Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am very pleased today to speak on the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Amendment Bill 2012. This is a very timely and important bill to ensure that we progress gender equality in the workplace.

The campaign for women's equal representation in the workplace is one many decades in the making. We have seen various triumphs for women over the years at a national and international level. When I was researching this speech it was very interesting to hear many stories of women who have really put themselves out there to draw attention to this important issue. One of these was Zelda D'Aprano, who chained herself to the Commonwealth Building in Melbourne while campaigning to ensure equal pay. This was really important and the legislation before us today builds on the legislation and the many achievements that have gone before it.

The legislation goes back a long way, but in 1972 the big decision made by the courts was to grant equal pay for equal work. This was a very important decision because it put into law that women who were doing the same work as men, alongside their work colleagues, would get equal pay. We have continued to see some inequities in the area of equal pay, which I will talk about shortly, but that decision was a very important one in ensuring the start of equal opportunity in the workplace.

Twenty-eight years ago the Sex Discrimination Act was introduced and the Affirmative Action (Equal Employment Opportunity for Women) Act 1986 was introduced two years later. This was important legislation and there have been some important inroads made in this area. There was a government review in 1999 which looked at this issue and again some improvements were made—but one would agree that more than 10 years after that review it is important that we review the act again. In 2008, the then Minister for the Status of Women, Tanya Plibersek, announced a review of this legislation. It was very important that this take into consideration the many stakeholders and interested parties to ensure that we got this legislation right for the next decade. The legislation in front of us today makes some important improvements to the legislation. In particular—and it does a number of things—the bill amends the name of the act to the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012, which emphasises the focus of the act on gender equality, thereby improving the outcomes for women and men in workplaces. The name of the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency will also be changed to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency. This will be important to equip this agency to prepare to move into the future. As I mentioned, things have changed: we hopefully do not have to have women chaining themselves to Commonwealth buildings to get fair pay, but we still have to make sure that we are approaching and tackling gender inequity in our workplaces, and this sets the agency up to be very much focused on its task ahead.

The bill amends the principal objectives of the act to reflect on a new focus to promote and improve gender equality in the workplace, with special recognition of equal remuneration and family and caring responsibilities as issues central to the achievement of gender equality. While we have come a long way in remuneration and ensuring that women and men get paid equally, we still have a long way to go. It was only very recently that we were able to celebrate—and I certainly welcomed—the decision by Fair Work Australia in the fair pay case. That recognised that there has been systematic underpayment of women, depending on which areas of work they take up, and that the structural inequity must be addressed. That was a very important decision, one that I welcomed, but I am also proud to be part of a government that not only welcomed that decision and what it meant for many women workers around the country but also responded practically by putting its money where its mouth was in terms of fair pay for women. I encourage all the states and territories to do the same. We need to work with the states and territories to ensure that the fair pay decision becomes realised. I am very pleased that this Commonwealth Labor government has made that commitment.

Family and caring responsibilities are issues central to the achievement of gender equality, and so often it is women who take on the brunt or the burden of caring. Many women are very pleased to take this on, whether it be for children or older parents, and they are pleased to be of service and want to do this. However, we must recognise that this can affect the participation of women in the workforce. Without having the proper flexibilities and the proper frameworks in place this can, for many women, affect their participation in the workplace and does not allow them to achieve gender equity.

It is not just in the workplace that this is an issue but also in the future with superannuation. For many women who take on part-time roles and balance their caring responsibilities with their work responsibilities, who take time out of the workplace while raising children, there will be inequities in superannuation. This is a very important area that we must continue to focus on as to how we ensure that women are not disadvantaged—not just at work but also in retirement. I am very pleased that the objects of this act will be amended to ensure that family and caring responsibilities are issues central to the achievement of gender equality.

This bill also proposes to improve the coverage of the act to include men as well as women. Agency advice and assistance functions will not be just for those companies that are required to report. Under the legislation employers of 100 or more employees are subject to the reporting requirements. This suggests that only those organisations could get advice and assistance from the agency. I am very pleased that this bill will ensure that the agency's advice and assistance will extend to all employers. So if that employer is a small business looking at gender equality and equity issues it will also be able to access advice. I encourage those small businesses that may be interested in this area to get in touch once the new agency is providing this advice to get some ideas about this.

The bill also introduces a new reporting framework in which relevant employers are required to report against gender equality indicators. This will commence from 1 April 2013. Obviously, this provides employers with some time in which they can get their information together. It has a phase-in period. The requirement for the equal opportunity in the workplace program will be removed and the reporting will be simpler as well as more meaningful and more useful.

