RECRUITMENT

I am looking to recruit an intern to work in by Brussels office. For more information, please see the advert in the link below.

http://www.w4mp.org/html/personnel/jobs/disp_job.asp?ref=15595

INTERNS AND THE LSE

All MEPs get many applications for work experience each year. I generally employ one stagiaire (trainee) in Brussels from autumn to spring each year on a fixed term contract. In the United Kingdom I have worked for several years with the London School of Economics. I have consistently been happy with the quality of graduates and postgraduates who have assisted me with my work.

I also receive great assistance from the LSE when selecting staff to ensure that the interns match my requirements. For anyone going to or at LSE wanting to apply to be an intern passion, commitment and wanting to change the world are the qualities I am especially attracted to!

As someone who promotes the use of new technology and flexible working practices I look for adaptability. There is no place for interns to just be standing by the photocopier or doing the simple repetitive tasks in the office. I always ensure that they are involved in policy and research work.

I was pleased to be involved in the celebration of 10 years of the LSE Intern scheme and I attach my page from their commemorative brochure.

My thanks for all their work to Emma Brannlund, Sarah Kellogg and Jillian London. Next years interns will have a very high standard to match!

http://maryhoneyball.net/lse-page.pdf

TOO MANY WOMEN JAILED

I recently wrote this letter to the Independent in response to their article "Action of Scandle of Women in Jail"
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/action-on-scandal-of-women-in-jail-888281.html

Dear Editor,
The Justice minister Maria Eagle's promise to make a "significant" cut to the number of women in jail and reinvest the savings in community-based rehabilitation (report, 8 August) has been long awaited by women and prisoners' rights campaigners.

The women's prison population has increased by more than 170 per cent over the past 10 years, even though the nature and seriousness of women's offending has not changed. By comparison, the men's prison population has risen by just 50 per cent over the same period.

In the vast majority of cases, prison is an inappropriate and damaging place for female offenders, who pose a much lower level of risk to the public than their male counterparts. Female offenders are also much more likely to be solely responsible for the care of children and running a home. When a mother is imprisoned, it is not just a sentence for her but also for her children, who face years of fostering or local authority care.

Thirteen years on from the Learmont inquiry, which concluded that women should be held in small self-contained units in urban areas, I hope that these reforms to the imprisonment of women will be made now.

Mary Honeyball MEP
Labour Spokesperson in the European Parliament, Women's Rights Committee

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/letters/letters-widespread-illiteracy-891442.html

ADVERTS AND STEREOTYPES

Recently the Women’s Rights and Gender Equality committee voted on a report on how marketing and advertising effect equality between men and women. We are surrounded by advertising in our day-to-day lives in newspapers, magazines, poster advertising, on the web and of course, on television. Advertisers are very talented at creating and reflecting trends in society in order to sell their products. To communicate with us their messages need to be very clear and pared down. Sometimes though, the necessity to be clear can lead advertisers to oversimplify a situation or to stereotype people. This can become a serious problem if the same message about a certain group of people is enforced over and over again. Children are particularly susceptible to the messages of advertising and we need to be careful that we are not giving them a skewed view of the world. For example, a recent British Medical Council Report highlights the fact that while advertising featuring extremely thin women does not directly cause eating disorders in young women, they do contribute to the problem by reinforcing the message that ‘thin’ equals good, successful and in control.

This is not to say that all advertising is bad, in fact, in the UK are lucky as Ofcom and the Advertising Standards Authority have very clear guidelines about stereotyping in advertising, and advertisers themselves have been good at avoiding direct stereotyping. It is no longer good enough in the UK to put a woman in a bikini beside a car or piece of furniture in order to sell it. British consumers demand more from advertising and as a result the bulk of our advertising is clever, sharp and often very witty.

Unfortunately this is not the case across the EU. In some countries women are still objectified like a product in order to sell a product. This is plainly wrong as it reinforces the message that women can literally be bought and sold. One of the positive things about the EU is that member states can learn from each others successes.

In Parliament's report, I tabled amendments that were examples of best practice from the UK that were calling for a European-wide set of standards that advertisers could use to self-regulate, much like we already do here in the UK. The report is going to be voted on by the entire parliament in September and I am hopeful that these measures will go through. I believe it’s a really important step in the battle for equality between women and men.

GOOGLE AND ONLINE PRIVACY

I've blogged before on issues surrounding online privacy. As more of our daily lives are conducted online, there are increasing concerns about the protection of our personal information on the internet.

But now Google's latest venture, Street View, seems to be blurring the boundaries between online and offline privacy.

Google has been sending a car around the streets of the capital to capture detailed photos of the surrounding area. These photos can then be viewed online along with Google's detailed maps. The photos show people going about their business, along with images of peoples' houses and cars, although Google have said they will blur faces and number plates.

What do you think? Does Street View represent a threat to your privacy? Would you be happy to have photos of you or your home uploaded? Or is this a useful technology to let us get a feel for a new place?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7534755.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7536549.stm

DO RELIGIOUS RIGHTS TRUMP ALL OTHER RIGHTS?

An interesting case in Islington has recently come to my attention. An employment tribunal has ruled that Lillian Ladele a registrar at the council does not have to officiate over same-sex civil partnerships as it offends her religious beliefs. The registrar in question has called the decision a "victory for religious liberty".

I am horrified by the decision of the tribunal. A civil partnership is not a religious marriage; God does not and should not figure. That this lady can refuse to bring together a loving couple, as is their right in UK, because it offends her religious sensitivities is ridiculous. She is a public servant and the right to civil partnership is the law, applicable to everybody, no matter their sexual orientation.

This case seems to row back on precedent set by the magistrate Andrew McClintock who refused to preside over adoption hearings involving same-sex couples. McClintock lost his case against the Government that he was being discriminated against on grounds of his religious belief.

Like McClintock, Ladele should not be allowed to dismiss this law and discriminate against people on the grounds of her personal beliefs. If your beliefs prohibit you from doing a particular job as a matter of conscience then you should consider whether you are fit for that job. This point is particularly pertinent when your job involves upholding the law. For example, if you believe with your whole heart that drugs should be legalised and would have serious problems convicting anybody found in possession of drugs then you should not become a police officer or judge.

This case is setting a dangerous precedent. What if she or another registrar will not officiate over the civil partnerships of couples who have been living together “in sin” or where one partner was previously divorced, or one partner is of another religion or race than the other? Should she be given the right of refusal in these scenarios too?

Where does the right of the religious to press their interpretation of the world on the rest of us end?

Luckily, Islington council have given notice of their intention to appeal and I certainly hope they do and that their appeal will be successful.