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As the first female CEO of Super Aware, one of Australia's largest superannuation funds, Deanne Stewart says she is acutely aware of the need to address Australia's gender pay gap.
Ms Stewart says the fund manages $125 billion on behalf of 1.1 million members mostly in the public sector - of whom two-thirds are female.
Highlights
- Workplace Gender Equality Agency finding women were hardest hit during the pandemic
- The gender pay gap has consequences from women being in a poorer financial position
- Advocates agreed roles need to be re-valued, and laws put in place around the country to oblige employers to enact workplace gender equality policies
There has only been marginal improvement of the national gender pay gap* in the past four decades.
The Workplace Gender Equality Agency says the gap of 22.8 per cent means women typically earn about $25,000 a year less than men.
Over the last seven years, Australia has fallen from 14th to 70th on women’s economic participation in the World Economic Forum’s global gender gap index, despite ranking first on women’s education.
And the results of a recent survey commissioned by Super Aware offers a better understanding of why.
More than 1,500 people [[1,502]] were surveyed in January and February to establish just how companies are implementing gender pay equity policies.
A third of those surveyed said the organisation they are working for does not have a gender pay equity policy in place; and a further 44 per cent had no idea if their employer had such a policy.
Ms Stewart says those figures are disconcerting.
"Look, it's so important because ultimately the gender pay gap has a significant impact on the financial security of women. But that is not just for today, but that has a knock-on impact for their future. There is not only the gender pay gap but that then translates into a superannuation gap, which then means that the gap as women look to retire, they retire with up to 50 per cent less than their male counterparts."
For Ness Gavanzo, who came from the Philippines to Australia a decade ago [[Feb 2012]], her work as chair of Gabriela Australia has taken on increased urgency during the pandemic.
Since 2018, she has been campaigning for a change to the family violence provisions under the Migration Regulations [[1994 Cth]] to include temporary visa holders, allowing survivors to transition to a permanent visa without needing the visa sponsor if that person is the abusive partner.
During the pandemic, the lack of support meant migrant women who survived domestic violence were deported or forced to live with their abusive partner to have a valid visa.
With the theme of International Women's Day in 2022 "gender quality today for a sustainable tomorrow", Ms Gavanzo says any chance for progress means everyone, everywhere, must stand together.
"Sisterhood is about international solidarity. We cannot just say that okay, we're better here (in Australia) because we have these great women's movements that has been pushing for reforms, who have been pushing for change. But then not looking at our sisters in other parts of the globe."
