A report has found that almost half of Australia’s surgeons have experienced discrimination, bullying or sexual harassment. Findings included evidence from surgeons who had been expected to provide sexual favours in return for tutoring, as well as intimidation and public humiliation. Bullying was the most commonly encountered intimidation tactic (40% surgeons reporting they had encountered it). Just under 20% reported discrimination and 7% encountered sexual harassment. The most predominate form of discrimination was based on culture. A new action plan will be developed to tackle the issue and is expected to be released in November 2015.
The ACT has introduced legislation to erase the criminal convictions of men convicted of gay sex before it was legalised. This will ensure that those convicted would no longer be discriminated against when applying for work. The potential negative impact of a criminal conviction is amplified when it is labelled a sex offence. The new scheme will allow people to apply to have their convictions erased permanently from their records.
A former Microsoft employee is suing the company claiming it has a longstanding practice of discriminating against women who work in technical roles. She alleges that women are paid less and are less likely to be promoted than their male counterparts.