S1E1: Patriarchy is dead, may it rest in hell.

Join me in this powerful episode of "Think Dream Succeed," where I dive into the complexities of patriarchy and the struggles faced by women in the workplace. Through my personal journey, I unveil the harsh realities of workplace discrimination, exploring how patriarchal values are deeply intertwined with corporate culture. The goal? To spark an important conversation about gender equality and the structural changes necessary to create safer, more inclusive work environments.

I share insights on the historical context of how men often dominate corporate hierarchies, leaving women to navigate a landscape fraught with bias and intimidation. However, with recent legislative changes, including the pivotal "Respect at Work Positive Duty," we have a chance to make meaningful progress in this area. This is not just a personal story but a broader reflection on societal values and the urgent need for reform.

Throughout the episode, I discuss not only the challenges but the strengths that emerge from standing up against injustice. As a veteran, I draw on my experiences in the military and civil sectors to highlight the importance of resilience and community support in fighting for human rights. We explore how individuals can engage with local officials to advocate for change and support one another in this ongoing battle against systemic oppression.

This episode is meant to be a rallying call for anyone who has ever felt marginalized or bullied in their workplace. I invite you to tune in, reflect, and join the movement towards a world where everyone can thrive without fear or compromise. Let's reimagine what fair workplaces can look like together. Subscribe, share, and let’s continue the conversation!

Taking back control of the narrative by having a one-way conversation with Patriarchy and Capitolism.

Intro Music from FMA website - Pink Soul by Beat Mekanik

Chapters

• 35:13 Introduction to the Episode
• 1:03:30 Understanding Patriarchy in the Workplace
• 3:38:30 A Call to Action for Change

Transcript

Kerin: 0:51

This is episode one, and the podcast is Think Dream Succeed, and this episode is entitled Patriarchy is Dead. May it Rest in Hell. Now, I'm not going to make this complicated for a first up. All I'm going to do is read an opening statement for a Fair Work Stop Bullying application that will never see the light of day because they tactically terminated my employment so that the outcome would mean that, under law, it must be dismissed. So that's another issue in itself. Welcome to unfair work. Here we go.

Kerin: 1:24

Patriarchy and capitalism are a bonded pair. In Australia, this situation has placed me under the duress of both belief systems. Capitalism is the corporation's motive to back the culprits and sacrifice the victim the many at the expense of the one. This system claims fairness. However, the corporation can sue me for costs, but I cannot sue them. Patriarchy believes that men are the constant and women are the variable that we, as females, must adjust around their behaviours. That is no longer the case as of December 2022, respect at Work Positive Duty was introduced. The corporation have had two years to educate these men and themselves. They broke the law at the outset and put my career and my life on a trajectory of pain that led us here. Sad to accept that I'm 45 years old nearly half a century on this earth, and I'm still fighting for my human rights. I stood up to a dominant male in my workplace and they've been bearing down on me ever since. I simply objected to a sexist comment which could easily have been apologised for. At that moment, I became a non-compliant female in a male-dominated work environment. To fully understand this case, you need to compare it to domestic abuse playing out in a workplace. There were coercive behaviours, manipulation, intimidation and isolation.

Kerin: 2:48

Most of us are ex-military and reservists serving in a civilian capacity. My experience is ex-army, ex-navy, mining industry and the mechanical space and training and assessing the ratio for soldiers is three to one. What's my ratio? To prepare for this, I purchased the book the Art of War by Sun Tzu. It said never go into battle when you're outnumbered. I'm always outnumbered. This is how I've had to navigate my career, surrounded by men with power and authority. These men are tactical. They have stood over mud maps and planned in a tactical fashion how they will take out an enemy target. Since April, I have been that target.

Kerin: 3:29

All of their evidence is fruit of the poisonous tree. It was gained through lies and collaboration. I've been disenfranchised out of my workplace by a civilian who enlisted the help of army and navy men, the two services I have served in. I'm a veteran and I can't think of any better reason to declare war, albeit a verbal one, than to see a need to revalidate the ANZACs that gave their lives. Their lives were not forfeited to endorse patriarchy, but for my freedom too, for all of us. The outcome I want is for my human rights to be restored in full and without compromise.

Kerin: 4:08

Now, mind you that the corporation terminated my employment while I was waiting for a hearing outcome. So now I'm going through my local member at Hasluck, that's Tanya Lawrence, and she's got a constituent, she's been keeping in touch and keeping Tanya informed for the months that this situation has gone on, for this situation went on since the end of April and I tried to make it to an original stop bullying application hearing and because the behaviours were still going on in the background, I ended up with a mental health injury in, I think, the end of August, early September, and never made it to the first hearing. So it's been a bendy, windy road and it's a threat to human life.

Kerin: 4:52

Obviously these are my views, not those of Tanya Lawrence, but if you have issues with systems like this, then you do go to your local member and try and gain some help and hopefully she'll see fit to put forward some legislative changes and we might be looking at a different system, hopefully in the near future. We'll see what she comes up with. Well, that's me signing off One down. Hopefully many more to go.