Women’s participation in the economy should be a priority for whoever forms government next weekend says the President of Chief Executive Women (CEW), Christine Christian.
“Australia considers itself a land of equal opportunity, but our record on economic equality for women is deeply disappointing,” CEW President Christine Christian said.
“There exists today a huge gap between income levels of males and females on retirement. Women hold only 37% of total superannuation balances. This stems from both the inequitable levels of pay for women and the need for many women to take a break from the workforce during child rearing years.
Ms Christian said that there are a number of related issues in achieving financial equality including:
- the need for economic reform to support big and small business to achieve gender equality
- pay equality
- paid parental leave, and
- the proposed delay to the increase in the superannuation guarantee.
“Superannuation was supposed to provide financial independence for all Australians, including women in retirement. However, as we are now seeing, women aged between 35 and 55 do not have this guarantee of financial independence.
“Disappointedly, neither party has come up with the right policies to narrow the gender gap in superannuation, and this will put more strain on Australia’s budget as the population ages and more women draw on our pension system.
“Women’s lack of financial independence in retirement compared with men is a symptom of gender inequality throughout Australia’s economy.
“At a senior level in corporate Australia only 16% of company directors are women, and only a handful of Australia’s top companies are run by female executives.
“Women continue to be underpaid relative to their male colleagues throughout their careers. The gender pay gap exists from the time women graduate and the gap increases as they gain seniority.
“Addressing these issues will help build Australia’s economy, address budgetary imbalances and improve productivity,” Ms Christian said.
“We hope the incoming government will seize the opportunity to fix the imbalance.”
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