Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today is Equal Pay Day. Here a few facts. Fact: Australian women earn 15.3 per cent less than men. Fact: the average man's wage in this country is about $127,000 a year. The average woman's pay is about $97,000 per year. That's a difference of $30,000 just because of gender. Fact: in media, the gender pay gap is 23 per cent. Fact: women who work in women dominated industries compared to men dominated industries can be $10,000 to $20,000 a year worse off—like in ECE, or early childhood education.

We should note that this Thursday, in the week that we acknowledge equal pay, about 3,000 educators from across our country will walk off the job. They will take industrial action to demonstrate the gender pay gap that we have in our country. They are calling for equal pay. They are calling for their skills and their qualifications to be recognised. They are also calling on this government to recognise that and to work with them to address the gender pay gap that exists within our community. These are top women who work hard educating the next generation of Australians, yet they don't see that recognition in their pay. On Equal Pay Day, we should acknowledge their work and the work of women across our country.