Jana Stewart (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

As I was saying earlier: in Australia, women earn 87c for every dollar that men earn. Full-time working women also earn $253.50 less than every man every single week. There is no justifiable reason for this—no rationale as to why this is the case—except to say that women's contributions are severely undervalued alongside their male counterparts in workplaces across Australia. It's certainly not about our skills or our capability; it is about systemic barriers. We shouldn't have to wait three decades to achieve pay parity. Through these reforms, we are taking serious action to speed up the processes and close the gender pay gap.

For First Nations women, women of colour, women with disabilities, LGBTQIA+ women, migrant and refugee women, and women from all culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds there is a gap within the gender pay gap. For First Nations women, the gender pay gap compared to non-Aboriginal men is a mammoth 32.7 per cent, more than double the statistics we so often hear. The gap between First Nations women and non-Aboriginal women is roughly 19.7 per cent.

Currently, these statistics aren't readily available. The new reporting requirements we are discussing here today will go a significant way towards remedying this lack of information. As I've said, we will be able to develop stronger and more effective solutions to these disparities when we understand the problem properly. We must place front and centre the experiences of black women and women of colour in all that we do. We have a collective responsibility to leave no woman behind. We need to ensure not only there is understanding but that First Nations women and women of colour are given the tools and opportunities to maintain a seat at the table and make decisions on an equal playing field.

The gender pay gap is not just a conversation. It has real and often life-altering implications for women. It can be the difference in our career choices and influence our decision to have a family, our financial futures and our ability to retire. For First Nations women and women of colour, these decisions become even more profound. We are so fortunate to live in a nation home to many culturally and linguistically diverse women. What a wonderful thing that is. We are much better for it. Our government is committed to ensuring that women have economic autonomy and opportunity and that we continue to close the gender pay gap for all Australian women.