Woman alleges gender bias, will take Cricket Australia to court

SYDNEY: An Australian woman who says she was fired after posting tweets in support of greater access to abortion has filed a lawsuit against her former employer, Cricket Australia, and will fight to get her job back.

Angela Williamson, who worked in a government relations and public policy role at Cricket Australia, the sport’s governing body, said she was told her position had become “untenable” amid concerns that she insulted the Tasmanian government in the series of Twitter posts this year.

The case, which is under review by the government’s Fair Work Commission, includes allegations that a senior member of the Tasmanian government disclosed to Cricket Australia that Williamson, a former Tasmanian government staff worker, had undergone an abortion herself.

Williamson, a 39-year-old mother of three, says she was among the first women in Tasmania to have to fly to mainland Australia for an abortion after the island state’s only dedicated abortion clinic closed in January because of high running costs.

Despite being decriminalised in Tasmania in 2013, abortion is not currently available through the state’s public health system, which offers mostly free or lowcost care.

That lack of accessibility is what drove Williamson to post on Twitter, she said.

“I’m not a victim. I’m not seeking pity,” she told The Sydney Morning Herald in an interview published Sunday. “And I’m not going to be quiet about reproductive health and surgical terminations.”

Her lawyer, Kamal Farouque, said Williamson should be compensated and that she would fight to be reinstated at Cricket Australia.

Cricket Australia confirmed in a statement it had ended her employment in late June but would not comment on the circumstances or legal proceedings.

“Cricket Australia respects an individual’s right to their opinion,” the organization said.