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

My question is to the Minister for Women, Senator Gallagher. Since coming to government in May 2022, advancing women's economic equality has been a core priority of the Albanese government. We want women to have more opportunity and more choices. We want women to earn more and keep more of what they earn. This commitment has driven groundbreaking workplace relations reforms, significant investment in skills and education, and greater recognition and valuing of paid and unpaid care. What is the impact of the government's investments and reforms on women's economic equality and women's daily lives?

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

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Stewart, first supplementary?

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

Closing the gender pay gap is essential to ensuring women are paid properly, that their work is valued and that women are retiring with decent retirement savings. What role is the Workplace Gender Equality Agency playing in helping to accelerate closing the gender pay gap?

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

():  I thank Senator Stewart for the supplementary. Senators will know that WGEA's latest progress report was tabled this week. In the 10 years since WGEA's first report, an additional 1.6 million employees are covered by workplace gender equality reporting, and, during that time, the gender pay gap has reduced from 28.6 per cent to 21.1 per cent. Employers who've done a gender pay gap analysis have increased from 24 per cent to 68 per cent, and there has been a significant increase in employers with family and domestic violence policies in place. The report also shows there are areas where progress is too slow. Patterns of industry gender segregation have barely changed in the last 10 years. Women continue to work part time at much higher rates than men, and, in the private sector, women are still underrepresented on governing bodies. But WGEA has done an amazing job. I thank all of the staff who have contributed over the last 10 years in driving down the gender pay gap.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Stewart, second supplementary?

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

WGEA's progress report shows that progress in addressing industry gender segregation has been slow. Research also shows that industry gender segregation is one of the key drivers of the gender pay gap. What is the extent of industry gender segregation in Australia, and why do we need to challenge this segregation in interest of our economy?

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

I thank Senator Stewart for that supplementary as well. Recently, Jobs and Skills Australia confirmed that only 21 per cent of occupations in Australia could be considered gender balanced. Industry gender segregation is a driver of the gender wage gap. We know that. There's also a clear correlation between segregated industries and the worker shortages that we're currently facing. For more than half of the occupations in the national shortage, women make up less than 20 per cent of the total workforce. These occupations include metal fitters and machinists; motor mechanics; electricians, where only two per cent of the workforce are women; mining engineers; construction managers; and software and application programmers. For 14 per cent of occupations in the national shortage, men make up less than 20 per cent of the total workforce. This is something we are going to continue to focus on. We want to make sure that we are dealing with gender segregation and that we're getting much more balance across those industries because it's good for pay and good for addressing workforce shortage.