Charlotte Walker (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Women, Senator Gallagher. On Sunday we marked International Women's Day, a time to reflect on progress, celebrate achievements and recommit to advancing gender equality. This year, UN Women Australia's theme was Balance the Scales. It highlights the ongoing need to address inequality and improve outcomes for women and girls. Can the minister outline how the Albanese Labor government is working to help balance the scales on gender equality, and what progress has been made to date?

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

I thank Senator Walker for the question and I just want to remark how proud we are to have her as a member of our Senate team—a younger woman who has joined a majority-women federal government—and we're so pleased to have her, along with all of my colleagues on this side, who, regardless of their gender, see the point of having gender equality at the centre of our economic and social policy thinking. We have done this since being elected to government, as we recognise that gender equality is good for everybody. It's good for the community. It's good for business. It's good for government.

That's why we have, since coming to government, dealt with structural barriers—barriers that in effect perpetuate gender inequality. We deal with some of those big, significant areas of inequality, like violence against women and children, where we have put significant investments but also, importantly, the policy work to underpin and guide those investments. They're areas like extending paid parental leave, which will reach 26 weeks by 2026, and paying super on that PPL, recognising that women, as primary carers coming in and out of the paid workforce, are often taking an economic hit by pursuing their unpaid caring role. We're making child care cheaper and guaranteeing at least three days of subsidised care a week so women and their families can have the choice they need about how much they work and when they work. Increasing wages in historically underpaid feminised industries, such as aged care and child care, is already making a difference, with more men seeking employment in areas like aged care. Our women's health package is for the first time investing hundreds of millions of dollars to make sure women get access to not only the treatment but the time they need to deal with some of those health issues that are specific to women.

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

Senator Walker, first supplementary?

Charlotte Walker (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On Friday, the annual Status of Women Report Card was released to coincide with International Women's Day. What were the key findings of the report card, and why are updates like this such an important tool in tracking progress and driving action on gender equality?

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

I thank Senator Walker for that question because it is an important one. We do release the report card every year, and this year it shows that we've reached our highest score ever in the global rankings on gender equality, moving from 43rd, when we came to government, to 13th now. It also showed that there are areas like care where dads are spending more time with their children and taking up more of those caring leave arrangements, which is fantastic, including with the government scheme.

It shows that the gender pay gap is continuing to narrow. It is currently sitting at 11½ per cent, and indeed it aligns with WGEA's employer gender pay gap data, which I know Senator Canavan says is the most useless set of data that a government agency has ever collected. We don't agree with that. We think it is important data, and it has shown, year on year, that the gender pay gap has been driven down, but there are obviously areas where we still need to improve.

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

Senator Walker, second supplementary?

Charlotte Walker (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

International Women's Day is a celebration of progress and an important opportunity to look ahead and recommit to taking further action on gender equality. Can the minister outline why women's voices and representation in decision-making are so important to protecting hard-won gains and driving further progress?

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

It was 43 years ago today, in 1983, that Susan Ryan was appointed as the first woman to serve in a Labor cabinet—long before you were born, Senator Walker, but it shows that progress has been made over time, and you are now a member of a government that is 56 per cent women and a member of a parliament that is essentially gender equal, with 49 per cent of members and senators being women. But there is more work to do. We can't accept that we've made enough progress. There is more work to do to ensure that women of Senator Walker's generation and those that follow participate in an economy and a society where equality is sought and, regardless of whether you are a boy or a girl, you get an equal opportunity at every opportunity in life.