Page 742 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 8 March 2016
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At the end of their working life we see that women are once again disadvantaged. While financial security can be an issue for many women throughout their younger years, many more women are affected as they approach retirement. It is not hard to see why this is the case. In 2009-10 average superannuation payouts for women were just over half, or 57 per cent, of those of men. Average retirement payouts in 2009-10 were in the order of $198,000 for men and only $112,600 for women. Women are more likely to experience poverty in their retirement years and be far more reliant on the age pension. We must consider policy responses for women in regard to housing, transport and health.
The number of women in leadership positions is gradually increasing. Representation of women in parliaments in Australia, for example, continues to hover around the 30 per cent mark and puts us in about 54th position globally. Yet in those leadership positions, many women have come and gone. Since 2010 we have seen Julia Gillard as our first woman Prime Minister, Nicola Roxon as Australia’s first female Attorney-General, Lara Giddings as Premier of Tasmania, of course Katy Gallagher here in the ACT, Christine Milne as the leader of the Greens and Anna Bligh and Annastacia Palaszczuk have both served as Queensland premiers. We have certainly done best here in the ACT, where we had up to 41 per cent of seats filled by women—the best representation in the country. Still, given our small numbers, that does drop quickly when a female MLA is replaced with a male, and I look forward to seeing more women in this place after the 2016 election.
What is interesting for me is that when women take leadership positions in parliaments and in governments there are particular roles that they seem to move into. We associate women with education and social services rather than business and treasury, and these are often the portfolios where they have reached the upper levels. I am pleased that here in the ACT we had a female Treasurer and we also have a female Head of Service for our ACT public service.
Right across the spectrum of workplaces we must continue to break down preconceptions of where women and men can be employed. We must offer the same work opportunities and appointment on merit every time. Evidence suggests that women are more likely to apply when they are over-qualified for a role whereas men will put up their hand without all the qualifications and that both men and women believe men progress more quickly through the workplace. It is unlikely that this happens because of an assessment of ability but, rather, just a long-held and often unintended prejudice. It is something we must all be cognisant of and make greater effort to overcome.
Ms Berry is right in acknowledging that with the prominent and brutal incidents of domestic violence that have received increasing attention in recent times we have all received a wake-up call about the inequality between men and women and the attitudes that underpin domestic violence in our community. We know that one in three women over 15 years of age have reported physical violence, nearly one in five will experience sexual assault, and one in four women report being harassed in the workplace over a five-year period.
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