One of the really important things in this bill is that it will allow employers to both measure and understand gender equality within their workplaces but also compare themselves to other workplaces in their industry. I think this is important because it will allow the agency to target assistance and, over time, will also allow employers to really gauge how they are doing on issues of gender equity. Over time, the improved and standardised data set will also allow the minister to set minimum standards. This will be important to communicate clearly to businesses what these minimum standards are. They will be based on a standardised set of data, recognising that things change from industry to industry. The functions of the agency will be to develop industry based benchmarks in relation to gender equality indicators. The agency will also have specific roles in providing assistance and advice on improving performance against minimum standards. The bill also clarifies and improves transparency associated with compliance with the act and the consequences of noncompliance.

This bill builds on this Labor government's achievements when it comes to women's participation in the workforce. We have introduced key things. I have mentioned the fair pay decision and the commitment by this government to put money up to fund that decision. When we were first elected, we addressed the issue of childcare costs. We moved from a 30 per cent rebate to a 50 per cent rebate for childcare costs. That was very important. I was very proud to be part of a government that introduced paid parental leave for the first time in this nation's history. This paid parental leave ensures a continuing connection with the workforce for women taking time out of the workforce to have children, being able to re-enter the workforce if they desire. I am very pleased that this Labor government delivered that.

I think that this bill builds on a lot of advances that we have made in terms of gender equity in the workplace. I was very concerned to hear—back in my home state of South Australia—the state Leader of the Opposition, Isobel Redmond, say, when asked what she would do if she felt she was being discriminated against on the basis of gender, 'Look, I just put up with it and hopefully it will go away.' I do not think that is an appropriate response. I think it was a very concerning message to many women out there that they should just put up with it, that it should be just part of work. You feel discriminated against, you get passed over for promotion. There is not a sense that you are actually being recognised; you should just put up with it and ignore it. I do not think that is the attitude of most places. I do not think it is the attitude of most in this parliament. We need to ensure that there is gender equality in our workplaces right around Australia, that women and men get a fair go in terms of their time at work and ensure that their rights and ability to fully participate are encouraged.

On that note, I think this is a very important development on the bill. As discussed, a number of ministers have widely consulted on this and I believe this does strike a good balance in ensuring and progressing equity in our workforce but also in ensuring that it is easier for business to deliver.

Maria Vamvakinou (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is a pleasure to follow the member for Kingston in speaking to this Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Amendment Bill 2012. This bill amends the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Act 1999 to deliver very importantly on a 2010 election commitment by the government to improve women's workforce participation. This proposed legislation presents a new framework for encouraging gender equality by removing those disincentives that mitigate against the equal participation of women in the workforce. It also fulfils a dual purpose of supporting improved workforce participation—particularly that of women and carers—as well as reducing, more importantly, the regulatory burden on business. This is a timely bill and the government must be commended for its determination to implement these important changes because they are defining changes that will make a real difference to women and men in the broader workforce.

Many of us still struggle to comprehend in today's society—living in one of the most democratic countries in the world—why it is that wage parity, practical employment structures and cracking that infamous corporate glass ceiling sadly still elude many women. In contemporary Australia, where women are encouraged to achieve and contribute to the workforce, the issue of gender inequality as a significant disincentive to women's workforce participation must be challenged and addressed. While much of this workplace discrimination may not be intentional, it does highlight a need to challenge the manifestation of entrenched views based on gender differences in the workplace. Many of those entrenched views stem from practices that are driven very much by gender stereotyping and expectations.

One of the most obvious differences and, therefore, stereotyping practices is that women are by nature designed to bear children, and men are not. With that comes a whole lot of other gender intricacies. Rather than be left to continue to make it difficult for women to participate in the workforce, these intricacies should be embraced and catered for, knowing that one size does not fit all in the workplace and that we need the flexibility to accommodate and therefore maximise workforce participation for women and men. The truth is that many prospective employers do tend to adopt an attitude that avoids employing or promoting women because it is perceived that they are more likely to have family-work balance issues that, if the truth be said, are not necessarily problems for prospective male employees. That is not to say that men do not have responsibilities to their families, but existing traditional workplace conditions together with social expectations have created a workplace culture which traditionally made it easier for men to participate and harder for women to participate. So we need to change our attitudes and, if we are to change the culture in the workplace as it relates to the participation of women and men, we need to encourage more women into the workforce and we have to act via legislation to ensure that these changes are implemented and we get a more equal playing field. That is why I support this bill.

