Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Stewart for the work she does in advancing women's economic equality and for being part of a very big team of women in the Albanese Labor government, the second majority female federal government in history, and for putting all of these issues firmly at the centre of our policymaking.

The ABS data released on 14 August shows that the gender pay gap is at its lowest level ever since records began. It's still at 11½ per cent, but that's down from 14.1 per cent in 2022, when we came to government. That means women workers are over $500 a fortnight better off, with the work that we've done to drive up women's wages and close the gender pay gap. We also got a record high of women's workforce participation, at 63.5 per cent, showing that more women are finding extra hours to work. This is also something we've been focused on. This isn't by accident that we're seeing these results. This is the result of intentional, sustained work from many, if not all, of my colleagues on this side of the chamber to make sure that women workers get a better deal and take home more in their weekly pay packets. This has included the work we've done around pay increases for aged-care workers and early childhood care and education workers.

The Workplace Gender Equality Agency has found that pay increases for low-paid workers, like aged-care workers, are driving the progress to close the gender pay gap, but obviously there is more work to do. We've made the changes to the Fair Work Act. We've got the gender undervaluation work underway in five key awards. We've introduced gender pay gap reporting at the employer level. There is more work to do, but we are seeing signs of progress. (Time expired)