Pay equity: two steps forward but one big step back!

Leading employers understand why pay inequity needs to be addressed. DCA members Telstra and National Australia Bank have already conducted pay equity audits in their own businesses to identify and address issues. Many DCA member organisations are working hard to adopt strategies to remove barriers to workforce participation and career progression for female employees that will help close the pay gap. This includes increasing female representation in non-traditional industries or occupations, addressing over-representation in roles that are typically undervalued and underpaid, increasing women’s representation in senior roles and providing greater opportunities for flexible working.

If businesses are committed to closing the gender pay gap, then surely government should be able to support doing so in the community services sector?

We urge the government to reconsider its position on the test case and the timing of funding the inevitable wage increases in the community sector. The persistence of the gender pay gap in Australia results in a serious misallocation of resources across the economy and costs the country in growth and competitiveness.

The fact that women are not being employed in the jobs to which their skills and experience are best suited, or, if they are, their contributions are not being fully valued, represents a colossal waste of talent as well as a drain on productivity.

Given the strong economic case and clear public support, why are we turning our backs on an issue that directly affects half the community and, by extension, the economic productivity of and educational investment in such an important labour resource?

Not to mention the fact that it’s simply unfair for women’s contribution to continue to be so undervalued.

We encourage politicians of all persuasions to turn their attention to addressing gender pay equity as a critical issue, both for women and for the economy of Australia.