Her latest inquiry,Set the Standard,underscores this.
Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins launches the report on Tuesday.Jessica Hromas
A shocking 51 per cent of those currently in Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces had experienced at least one incident of bullying,sexual harassment or actual or attempted sexual assault.
“Gender inequality and a wider lack of diversity,particularly evident in the low representation of women in leadership roles,means women are more likely to experience misconduct,” Ms Jenkins said.
One person interviewed said aspiring male politicians thought nothing of “in one case,picking you up,kissing you on the lips,lifting you up,touching you,pats on the bottom,comments about appearance ... the culture allowed it.”
Ms Jenkins said the impact of Brittany Higgins,a former staffer who alleged she was raped in a ministerial office,was immeasurable and acknowledged the role she played as a catalyst for the review.
Ms Higgins is not alone:about 1 per cent of people working in a Commonwealth parliamentary workplace indicated they had experienced some form of actual or attempted sexual assault.
In 2019,former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull said attitudes to women in Australian politics were more like those in the corporate world in the 1980s.
The damaging impact this toxic culture is having on future generations is already well documented:a survey by girls’ charity Plan International this year found 72 per cent of young women say they would never want a career involved in politics.
As one participant in theSet the Standard inquiry said,Parliament should set the standard for workplace culture,not the floor of what culture should be.
Who can forget former senator David Leyonhjelm telling Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young to “stop shagging men” during a debate in the Senate about curbing violence against women?
And on Tuesday,ironically the day the excoriating inquiry report was released,complaints were made that a senator growled and made dog noises at independent senator Jacqui Lambie while she asked questions in the Senate. Coalition senator David Van later told News.com.au he unreservedly apologised for interjecting but denied he was making a dog noise. He said he was wearing a mask and may have been misheard.
In an interview withThe Age andThe Sydney Morning Herald just before the release of the report,Ms Jenkins said Parliament should be a role-model workplace given that thousands of students attended school excursions there every year.
In her report,Ms Jenkins calls for everyday respect in parliamentary chambers.
She recommends standing orders and unwritten parliamentary conventions be reviewed with a view to eliminating sexist language and behaviour and improving safety and respect.
The report makes 28 recommendations in total.
These include targets to achieve gender balance,codes of conduct and training for parliamentarians and staff,alcohol policies with a view to restricting availability,a centralised office with standardised HR policies and an independent parliamentary standards commission to provide safe reporting options.
“Jenkins’ recommendation of targets to achieve gender balance among parliamentarians is excellent,” said Dr Jenna Price,a researcher on gender and visiting fellow at the Australian National University.
The report into workplace culture and sexual harassment in Parliament House has been handed down and Scott Morrison says it reflects decades of unacceptable behaviour that needs to be dealt with.
“The next step would be to conduct a review of Liberal Party and National Party preselection processes.”
Dr Blair Williams,a research fellow with the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at the Australian National University,believes it is critical the government moves quickly to adopt all of Ms Jenkins’ recommendations.
She said it was imperative the recommendations were not treated like the report arising from Ms Jenkins’ national inquiry into sexual harassment,Respect@Work,which was left languishing on the shelf for months and then only partially implemented.
Dr Williams worries the latest report will also be watered down,with only some recommendations adopted.
Ms Jenkins herself stressed the adoption of theSet the Standard recommendations as a package was critical to their success. “They are mutually reinforcing and complementary and therefore should not be cherry-picked for implementation,” she said at Tuesday’s launch of the new report.
Earlier this month she toldThe Age andThe Sydney Morning Herald she was optimistic about change. “I think it’s not just the women who are ready for change. I think it’s men. I think it’s families. I think it’s communities.”
The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories,analysis and insights..