2023-11-07 13:42:23
Australia urgently needs reforms to combat economic inequalities between men and women: this is the conclusion of the work of the working group created in 2022 by the Minister of Finance, Katy Gallagher, and chaired by the businesswoman Sam Mostyn, reports Bloomberg.
“Gender equality isn’t just regarding women: it’s regarding creating communities where everyone can thrive,” noted Sam Mostyn in particular. The report she has just submitted to the government highlights obstacles “persistent and omnipresent” to the equitable participation of women in the labor market. It also calculates the overall cost of these inequalities for the Australian economy: 128 billion Australian dollars per year, or 74.5 billion euros.
Women who have at least one child earn 2 million Australian dollars (1.2 million euros) less than their male colleagues over their lifetime. The report shows, for example, that women see their income reduced by 55% during the five years following the birth of a first child. They also retire with a significantly lower balance than men. The findings also highlight that women in Australia are much less likely to work full time than in other developed countries.
Pay gaps made public
“We know that women work less than men, that they earn less than men and that they suffer from a disability linked to motherhood,” admitted Katy Gallagher, who said she was carefully studying the recommendations made by the working group.
Among the measures recommended in the short term is the doubling of the duration of parental leave, which should be increased to fifty-two weeks, as well as incentives to encourage men to take advantage of paternity leave.
Bloomberg further recalls that under a law passed at the beginning of the year all Australian employers will be required from 2024 to make public the pay gaps between men and women observed among their staff.
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