (10 April) . . Page.. 878 ..
MRS CROSS (continuing):
Mr Speaker, women who are encouraged by society to have children should be in a position to view the privilege of being able to have a child as exactly that, a privilege, rather than something they are penalised for. I wish members to consider this quote from the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission's report, that I think explains to some degree just how discriminatory attitudes are entrenched in the workplace and how equal opportunity for women is lacking:
The factors that define and separate men and women are the different constructions of their sexuality and their relationship to family and home.
Women enter the workplace defined as sexualised and family orientated people.
Men, despite the fact that they also possess sexuality and have families, are not defined in this way.
Women's bodies-female sexuality, their ability to procreate and their pregnancy, breastfeeding and child care-are suspect, stigmatised and used as grounds for control and exclusion.
It is argued that the adverse practical consequences to women of pregnancy and motherhood are not the result of chance.
Policies and laws that promote the harmonisation of work, pregnancy and family responsibilities must apply and be seen to apply equally to men and to women.
In the context of pregnancy and work, it is essential that policies and laws treat pregnancy and family responsibilities as neither a disability nor a liability, rather as parts of the normal life cycle encountered by many workforce participants.
A rather long quote, Mr Speaker, but one that I find compelling and accurately reflects the passion and intent with which I have approached this legislation.
Mr Speaker, this is not a long and wordy bill, but it can take a bit of following. The Discrimination Act is structured around a series of attributes that a person could have-personal individual qualities that help to define us, such as age, race, religion or sex. The act then establishes a set of principles that, firstly, determines what constitutes discrimination, before stating what is unlawful discrimination. It then concludes with a specialised list of exemptions for situations that, while still considered to be discrimination, are considered reasonable grounds for that discrimination and are, therefore, lawful.
This bill adds the concept of potential pregnancy to the list of personal attributes that come under the umbrella of the act. Potential pregnancy has been defined as being any reference to:
- the fact that a woman is or may be capable of bearing children;
- the fact that the woman has expressed a desire to become pregnant; and
- the fact that a woman is likely, or is perceived as being likely, to become pregnant.
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