Women and Whitlam Revisiting the revolution

by Arrow, Michelle

• ISBN13: 9781742237855
• ISBN10: 1742237851
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2023-04-01
• Publisher: NewSouth

Summary

The Whitlam Government transformed Australia. What is often overlooked, however, is the scope and scale of the reforms for Australian women. The Whitlam Government of 1972– 1975 appointed a women’ s advisor to national government – a world first – and reopened the equal pay case. It extended the minimum wage for women, introduced the single mother’ s benefit, ensured cheap and accessible contraception, funded women’ s refuges and women’ s health centres, introduced accessible, no-fault divorce and the Family Court, introduced paid maternity leave in the public service, and much more. At a time when women are once again discovering their political voice, this book brings together three generations of women – including Patricia Amphlett, Elizabeth Reid, Eva Cox, Tanya Plibersek, Heidi Norman, Blair Williams and Ranuka Tandan – to revisit the Whitlam revolution and to build on it for the future.

Author Biography

Michelle Arrow is professor in Modern History and one of Australia’ s leading contemporary historians. She is the author of Friday on Our Minds and the prize-winning The Seventies.

Table of Contents

Foreword – Tania Plibersek Introduction (Michelle Arrow) Part 1 introduction: Women and political influence – Marian Sawer Whitlam and the Women’ s Liberation Movement – Elizabeth Reid Women’ s Electoral Lobby and equal pay – Iola Mathews Sisterhood – Biff Ward The personal is political – Pat Eatock and Cathy Eatock Part 2 introduction: Women and the law – Kim Rubenstein Whitlam, women and human rights – Elizabeth Evatt ‘ Every difficult female’ : Women and the Family Law Act 1975 – Camilla Nelson Part 3 introduction: Health and social policy – Karen Soldatic Women’ s health, women’ s welfare – Marie Coleman Women for Whitlam everywhere: The impact of the Whitlam government in regional Australia – Margaret Reynolds Just add women and stir: Revisiting the femocrat revolution – Eva Cox Out of wedlock – out of luck: Single mothers and ex-nuptial babies – Terese Edwards Part 4 introduction: Media, arts and education – Julie McLeod Whitlam, women and the media – Gillian Appleton Whitlam, women and the arts – Patricia Amphlett Jean Blackburn, girls and their school education – Craig Campbell and Debra Hayes Part 5 introduction: What remains to be done – Heidi Norman Then, now and what might come – A writer’ s take – Sara Dowse Beyond liberal feminism: The importance of a grassroots women’ s movement – Ranuka Tandan Re-energising the revolution: From 2010 to now – Blair Williams Bios and acknowledgments