Parliamentary Updates

28 November 2024

I Rise to support, and to speak on this government's workplace gender equality Amendment setting gender equality targets bill. Now we all know you can't be what you can't see, and this bill creates a requirement to set gender targets and actually achieve them. I do welcome that. It's not just about setting targets it's about setting a standard. We as a society, but in particular business, is moving too slow in relation to changing and increasing equality and diversity within the organizations. Women continue to be underrepresented in leadership positions, representing only 22% of CEOs. Women hold 20% of chair positions and 32% of board member positions. One in four organizations have no women board members. This is simply not good enough we know that there is a relationship between women being in the senior levels and higher executive levels of company ranks and results in higher company performance productivity and profitability. It is a win-win. According to a 2020 report by McKenzie and Company, companies in the top quartile of gender diversity on Executive teams were 25% more likely to achieve above average profitability compared to those in the bottom quartile. Additionally, organizations with a strong commitment to diversity benefit from improved innovation, better decision making and increased employee satisfaction and retention. So that's why I do welcome this bill and the government's action on progressing equity in Australian workplaces. It Is by no means perfect and there will be there are questions in relation to how it will work and whether it will drive that meaningful change. What we know is the current system is not working adequately despite repeated good intentions and a lot of talk we're not seeing the progress that needs to happen, and so I do welcome changing the dial increasing the accountability of big business. The reform in this bill can help to achieve greater gender equality and help keep businesses accountable for improving gender equality in their workplaces. The amendment will require employers with over 500 employees to set, achieve and report on gender equality targets including one employee on employee composition, equal remuneration and the availability of flexible employment options and support for parents and carers. I think this is all really important data. I think it's really important for people looking at places of employment to understand the culture and the standards of a company and so this will make it all the more transparent and hold those larger companies to account. Ensuring transparency is a key step in achieving better outcomes for women by mandating reporting on gender targets, this legislation holds organizations accountable fostering meaningful progress. Now I know many in business will say it is yet another reporting requirement that is burdensome and adds complexity, but with respect, leaving it to business to do it in a voluntary way is  not achieving uh the results that are necessary. You've had years to progress this and too many have given it lip service for too long, and so that is why I support that this now be mandatory. The bill implements recommendation 3.1A of the 2022 Review of the Workplace Gender Equality Act to bridge the action gap through the development of a gender equality target scheme for certain employees. This scheme will be the first of its kind globally, but let's be clear it's not a silver bullet. As of August 2024, the workplace gender equality agency reported that for total remuneration, the average gender pay gap is still 21.8%. It means that for every $1 on average a man makes, women earn only 78 cents. That is not good enough in 2024 for older women the disparity is even starker. Women aged 55 to 59 years are earning $53,000 less each year than men, a gap of 32.6%. This becomes more pronounced when we consider that women over 55 are the fastest growing group facing homelessness due to their financial circumstances and often have very little superannuation to fall back, so the gender pay gap becomes even more pronounced when we consider the superannuation impacts of this Gap in 2023 the Association of Superannuation Funds Australia released data that found that the gap in superannuation balances between men and women began to widen from age 30 onwards. By the time they reach retirement age women have on average 25% less superannuation than men. That is a massive problem in our society. Gender equity isn't just about equal pay, it's about fairness in opportunity and support throughout everyone's careers, in particular women's careers, and what we're finding is far too often women now of a certain age have paid the price of being relied upon on by society to be the carers, the childbearing and the child wearing, but also the carers of parents of generation and taking time out of that Workforce and that career trajectory. So, what we do need is more support to ensure that gender equality piece is there. Women need more pronounced workplace cultural change to embrace greater flexibility work arrangements as well as greater support for care and responsibilities. It is still something that as a society we rely on that incredible amount of caring that occurs that is not recognized or valued or remunerated in any way. When workplaces embrace this, we know it encourages a more equitable workforce participation and career progression both of which can lead to reduced gender pay gaps and ultimately, a better, fairer society. So that's why the outcomes of this bill will not just be about a matter of fairness, but about creating stronger more productive workplaces and an overall stronger economy. The Bill introduces essential targets, but targets alone can't deliver that transformation targets must be accompanied by genuine cultural change, accountability, mentoring and policies that support workplace. Targets must be accompanied by genuine cultural change and that absolutely needs to happen for this to be effective. Then those targets can be effective. Achieving workplace gender equality is not just about fairness, it's about unlocking the full potential of our workforce and building a stronger more resilient society. So, I do see this bill represents a chance to set a new benchmark, where ambition is met with opportunity and contribution is recognized equally regardless of gender.