• 18 Sep 2021 10:21 AM | Jean Murray (Administrator)

    In 2020, the United Nations declared 18 September to be the International Equal Pay DayStriving for Gender Equality is one of the key aims tracked by the UN – Sustainable Development Goal 5 specifically aims to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls worldwide.

    Even before the full social and economic impacts of COVID-19 are realised, the 2020 World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Report suggested it would take a further 99.5 years to achieve gender parity, and research since has shown that fallout from the pandemic has adversely affected women even more. An updated McKinsey Global Institute Report warns that not taking gender-responsive actions during the pandemic could lead to a $1 trillion loss in global GDP by 2030. 

    Based on economic data that has been released during the past 12 months, we have seen that the pandemic has exacerbated inequalities around the world, including gender inequalities. As companies seek to find an edge in the recovery from COVID-19, we cannot miss more opportunities to fully realise the enormous economic potential of women and girls. To advance gender equality, Australia is working with regional partners where 75%-90% of market vendors are women to install sanitation and safety equipment to limit the spread of COVID-19.

  • 13 Sep 2021 1:40 PM | Jean Murray (Administrator)

    Strong Female Lead is a very powerful documentary, depicting the highs and lows of Julia Gillard’s life as our first female Prime Minister. This review was written by Gillian Lewis, South Australian State Representative on the BPW Australia Board.

    From the makers of ‘See What You Made Me Do?’, Strong Female Lead explores the gender politics during Julia Gillard’s term as Australia’s first and still only female Prime Minister. Looking back at Ms Gillard’s time as Prime Minister, the film examines the response and tone from media commentators, the Australian public and within Parliament itself.

  • 07 Sep 2021 11:30 AM | Jean Murray (Administrator)

    Professor Lyn Craig of the University of Melbourne says national summits have their place — but asks what it will really take to achieve equality for Australian women.  She says women in Australia are over it, they are sick of the ongoing unacceptable levels of workplace discrimination, sexual harassment and domestic violence. They are sick of calling for better public safety and an end to the gender pay gap. They are also completely exhausted

    There have been criticisms of a "talkfest", of platitudes, of too many inquiries and summits but insufficient action, programs and funding over recent years - we already know what's needed, just fund it and get on with it.

    The Australian Human Rights Commission issued a statement which refers to their submission that called for adequate, long-term and secure funding for accessible domestic violence support services, based on consultation to ensure needs are met.

    What will women see from this Summit?  Will our needs and expectations and rights be met?  BPW will be monitoring the discussions, decisions and the follow-up actions and will keep members informed.

  • 03 Sep 2021 12:46 PM | Jean Murray (Administrator)

    The National Summit will be held online on Monday 6 and Tuesday 7 September and members will be able to join the live-stream here. Check the program to see the sessions and the extensive list of speakers. You can print a pdf of the program to plan what sessions are most relevant to you or your club.

    Online roundtables were held on Thursday 2 and Friday 3 September.

  • 20 Aug 2021 1:07 PM | Angela Tomazos

    Australian Federation of Business and Professional Women (BPW Australia) is marking Equal Pay Day 2021 by joining Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) on the call for Australians to ask #WhatsYourPayGap in their workplaces and industries. A crucial step towards bridging this divide. Research proves when organisation analyse and take action on pay equity , the gender pay gap closes.   

    The Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) announced Equal Pay Day 2021 will fall on 31st August marking the 61 additional days from the end of the previous financial year that women must work to earn the same pay as men.

    Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) is an Australian Government statutory agency created by the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012. The Agency is charged with promoting and improving gender equality in the Australian Workplaces.

    Key facts in 2021;

    • The national gender pay gap is 14.2%.
    • This is a 0.8pp rise from the previous gender pay gap of 13.4%
    • On average, women working full-time earned $1,575.50 while men working full-time earned $1,837.00.
    • Full-time average weekly earnings difference between women and men is $261.50.

    So; what can we do? what steps can we take, as individuals or a collective, to increase this ‘on average’ calculation? To broaden the conversation; nuance the considerations and change the narrative? To achieve a more just, more equal and more inclusive society for a strong and thriving Australia; how do we make concrete steps towards this?

     

    This year we are encouraging our BPW Australia club members and networks to join WGEA call for the first step to find out #WhatsYourPayGap? by going to WGEA Data Explorer at www.data.wgea.gov.au/home  and seeing if their employer has done a pay gap audit and acted on its findings. We want our clubs to join in the call to start a conversation with members and their networks about the gender pay gap, what it means to them and how we can help to close it. We can all work together to eliminate gender pay discrimination.” Jacqueline Graham, BPW Australia President said.

