Women are still losing out on pay at every stage of life, new report reveals.

by

A new report released by the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) on 7 March 2016 reveals that Australian women are financially disadvantaged at every key stage of their life: in childhood, at the workplace, through pregnancy, motherhood and as a carer, and in retirement.

The ACTU’s Gender Pay Gap – Over the Life Cycle report shows that whether given less pocket money as a child, lower wages as a graduate, a poorer household income in pregnancy and as a mother or much lower savings in retirement, girls and women still face overwhelming inequality and lack of opportunity.

Women make up 42% of the workforce but currently earn 17.2% less than men. Today’s findings provides a three year update of Australian women’s pay and conditions since the ACTU’s original Gender Pay Gap report was published in 2013.

Key report findings:

Childhood:

 Young girls receive 11% less pocket money than boys;

 Less than one in 20 girls considers a career in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) compared to one in five boys.

The Workplace:

 Women are earning less on average to men than they were 20 years ago;

 Women earn $284.20 less per week than men;

 70% of part-time work is undertaken by women;

 60% of women are graduates in recent years, however female post-graduates earn 82% of the salary of a male post graduate;

 Just 24% of Australian Board Directors and 17 % of Chief Executives are women.

Pregnancy, motherhood and caring:

 Women, during their child bearing years ( 25-44) earn up to 40% less than men in the same age group, regardless of whether they have children;

 Women spend twice as much time doing unpaid work including caring for children, older people or people with a disability, housework and volunteering in their local community;

 Mothers who return to work after 12 months parental leave after the birth of their first child suffer a wage penalty of 7% in their first year. Twelve percent (12%) in the following year;  One in three (32%) mothers who are discriminated against look for another job or resign.

Retirement:

 The average superannuation balance for women at retirement is $138,150 for women compared with $292,500 for men;

 60% of women aged between 65-69 years have no Super at all;

 It is estimated that 38.7% of single women will retire in poverty;

 Twice the amount of Superannuation tax concessions from government flow to men than women.

Unions are calling for:

 A government funded parental leave scheme of 26 weeks paid at no less than the national minimum wage plus superannuation;

 Fifteen hours of free childcare for every child per week for all families;

 A right to request flexible work arrangements that clearly set out an employer’s obligations to properly consider and make reasonable efforts to accommodate requests.