The Australian Modern Oxford Dictionary (2003, p. 683) defines political correctness as the ÃÂavoidance of expressions or actions that may be considered discriminatory or pejorative to any minority or disadvantaged groupÃÂ. The idea of political correctness has been attributed to many people and movements throughout the years. However with each new decade that which is and is not discriminatory ÃÂ and therefore politically correct - changes. Each of these new changes has affected the Australian workplace. New laws have been introduced and old laws have been altered according to societyÃÂs view of what is right and wrong. In turn, people have been hired and fired according to these changes. This essay will examine societyÃÂs changing views on political correctness and the effect of this on the Australian workplace during the 20th and 21st centuries.
In 1902 the Franchise Act was passed in Australia allowing women but not most ethnic minorities or Indigenous Australians to vote.
January 3, 1863 cover of Harper's Weekly, one of t...
"we accept homos & cripples" (misunderstandable po...
The Campaign Against Political Correctness logoBy 1965 all Indigenous Australians were declared Australian citizens and had the same rights as non-Indigenous Australians. In 1966 married women were permitted to be employed. By 1972 women were entitled to the same wage as men for doing the same work. The Franchise Act recognised that women were equal to men at least to vote. While in 1966 it was decided that it was no longer politically correct for married women to be banned from being employed. Thus the ban was lifted. Each of these changes were landmark decisions that changed the Australian workplace. Although the term political correctness was only invented in the late 20th century, the idea of political correctness has existed for centuries. These changes in Australian law were made because a prominent portion of the Australian public of the time felt that it was politically incorrect for the situation to...