What's new: Latest EEO news and information
| Bloke hunting for early childhood education What are the best strategies for boosting the number of male teachers? Russell Ballantyne thinks it is time for some strong affirmative action to get more men into early childhood education (ECE), for the good of children and society. But the passionate teacher and the President of the group that advocates for more men in ECE, ecmenz, sees a huge imbalance between what parents and children want, and what the education sector is prepared to provide. “Parents want male teachers, and children need them - especially since more and more have few men actively involved in their lives. But there are still only a tiny number of men in ECE, and at the bureaucratic level there’s very little action to change that. Parents tell us clearly that they want their children taught by both men and women. They want a balanced environment. But the official position of the NZ Teachers Council appears to be that gender doesn’t matter. That doesn’t fit with the reality,” Ballantyne says. Read more |
Waikato Regional Report - National Conversation about Work |
| Hawke's Bay Regional Report - National Conversation about Work The deaf community in Hawke's Bay are concerned about access to decent work in the region. Read what they say in the National Conversation about Work regional report  Read more |
| NZ's Gender Gap Rating Holds Firm New Zealand has held on to fifth place in the world in the Global Gender Gap Report 2009, with Iceland the big winner overall. “For New Zealand to hang on to its high ranking out of 134 countries behind the Nordic countries who jockey for top positions is remarkable and we must ensure that women are not disproportionately affected by the global recession and maintain gains when the economy picks up”, said Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner Dr Judy McGregor. “Many New Zealand women working part-time are underemployed and would like more work hours in the current climate,” she said.  The Global Gender Gap report produced by the World Economic Forum measures the gap between men and women in economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, political empowerment and health and survival. The report shows that New Zealand closes 78.8% of equality gaps between men and women, while the Nordic countries close over 80% with Iceland ahead of Finland, Norway and Sweden. However, New Zealand is being chased by South Africa which has made significant gains in female labour force participation and has jumped 10 places in a year to come in at sixth. Australia has finally made it to the top 20, up one place on last year. The United States fell four places to 31 and Germany, placed 12th, and the United Kingdom 15th, again slipped down the index this year. Yemen, already at the bottom of the rankings, displayed an absolute decline in performance since last year and was joined by Iran (128), Turkey (129) and Pakistan (132). The World Economic Forum is urging leaders to act on the findings as they “rebuild their battered economies and set them on course for sustainable long-run growth.” Read more |