    “BPW Australia surveyed women earlier this year on their experiences and expectations of the future of work. We found women were telling us they lack the confidence on current policy settings valuing their work , for example the skills and pay for someone pushing the wheelbarrow vs someone pushing the wheelchair.”  Jacqueline said.

    WGEA Director Mary Wooldridge said the increase in the pay gap was concerning and served as a warning to ensure continued focus, effort and commitment to drive it back down again.

    “Closing the pay gap is about fairness. Our data shows women’s average full-time wages are lower than men’s across every industry and occupation in Australia. ’The gender pay gap signifies that the work of women is still not treated as being of equal value to that of men. The 2021 Gender Equity Insights Report from Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC) and WGEA research reveals, the sobering reality is that, on current trends, it will take 26 years to close the total remuneration gender pay gap.” Mary Wooldridge said.

    To find out more , go to www.equalpayday.com.au


  • 19 Aug 2021 3:50 PM | Angela Tomazos

    https://www.wgea.gov.au/newsroom/equal-pay-day-media-release

  • 14 Aug 2021 11:55 AM | Jean Murray (Administrator)

    Journalist Kristine Ziwica examines the government’s recognition of the needs of women and engagement with the women's movement and finds it seriously lacking. 

    She laments Australia’s poor showing at the UN’s Generation Equality Forum, and that Australia’s ranking in the Global Gender Gap Index, has plummeted from 15th in 2006 to 50th, close to last amongst OECD nations.  The government’s high-profile announcements in relation to women have been characterised by big press conferences followed by silence or obfuscation when it comes to delivery.

    The appointment of a Minister of Women's Economic Security is followed by the defunding of the Security4Women Alliance.  Kristine quotes Judith van Unen, Past President of BPW Australia and the co-founder of eS4W: “There is a silencing by stealth, not inviting you to a critical meeting or not renewing your funding.”

    This is the third in a three-part series on women’s economic security, supported by the Melbourne Press Club’s Michael Gordon Fellowship for social justice journalism. Part one covered older women and homelessness, while part two discussed the legal fight to close the gender pay gap.

  • 29 Jul 2021 12:15 PM | Angela Tomazos

    https://www.wgea.gov.au/publications/australias-gender-pay-gap-statistics

    We are waiting for the date to be released by Workplace Gender Equality Agency.(WGEA)  Murray Black from WGEA advised the next release of Average Weekly Earnings stats is due on 19th August and the updated data will enable new date to be calculated. Last years EPD date was 28th August. We will update our site and equalpayday.com.au and our social media channels as soon as date is announced. 


  • 25 Jul 2021 10:54 AM | Jean Murray (Administrator)

    Founded by Australia’s longest serving Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Elizabeth Broderick AO, the mission of the Champions of Change Coalition is to engage leaders to help achieve gender equality and a significant and sustainable increase in the representation of women in leadership.   

    In May, the Coalition released a series of reports on preventing and responding to sexual harassment in workplaces.  This month they released their Pathway to Gender Equality in Sport: Progress Report 2019-2020 which tracks improvement and provides transparency on Group-wide and organisation performance on gender equality across 26 measures under the five categories of: leadership, participation, pathways, investment and practical actions.

    “Sport has unparalleled influence to shift cultures and mindsets across the world. Our Coalition members have stepped up and committed to transparent annual reporting and review, so we can accelerate the pace of change and move our organisations towards equality – for the benefit of all women athletes, coaches, leaders, participants and fans.” Elizabeth Broderick AO

    All very relevant during the Olympic Games.

  • 11 Jul 2021 12:36 PM | Jean Murray (Administrator)

    Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins’ report on sexual harassment in the workplace in Australia, Respect@Work, was released over a year ago.  The government published its response to the report in April, and introduced a bill to legislate some of these changes last month.

    Prof Beth Gaze, University of Melbourne, critiques the Bill that amends the Sex Discrimination Act and the Fair Work Act against the report recommendations.  She commends the major changes that expand the coverage, scope and time limits of the Bill, but is concerned about the language and terms used are likely to reduce the effectiveness of the changes.  The SDA changes set a threshold of proving sexual harassment to be “seriously demeaning” which is too is too high, and sexual harassment is not specifically named in the FWA and is not regarded as a workplace health and safety issue or as serious misconduct.  The FWA offers no protection against sexual harassment by a work colleague that occurs outside of the work environment. 

    The Bill needs further changes to address these shortcomings.

BPW Australia Newsletter Archive

Past editions of BPW Australia's electronic newsletters can be viewed as a PDF - see below.

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