Good news! The Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) announced today that the gender pay gap has reduced from 16.2% in 2016 to 15.3% in 2017.  This means Equal Pay Day will this year fall on Monday 4 September, marking the additional time from the end of the past financial year that women must work in order to earn the same yearly salary as men.

BPW Australia's Equal Pay Day Campaign has kicked off, with members around the country working to mark Equal Pay Day with local events and publicity.

The federal government released its workforce policy last month: Towards 2025 - An Australian Government Strategy to Boost Women's Workforce Participation.  It covers a range of matters including childcare where it sets out the government’s rebate strategy.  A recent Daily Telegraph article interviewed 7 mothers (but no fathers) who advocated for tax deductibility for childcare.  BPW Australia advocates for rebates because all children are equally precious and equally expensive; richer parents should not be offered cheaper childcare than those on lesser incomes.  Rebates treat every child the same whereas tax deductions are proportional to the salary earned: essentially the more you earn, the higher your tax rate, the greater your tax deduction, the cheaper your childcare costs.  

The Workplace Gender Equality Agency claims removing Australia’s pay equity gap could take 50 years. Despite major feminist campaigns in recent decades and significant gains in legislation and attitudes on discrimination, the pay gap is not reducing. The authors of this recent article in The Conversation argue that the growth of market liberalism has reduced the influence of collective rules and regulation on pay and conditions, and harmed the relative position of women in ways that have offset gains through changing values and individual rights.

We know gender pay gaps tend to increase when the economy is booming and contract during economic downturns due to the gender-segregated nature of Australia’s workforce, but many myths about the cause of the gender pay gap still persist. 

Per Capita released their research report into superannuation and women’s retirement outcomes this month which reveals women’s average superannuation balances at retirement are less than half of men’s.  

The recommendations at the end of the Not So Super report include a superannuation contribution on top of the carer payment for all carers (male and female) below the accumulation pathway; and a superannuation contribution at the prevailing SGC rate for the government’s paid parental leave scheme.  This second recommendation aligns with the BPW Australia resolution passed by the 2013 National Conference.  

Professor Mara Olekalns, writing in The Conversation, explores the realities of seeking a pay rise.  She advises us to make our case for a pay rise by highlighting our unique skills and contributions to the organisation, providing a well-reasoned case for increased wages and explore some non-economic ways to enhance your overall remuneration package. However she adds a caveat on this approach: it works better for men than for women, who violate the stereotype-based expectations that they display warmth and concern when they ask.

She acknowledges that asking for a pay rise isn’t simple for many employees and provides some practical tips for negotiating a pay rise.  Also refer to the Harvard Business review advice on how to be your own best advocate.

The Conversation reports that narrowing the wage gap between men and women would not only deliver equal income, but boost Australia’s long-term productivity, our research shows.  Government data shows that the gender pay gap for full-time employees, across all industries and occupations is 23.1%. This means, on average, that women earn A$26,853 less per year than men. We looked at the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ average weekly ordinary time earnings (AWOTE) data from 1986 to 2013, and controlled for other factors that affect labour productivity. All else being equal, we found that gender income inequality adversely affects productivity. In fact, a 10% reduction in gender income inequality can boost labour productivity by up to 3%. Put another way, eliminating Australia’s existing gender wage gap would lift long-term labour productivity growth by 5.7%. 

The business case for greater gender diversity on boards is pretty clear. KPMG’s recently released Enterprise's 2017 ASX 300+ Report found that mid-market companies with more women on their boards achieved higher revenue growth, profitability and shareholder returns than those without gender diversity (and also diversity of age, culture, experience and other factors).  Although the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) has set a target of 30% for female board representation by the end of 2018, current levels of female representation show there is still a way to go.

As part of a series on gendered work and the pay gap, Broad Agenda asked Professor Alison Sheridan, University of New England, for her take on the recently released Senate committee report, 'Gender segregation in the workplace and its impact on women's economic equality.' After researching women’s experiences in the paid workforce for more than 25 years, Professor Sheridan advises that until we address the fundamental problem of the undervaluing of traditionally ‘female’ occupations, Australia’s poor record in gender pay equity will continue.

Women NSW (the government department) is inviting women in NSW to Have Their Say as part of the development of the NSW Women's Strategy.  

The NSW Government is developing the NSW Women’s Strategy, a whole-of-government, whole-of-community policy framework to improve gender equality and gender equity in NSW.

The strategy is planned to be released later this year.

The aim of the strategy is to improve equality and equity for women and girls in every aspect of their lives.

The objectives of the strategy are:

• To understand the diverse experiences of gender inequality and gender inequity of women and girls across their lifespan.
• To increase engagement with the whole community on improving gender equality and gender equity.
• To identify areas for focused action and investment.
• To support men and boys to engage with issues of gender inequality and gender inequity.
• To develop an evidence-based framework for achieving change.

The overarching areas of focus that will be addressed in the strategy include:

• Health, wellbeing and safety
• Economic empowerment
• Culture and identity
• Leadership and work

What's the deal with economic leadership and women in Australia? Nationally, Australia has never had a female treasurer, nor a woman as secretary of Treasury, nor for that matter, a female governor of the Reserve Bank. Remember, these three posts represent the supreme triumvirate of economic positions nationally. All have been held by men. Exclusively.  National Affairs Editor for Fairfax, Mark Kenny argues that this cannot be brushed off as the blind operation of the merit principle.