[AstralTraveller (David)]

It wasn't just equal treatment in hotels that was a problem.

Thirty years ago a woman could be discriminated against when applying for a job. In NSW an anti-discrimination law was passed in 1979 (or was that 77?) but it wasn't until 1980 that a campaign was begun that confronted systematic discrimination in hiring employees. The campaign went on for some years but in the end AIS-BHP was found guilty of sexual discrimination. The 34 claimants were each awarded damages for lost wages and in some cases this amounted to several years wages. AIS-BHP appealed to the High Court on a grab-bag of 30+ grounds but the appeal was rejected. That win brought forward another 702 women who had been denied employment and they also won. In the end it cost the company about $9m in damages plus several more million in legal fees.

There are obviously some areas that are still male-dominated (and others that are female-dominated) but the situation is slowly changing. Certainly it would now be a very silly employer who left themselves open to charges of discrimination in the workplace.