Posts by Author: Backroom Girl

7 published posts by Backroom Girl.

Irony or rank hypocrisy?

Is it just me or do other Troppo readers appreciate the irony (or rank hypocrisy depending on your level of cynicism) of the main exponents and proselytisers of fairness and equality in our society apparently applying a completely double standard, when it comes to their own re...

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Posted in Politics - national, Society, Religion

Income inequality in the noughties - how far would you go to fix it?

In the recent mega blog discussion kicked off by Don Arthur, I ventured the opinion that "the truly remarkable thing is that the Gini coefficient of equivalised disposable income has only increased from 0.28 to 0.31 in the last 30 years of so." Given the underwhelming response...

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Posted in Society, Economics and public policy, Gender

When is a couple not a couple - the politics of recognising same-sex relationships

According to Patricia Karvelas in the Australian yesterday (accompanied by the picture below) , it will be up to John Howard to decide whether or not same-sex couples will be granted equal status with heterosexual couples under Commonwealth law, since the Cabinet could not agr...

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Posted in Gender

A visit from the OECD

Peter Whiteford, an Australian working with the OECD in Paris will be presenting a seminar in Melbourne next week at the Brotherhood of St Laurence in Fitzroy (details below the fold). People who are regular visitors to this blog and some others such as Andrew Norton's and And...

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Posted in Economics and public policy

Are so many people really unhappy with their working hours?

Close on the heels of the latest ABS publication on Working Time Arrangements , the subject of a long blog discussion on Andrew Nortons site, the ABS has followed up with Preferred Working Hours of Wage and Salary Earners, Queensland. This Survey found that, of people surveyed...

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Posted in Society, Economics and public policy

Women and increasing income inequality: why it's (mostly) women's fault

Iâve been musing lately about the connection between womenâs labour force participation and income inequality and Iâve been forced to the conclusion that, once again, itâs probably womenâs fault. Increasing inequality in market incomes, that is. My logic goes something like th...

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Posted in Society, Economics and public policy

Why there¢â¬â¢s no going back to the ¢â¬â¢50s

Balancing Work and Family , the recent report from the House of Reps Standing Committee on Family and Human Services contains a version of one of my favourite pictures. (I've posted my own version below the fold.) The figure shows how labour force participation has changed for...

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Posted in Society