Lyn Allison (Victoria, Australian Democrats) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I, and also on behalf of Senator Stott Despoja, move:

That the Senate—

(a)

notes that:

(i)

8 March was International Women’s Day,

(ii)

Australia trails other comparable economies in the area of gender equity,

(iii)

despite achieving the universal right to equal pay more than 35 years ago, Australian women still experience a pay gap of 16 per cent compared with their male counterparts, and

(iv)

the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) was established more than 8 years ago to ensure the full and equal enjoyment by women of all human rights and fundamental freedoms; and

(b)

calls on the Government to stand by its promise and ratify the Optional Protocol to the CEDAW as a matter of urgency.

Question agreed to.