Our community has changed and is changing around us, and it expects government to act and to respond to those changes. The introduction of this bill ensures that we are steadily working our way through our attitudes and practices on gender equality issues and the responsibilities of both genders when it comes to the balance between work and family. The introduction of this amendment bill follows a review that found that, since the act was last amended in 1999, there have been a number of economic, social and legislative changes that require the agency to provide a more contemporary response to these changes. The government undertook extensive consultation with industry, employee organisations and the women's sector and, in doing so, drafted legislation that is finely balanced—legislation that all parties are comfortable with and which is very much about supporting employers to achieve cultural change. It most certainly is not about punishing employers or setting unreasonable standards that they cannot meet.

Importantly, the government is acting by introducing this amendment bill because the review made it clear that gender equality is essential to maximising Australia's productive potential and ensuring continuing economic growth. Closing the gap between women's and men's workforce participation is estimated to have the potential to boost gross domestic product by some 13 per cent. But, more importantly, it also has the potential to improve the lives of the broader Australian community in so many ways beyond the GDP.

I do want to draw the House's attention to the recently released report by the Grattan Institute, Game-changers: economic reform priorities for Australia. In that report it is affirmed that the participation of women in the workforce is one of the three major areas that were identified by the Grattan Institute for increasing Australia's GDP. The issue of women's participation is a game changer. It is worth up to $90 million or so in GDP increase over the next decade. So it is a significant issue and cannot be ignored.

This bill makes the appropriate changes in order to take advantage of the participation of all Australians—in particular, women—in the workforce. It changes the name of the act to the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012, and the name of the agency from the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency.

The principal objectives of the amendments are to promote and improve gender equality, including equal remuneration between men and women in employment and in the workplace. It aims to do this by supporting employers to remove barriers to the full participation of women and men, recognising the disadvantaged position of women in relation to employment.

I cannot see how the aims of this amendment bill can be anything other than positive. Gender equality in Australian workplaces is important for women, it is important for men, it is important for businesses and it is important for the economy. And it is very much a win-win for all—for employers, for employees and especially for women. And it is, of course, a win for Australia's GDP capacity.

I know that my constituents would benefit greatly from achieving gender equality in the workplace. They certainly will be better off with the stated aim of this bill, which is to close the gap between men's and women's participation. Many people in my electorate talk about their responsibilities to their children, their aged parents and their disabled family members. They all talk about their ways of finding strategies to balance these responsibilities with the need to work. So I am absolutely certain that they will welcome this bill. In particular, there are many women in my electorate who go about the daily business of balancing work and family commitments. These are women who must look after their children but must also work, and in most cases they are the low-skilled women who are also in low-paid jobs. Then there are the young women in my electorate—those who are single and those who are highly-skilled, career-focused women who will largely rely on changes in the workplace culture to pave the way for a change of attitude that will enable them to face less discrimination as they pursue their careers and life's ambitions and choices.

So I am familiar, as all of us should be, with these community attitudes and how this bill will assist in making their lives a little easier as it will allow them to participate in the workforce. This is especially so for the women in my electorate, and I want to make a special mention of the many refugee women who have settled in the federal seat of Calwell. These are women who have come from less democratic and equitable societies—women who, in addition to working to support their families, have also to pick up the pieces of broken lives and lost homes; women who have fled war, who have feared and continue to fear for the safety of their loved ones, but especially for the security and the future of their children; women who have overcome horrors that we here in Australia have never experienced. Yet these women persevere, and they form a part of the socioeconomic and cultural diversity of the Australia community and, indeed, the Australian workforce. They are grateful to be here, as waves of migrants before them were; they are grateful for the opportunity. But they are more often than not the most likely to be excluded from workplace participation and they, like the rest of the Australian community, deserve a fairer, more equal playing field. We all deserve a society and a workplace that caters and allows for greater gender equity and flexibility. That is how we ensure a happier, fairer and more equitable society. Of course change is never easy, but in some circumstances it cannot be brought on soon enough. The time has come to address the obvious and allow workplaces to meet the needs of our changing societies, and I commend the bill to the House.

Julie Collins (Franklin, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Community Services ) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank all of those people who made contributions on this important bill. The Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Amendment Bill 2012 amends the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Act 1999, delivering a significant package of reforms promised by this government during the 2010 election. These reforms are aimed at improving gender equality in Australian workplaces. For improved workplace participation and workplace flexibility for women, these reforms will help to improve productivity and address current and future skills shortages. It has been estimated that closing the gap between men's and women's workforce participation could boost gross domestic product by up to13 per cent.

The bill has been developed in close consultation with key stakeholders including industry, employee organisations and the women's sector. The government believes the bill strikes the right balance between the views of these stakeholders. Since its introduction on 1 March 2012, the bill has received widespread support from across the sectors.

