Equal opportunity pioneer celebrates 25 years in the skies

28/06/2004

No Australian woman would expect to be barred from her career just because she is female. Fewer, however, would know how much they owe to Deborah Wardley (Lawrie) and her landmark battle to become Australia's first female commercial airline pilot.

This year marks 25 years since Deborah won her case against the powerful Sir Reginald Ansett before the High Court. It was the first complaint before the newly established Victorian Equal Opportunity Board (now Equal Opportunity Commission) and the first contested anti-discrimination case in Australia.

The case divided public opinion and attracted enormous attention. Women's groups launched boycotts against Ansett, which resulted in a massive drift of passengers away from the carrier.

Now living in The Hague, Deborah has returned to Australia to celebrate 25 years since her historic win.

"So much seems to have changed in 25 years yet there are still areas of women's rights that need protection", said Ms. Lawrie. "I'm not a crusader; all I wanted was to do a job that I trained hard for and was confident that I was perfectly capable of performing."

Equal Opportunity Commission Victoria chief executive, Dr Diane Sisely said since Deborah's victory much of the blatant discrimination women faced has decreased significantly.

"However sex discrimination, pregnancy discrimination and sexual harassment are still prevalent and many sexist attitudes and behaviour remain. You only have to look at the depiction of half naked women on billboards or listen to the lyrics of rap songs to know that we are a long way from respect and equality."

Dr Sisely said attitudes and behaviours could only be addressed with a comprehensive campaign that combine legislation, education and mass media advertising.

"Millions of dollars have been pumped into programs like Quit and the TAC - equal opportunity bodies get nothing like that level of funding. We've got legislation and a complaint handling body with minimal clout - that's never going to lead to real change in attitudes," she said.

Now a Senior Captain flying European routes for KLM, Deborah is also an international expert on air safety and directs an aircraft incident investigation course.

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Deborah's win, the Equal Opportunity Commission is hosting two events.

Morning tea with Australian Women Pilots Association Tuesday 29th June 2004, 9.30 am - 10.30 am Blue Room - Virgin Blue Lounge (formerly Ansett lounge), Tullamarine Airport

Official celebration of 25th anniversary of Deborah's win. Tuesday 29th June 2004, 12pm to 2pm YWCA, 489 Elizabeth St, Melbourne