Unions are stepping up the fight to close the gender pay gap, pushing for major changes to parental leave and workplace bargaining for women.
Among the recommendations from an Australian Council of Trade Unions-commissioned report is the call for primary and secondary carer definitions to be abolished and families to be given 26 weeks' parental leave to use how they please.
The A-C-T-U's report Changing the Rules for Working Women says the gender pay gap is influenced by a number of factors.
They include discrimination in hiring practices, women being disproportionately over-represented in lower wage occupations, and caring responsibilities, which often force women to leave the workforce for extended periods of time.
The reports says women are impacted by the trend towards casual work with more women than men employed on a casual basis.
The A-C-T-U says casual employees are more likely to be in industries and occupations increasingly subject to cuts in weekend and holiday pay, including hospitality, pharmacy, retail and fast food workers.
