umsu.wom*n's

It’s time! Not in a Gough Whitlam way, though the increasing cost of higher education will be a recurring topic throughout the week.

Blue Stocking Week is a national campaign run by the National Union of Students and the National Tertiary Education Union, celebrating how far we’ve come while calling women to arms to make sure we don’t become complacent and constantly strive for equality.

It’s an opportunity for women across Australia to celebrate how far we’ve come since the early days of female enrollment, and to contemplate how we have left to go.

We will be selling blue stockings to help you get into the spirit of it throughout the week, for a donation to Shakti Migrant & Refugee Women’s Support Group.

Get involved. Get excited. Get sassy. Get educated. Get even.

THE CALENDAR:

Monday 29th April

• BBQ & Giant Game of Snakes & Ladders on North Court 12-2pm

Here’s the Facebook event.

Tuesday 30th April

• “Where are the Women?” Scavenger Hunt around campus

Ever wished the entire university could become your playground for a giant scavenger hunt? Ever wished you knew more about the influential women to have walked the grounds of this university before us? THEN THIS IS THE SCAV HUNT FOR YOU! Come to North Court during the Tuesday BBQ to get your first clue and then see where the scav hunt takes you! Here’s the Facebook event.

Wednesday 1st May

• Panel on “Being a Woman in a Boys Club.” 12pm, Old Arts Theatre A

Featuring: Margaret Shiel (University Provost, background in science), Sally Coates (Former navy, currently manager at UoM Safer Community Program), Judy Courtin (lawyer and PhD student, conducting research into sexual assault and the Catholic Church). Ahem, a Facebook event to let people know with.

• Cross-Campus Panel: I am woman, hear me type! 7-9pm, Victoria Room, Queen Victoria Women’s Centre – 210 Lonsdale St

Panellists: Clementine Ford, Karen Pickering, Amber Jamieson, Amy Gray.

$3 for student union members (Incl. Melbourne University students), $5 for future members/non-students. All proceeds to Shakti

Presented by LaTrobe, Swinburne, Monash & Melbourne Wom*n’s Departments.

Thursday 2nd May

• Pay Gap Cupcake Stall. Taking donations of $1 from men, 80c from women and 70c from trans* & SGD folk. All money collected will be donated to Shakti Migrant & Refugee Women’s Support Group. We need as many lovely ladies to bring in cupcakes as possible, pretty please!  Here’s a Facebook event.

Friday 3rd May

• A cross-campus statewide display of sass at the State Library Blue Stockings Brides. Dress code: bridal gown and blue stockings. MRS degrees provided. Run with Swinburne Student Union & La Trobe Student Union Women’s Departments.
• Networking drinks at Tsubu from 3pm. Here’s the Facebook event, tell ya friends.

THE MATTER AT HAND:

Aren’t we already equal? Yeah but NAH, bro. Here are some links to read up on.

On the gendered pay gap:

Gender Pay Gap Still a Disgrace: It hasn’t improved much in the past 20 years.

It got worse this year, we get paid less from when we graduate

On who the original Blue Stockings Society were:

http://www.basbleu.com/info/bluestocking.hzml

http://bitchmagazine.org/post/revenge-of-the-feminerd-bluestockings-the-original-feminerds

On women’s representation at university:

Breakdown of how many women in teaching and leadership roles at the University of Melbourne

So it’s getting to be that delightful autumn weather with crisp mornings and sunny afternoons, the kind of sunny that doesn’t make you want to move underground (I’m looking at you, Melbourne Heatwave )

It’s pretty much perfect for riding your bike to uni (if you ever want to remember you can use the showers in the Basement of Union House, you can get the key from the Info Desk, and ask them about a locker as well… They have all the answers, about everything.)

So we’re excited to be running a bike workshop with the Environment department for women and trans* identifying students on Monday, on North Court from 1-4pm! Here’s the Facebook Event.

Then in a couple of weeks, it will be Blue Stocking Week, celebrating women in higher education!

Here’s the page with our event calendar and some links to read up on!

Monday: BBQ & Giant Game of Snakes & Ladders on North Court 12-2pm

Tuesday: “Where are the Women?” Scavenger Hunt around campus

Wednesday: Panel on “Being a Woman in a Boys Club”

Thursday: Pay Gap Cupcake Stall. Taking donations of 80c from women and $1 from men, starting the conversation about how women earn 83c to every diollar a man earns (on average). All money collected will be donated to Shakti Migrant & Refugee Women’s Support Group. We need as many lovely ladies to bring in cupcakes as possible, pretty please!

Friday: A cross-campus statewide display of sass at the State Library Blue Stockings Brides. Dress code: bridal gown and blue stockings. MRS degrees provided.

Also, LaTrobe, Swinburne & UMSU Women’s Collectives are whipping up a zine for BSW! YOU SHOULD TOTALLY SUBMIT TO IT! (But not in a patriarchal gender roles woman is submissive and docile way, obviously)

In sisterhood,

Amy

Easter break huh? Feel like procrastinating? You could always contribute to Judy’s Punch… 

Thank you so much to everyone who came to the National Day of Action last week!  There were hundred of students from universities across Melbourne there, chanting “Bullshit! Come off it! Our education is not for profit!” & “No ifs! No buts! No education cuts!”

There will be another NDA closer to the election. Maintain the rage.

We were also really happy to see so many at the launch of our Women’s Mentoring Network last week! Frances Separovic, Head of Chemistry at UoM told us her fascinating life story, focusing on how many mentors she had had and how many were unexpected and how career progression is rarely linear. The Mentoring Network Groups have now been assigned. We’ll be having great speakers at our Networking Nights every month. If you didn;t hear back from us, please let us know.

Next week will see a return of regular weekly events:

WAC (Monday 1pm in Wom*n’s Room) This week we’ll start talking about Bluestockings Week & NOWSA (again)

Feminist Discussion Group (Wednesday at 2 in Graham Cornish A) is happening!

Ladies Who Lunch With Ladies (Thursday 1pm in the Wom*n’s Room)- lunch and chats for queer and questioning wom*n on campus

Until then, keep smashing the patriarchy and taking care of yourself,

Amy