The government will not be supporting the opposition's amendments to this bill. The second reading amendment proposed by the opposition, that implies the government is not genuinely committed to equality because we are not adopting the opposition's paid parental leave scheme, really is laughable because it is this government that took the historic step of delivering Australia's first national Paid Parental Leave scheme. We now have more than 160,000 expectant and new parents who have applied for the government's Paid Parental Leave scheme. Our scheme is affordable. It is fair for families and fair for businesses. We waited 11 years for those opposite to deliver this important reform, but they said no. Now they are proposing a $4.5 billion plan that ironically, from what we have heard in their contributions to debate on this bill, whacks a tax on business to pay for itself. The detailed amendments moved by the opposition are inconsistent and impractical and have the potential to increase red tape for businesses and for the agency.

What the government is aiming to achieve through this legislation is cultural change—that is, change that will come from employers receiving education, assistance and support to make their workplaces more gender equal, and change that will benefit women and men, businesses and industry, and the Australian economy. A review of the current act by the Office for Women found updates were needed both to the act and to the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency to provide a contemporary response to national challenges. The review also made it clear that gender equality is essential to maximising Australia's productive potential and to ensuring continued economic growth.

The bill changes the name of the act to the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 to emphasise this new focus in the act on gender equality in the workplace. Similar changes are made to the name of the agency, which is to be called the Workplace Gender Equality Agency. The government is providing the agency with an additional $11.2 million—a doubling of funds—a part of which will be used to provide practical help and advice to business.

The principal objects of the act are amended by the bill to reflect the focus on gender equality in the workplace, and include the promotion of matters such as equal remuneration, support for employers to remove workplace participation barriers for women in particular, and improved productivity and competitiveness of Australian businesses through the advancement of gender equality. Importantly, the coverage of the act is expanded to include men as well as women, particularly in relation to caring responsibilities.

Under the new, outcomes based, streamlined and more transparent reporting requirements, relevant employers will prepare and lodge public reports containing information on gender equality indicators for the reporting period commencing 1 April 2013. Smaller organisations with fewer than 100 employees will not be required to report. In other words, not one small business will be affected by the reporting requirements but they will still be able to access the agency's free advice, education and incentive activities if they wish. Relevant businesses will be able to complete and submit reports online using a secure web portal. Businesses have wanted this change and it will save them time and money.

The reporting changes will represent the first opportunity for the agency to gather and analyse a rigorous and standardised data set and will mean employers can measure their performance against other employers in their industry. This new reporting will mean less red tape. Businesses will no longer need to provide lengthy descriptions of the programs and policies they have in place. When an employer lodges a public report, employees and shareholders will be informed, and employees and employee organisations will be given an opportunity to comment.

Under the amended legislation, the minister will be able to set industry specific minimum standards in consultation with industry and experts. These minimum standards will be determined before 1 April 2014. The minimum standards will be evidence based, clear and fair, and will take into account industry characteristics and circumstances. We will be setting these minimum standards in close consultation with industry to make sure of this. This bill is not about punishing employers. These standards will be about identifying which employers need the most intensive assistance and education in order to achieve cultural change within their organisations. The bill also improves the transparency and fairness of the compliance framework and of the consequences for non-compliance.

Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Elizabeth Broderick, said in a media release that the bill was: 'a strong step toward improving women's workforce participation and, thus, closing the gender gap in Australia's workforce'. Westpac has also welcomed this bill. The Head of Diversity and Flexibility in the Westpac Group, Jane Counsel, said the reforms will provide a catalyst to drive concrete change through creating more focus, accountability and transparency to ensure all organisations are committed to delivering more inclusive and flexible workplaces.

The CEO of Citi Australia, Stephen Roberts, is happy to be on the record as saying he welcomes this legislation and the contribution it will make to improving gender diversity in the workforce. He says:

A diverse team is invariably smarter, more resilient and more productive—all of which is required for success in business.

The YWCA Australia executive director, Dr Caroline Lambert, has also commended the government 'for taking action to strengthen the tools for gender equality in the workplace'. She says:

YWCA Australia welcomes the focus in the Bill on caring responsibilities. This legislation will contribute to real change in the lives of women and men in workplaces across Australia, and we look forward to its passage in the Parliament.

Madam Deputy Speaker, I am pleased to say that time has arrived. This new legislation puts gender equality in the workplace in the spotlight and it shows the determination of this government to advance gender equality between women and men and to strengthen our economy.

Bruce Scott (Maranoa, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The original question was that this bill be now read a second time. To this the honourable member for Farrer has moved as an amendment that all words after ‘That’ be omitted with a view to substituting other words. The question now is that the words proposed to be omitted stand part of the question.

Question agreed to. Original question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.