According to Macquarie University data explored in the SBS documentary Is Australia Sexist?, the lives of Australians are affected by their gender in many ways. But the data sometimes misses a level of personal experience.
So here we'll tell you the story of a group of friends, and the way their sex will guide their lives - backed up by the findings from Macquarie University's study.
This is the story of four boys and girls all born in the same year, in the same Australian city, growing up in the same suburb.
The girls are Mary, Hannah, Jane and Linda. The boys are John, Mark, Peter and Paul.
They go to the same schools and they always play together, but the parents of three of these kids believe that boys and girls should play different games and they encourage them to do so.
"1 in 3 Australians still feel that boys and girls should play with different toys"
Years pass. The children are now 12 and go to the local high school.
And while they grow up together, Hannah feels like she is being treated unfairly at school, just for being a girl.
"Approximately 37% of women experienced gender inequality by the age of 12."
A few more years go by and high school is over for the eight friends. Some go to university. Some are already working. At this stage not just Hannah, but also Jane has experienced gender discrimination.
"44% of women indicated that they have experienced gender inequality with the figure highest (60%)for 18-25 year old women."
Now while their friends face the everyday challenges of their twenties, Linda and Mary are also facing the consequences of sexual harassment, which they experience directly and indirectly. They decided to change their behavior and the way they appear in public to avoid being targets of inappropriate or dangerous behaviors. This is something that the boys will likely never experience.
"Almost one-third of all women noted they change their behaviour to avoid sexual harassment in public places – this figure was even higher amongst women in the 18-25 year old group, at 46%."
As they grow up they use the internet more and more. First chat rooms then social media. But while the internet is a fairly innocuous environment for the boys, for the girls it can be a dangerous space. Linda has been abused online on Facebook via private messages and public comments.
"Approximately one-third (31%) of 18-25 year old women have experienced abuse online."
The friends are all still single at this stage of their lives and with the emergence of dating apps they decide to give it a go. For the boys and most of the girls it is a bit of fun. Not for Mary, though, who has an unexpectedly unpleasant experience on Tinder when she connects with a young man. They start chatting but rapidly his comments take a dark turn, complete with aggression and insults. Mary would not use dating apps anymore.
"Around 1 in 5 (21%) 18-25 year old women have experienced harassment or abuse whilst using an online dating site)."
The years pass and these eight friends are all in their thirties. Work keeps them busy as do kids for some of the group. When they catch up, the conversation can become serious. Hannah and Jane often insist that often, as women, they are treated unfairly at work, and they both agree that they feel that it is more difficult for a woman to pursue her dream career.
"Almost half of all Australian women agree and feel that gender inequality exists in most Australian workplaces. 44% of the women surveyed feel it is easier to get your dream job if you are a man. One in four men agreed with the same proposition."
Some of the men disagree, but John knows that it is true. He is an accountant, looking after tax returns for his friends, and he can see that on average his male friends make more money than the girls, even though they have similar jobs.
Australia’s gender pay gap is at 14.6%, with women earning an average of $244.80 less than men per week [Workplace Gender Equality Agency, 2018].
Mary, John, Hannah, Mark, Jane, Peter, Linda and Paul are now in their late thirties. They all have families and kids.
Their gatherings are now crowded with family. Sometimes they talk about their childhood and how things have changed since. Jane, Mary, Linda and Hannah say that they struggle with their careers as they have to look after their children most of the time. It makes it impossible to focus on their jobs the same way that their male friends can do supported by their partners.
"86% of women say they do the majority of the housework. At the same time, 73% of men in the survey stated they were the primary breadwinners."
Their conversation is made lighter by some anecdote about how Australia used to be 30 or 40 years ago, when others rarely left the house. They agree that things are getting better. They are not good enough yet, but hopefully they are heading in the right direction.
"72% of men and 76% of women feel that gender equality is significantly better today than it was in their parent’s generation. On the whole, Australians (62%) feel that gender equality is improving."
Is Australia Sexist? premiered on SBS on Tuesday, December 4 at 8:40pm. The documentary is now available to stream on SBS On Demand.
