Women Archives - Page 26 of 35 - Maureen F. Fitzgerald

If I had done what Barclays did I would have been imprisoned

How is it that the three top executives at Barclay’s PLC (London) can resign after the bank was fined $455 million dollars for fraud? As a lawyer, if I committed fraud, I would no longer be allowed to practise law – ever. I would also be required by law to pay back all those I defrauded,

Would you want your local police officer sexually degrading a woman?

I am shocked that someone (likely a lawyer) told the RCMP regulators that it “was fine” for one of its police officers to participate in sado-masochistic activities – not during work hours of course. This officer actually posted online videos of him tying up and slashing naked women. Later he said it was no issue because there was no victim. No

Women need men who promote them not just stand by

This article reminded me of my law firm articling experience 25 years ago. Although we were never told exactly what happened, apparently a senior male lawyer had an affair with a law student and because of that all office doors had to be kept open when we women met with our mentors. We had only one

I am glad I am not a woman in India

India ranked the lowest in terms on female equity in a recent G20 report by 370 gender experts. Almost 45 percent of girls are married before they turn 18, one bride is murdered every hour over dowry demands, violence against women is rampant and research shows that 51 percent of men and 54 percent of

Canada is best G20 country for females

I am not sure we should celebrate yet. Out of 19 countries, Canada scored best for females because we have “free” medical services, “paid” maternity leave and don’t suffer as much death on birthing, murder and rape as women in 18 other countries. I am also most proud that Canada (and not the USA) has signed the international law that protects women (the

Human rights lawyer jailed in Tehran

I can’t stand hearing news like this. The very people who fight for rights are the victims of rights violations. Abdolfattah Soltani, a Iranian human rights lawyer was just sentenced to 13 years in prison by a Tehran revolutionary court. He co-founded a human rights group with a Nobel laureate and was charged with spreading

Yeah for Brenda Morrison

Restorative justice expert and SFU professor Brenda Morrison wrote a great OpEd in the Vancouver Sun on June 19, 2012 comparing Vancouver to London and how they dealt with the rioters that damaged our city streets over the last few years. London courts combine punishment with restoration whereas Vancouver seems to be stuck in prosecutions and penalties – at a very

1938 in Vancouver looks like Occupy

It was 20 years before I was born yet it looks like the Occupy Movement! A 1938 picture in today’s Vancouver Sun showed that Vancouver police injured 39 men and arrested 22 for a sit-in strike at the Vancouver main post office. It lasted 6 weeks and the men simply wanted jobs or financial support because they were starving from

Women get less severance pay

Professor Ken Thornicroft at the Universty of Victoria has discovered that when women are wrongfully fired from their jobs and sue for wrongful dismissal they receive less severance pay in court than men in similar circumstances. About 1.7 months less on average. He also conducted research on his students and found that in 600 sets of staged workplace dismissal negotiations, female students received

Punishments do not stop bullying

Apparently there is a federal Senate Committee looking into cyber-bullying. Although many anti-bullying experts have told the committee that harsh punishments do little to stop online bulling (or any bullying for that matter) it took eight teens from Calgary Alberta via video conference to bring this very simple message home. May be I better send