Equal Pay Day on September 4, 2015, highlights that women earn significantly less than men, with a 17.9% gender pay gap resulting in financial disadvantages for women. Structural factors including discrimination, lower wages in female-dominated jobs, and parental leave penalties contribute to this disparity. The document calls for legislative action to improve workplace flexibility, paid parental leave, and adequate superannuation to support women's financial security.

1. It’s time to stop
short-changing women
Equal Pay Day
4 September 2015

2. 4 September 2015 is Equal Pay Day
Women are effectively losing a year’s income
every 5.5 years.
The days from the end of the financial year
to September 4, 2015, represent the extra
days on average it takes women to earn the
same wage as men.

3. Gender pay gap. Does it matter?
A male average weekly wage $1591.60 p/w
A female average weekly wage $1307.40 p/w
That’s a $284.20 gap per average
weekly earnings between a man and
a woman.
*WGEA May 2015

4. Yes, it matters.
The gap is currently 17.9% and has hovered
between 15% and 19% for the past two
decades
This disparity is the key factor contributing
to women's financial disadvantage.
*WGEA May 2015

5. Isn't it just a matter of choice?
No. Strong structural factors play a role
in shaping employment outcomes for
women, including:
• Historically, female dominated industries and jobs attract lower
wages than their male counterparts;
• Women are more likely to work part-time or flexibly because they
still undertake most of society’s unpaid caring work;
• Some employers resist providing quality, flexible work
arrangements; and
• Women have a more precarious attachment to the workforce,
largely due to their unpaid caring responsibilities
• Discrimination both direct and indirect

6. Women in leadership positions
While 56% of university graduates are
women*, they are under-represented
in leadership roles.
• In organisational leadership roles, 17.3% of CEOs of non-
public sector organisations are women;
• In Parliament, 30% of federal parliamentarians are women;
• On government boards, 34% of commonwealth judges and
magistrates are women; and
• In public recognition, 25% of Companion or Officer of the
Order of Australia are women.
* ABS 2013

7. Imbalance in the Education sector
While 81% of primary staff are women, only
57% of leadership positions are held by
women.
The proportion of leadership roles in
schools held by women does not reflect the
proportion of women on staff.

8. The cost of being a woman
Discrimination, or other factors related to
being a woman, are the main contributing
factors to the gender pay gap.
“Simply being a woman” accounted for 60% of the difference
between women and men’s earnings.
The cost of ‘being a woman” can be seen in the penalties
women experience in the workplace when they are pregnant
and again when they return to work after birth of their child.
Cassells,R; Vidyattamay Mirant R; McNamara (2009). The impact of the sustained gender wage gap
on Australian economy. National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling

9. Discrimination in the Work Place
The Australian Human Rights Commission
Supporting Working Parents: Pregnancy and
Return to Work National Review2014 found
evidence that pregnancy and return to
work discrimination is widespread in our
workplaces.
The AHRC Supporting Working Parents: Pregnancy and Return
to Work National Review 2014 found evidence of widespread
discrimination in our workplaces.
One in two mothers reported discrimination at some point
during pregnancy, parental leave or on return to work.

10. IEU submission to the AHRC report
IEU members reported that they were
denied access to flexible work
arrangements, in some cases being forced
to resign from their position.
Other members were unlikely to regain their former earning
capacity as they were denied access to leadership positions.
Research has shown that 70% of women returning from
parental leave opt to work part time and that a woman
returning from one year of maternity leave can expect a 5%
decrease in earnings compared to before going on leave. A
three year gap will result in a fall in earnings of over 10%.

11. Accumulated Poverty in Retirement
Despite more women participating in the paid
workforce than ever before, the AHRC report
shows the average superannuation payout to
women is only 57%, with many women having
little or no superannuation.
As women live longer than men and are more likely to rely on
the aged pension as their sole source of income in retirement,
the need for effective policy solutions is pressing.
Failure to redress the financial disadvantage of women will
result in ongoing dependence on the aged pension.
AHRC; Accumulating Poverty; Women’s Experience over Lifetime (2009)

12. Govt to cut paid parental leave
The Abbott government wants to cut the federal
government’s paid parental leave scheme.
In the latest budget, 80,000 new mothers will be
prevented from accessing $11,500, once available
under the government paid parental leave scheme.
This represents nearly half of all current eligible
women, many of whom are IEU members.

13. Moving from rhetoric to action
We want an honest discussion about the barriers to
women's engagement with work.
We want a commitment for legislative action for
workplace flexibility, including leadership positions.
We want a commitment to paid parental leave so that
working parents can share their family
responsibilities.
We want adequate superannuation provisions which
provide dignity in retirement.

14. Equal Pay Day
IEU members call upon government and
employers to stop short-changing women
and take positive action to address the
inequality.