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Celebrating and Protecting Indigenous Peoples and Heritage | u4h

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This International Day aims to address problems faced by Indigenous Peoples worldwide and it also marks an effort to raise awareness about protecting the long history of Indigenous heritage. With an estimated 370 million Indigenous peoples across the world with over 5000 different groups, Indigenous heritage is diverse and complex.

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By 2030, progressively achieve and sustain income growth of the bottom 40 per cent of the population at a rate higher than the national average

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What Lies Behind Gender Inequality in Education? - Papers - OECD iLibrary

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While PISA reveals large gender differences in reading, in favour of 15-year-old girls, the gap is narrower when digital reading skills are tested. Indeed, the

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Inequality is a multi-dimensional challenge, it goes beyond income and it affects the well-being of our people. Evidence now tells us that the levels of inequality are becoming an impediment for progress, and that action is needed on many fronts.

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A HR to Health: What about persons with disabilities?

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A HR to Health: What about persons with disabilities?

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2016 | Challenging Inequalities:Pathways to a Just World

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2016 | Challenging Inequalities:Pathways to a Just World

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Gender Equality in Leadership - Department of Treasury and Finance

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David Reynolds, Chief Executive of the Department of Treasury and Finance, presenting to key stakeholders on 7 June 2016 about why Gender Equality in Leadership is important to him and the department and how this strategy will be implemented.

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South Australia has the lowest gender pay gap in the country - but the discrepancy is considerably larger in the public service, where some men are paid up to $43,000 more on average than their female colleagues.

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South Australia's public service gender pay gap was higher than that in the private sector.

InDaily can reveal that male South Australian public servants are paid on average $13,473 more than their female colleagues - a 15 per cent pay gap.

Nearly 70 per cent of SA's public servants are women.

The State Government's first-ever study into the subject has found a public service gender pay gap far above the SA average of 9.8 per cent.

The South Australian average gender pay gap - defined as the difference between women's and men's average, weekly, full-time equivalent salary - is the lowest of any state or territory in the country.

As of June 2016, the Australian average gender pay gap was 16.2 per cent in favour of men.

The widest gap in the SA public service is among doctors, followed by executive employees and emergency service workers.

Male medical officers were paid on average $43,172 more than their female colleagues last year - a 21 per cent gender pay gap.

The average male executive employee received $27,260 more in annual salary than the average female executive - a 14 per cent gap.

Male emergency service workers were paid $8,248 more than female colleagues - an 11 per cent gap.

South Australian Commissioner for Equal Opportunity Dr Niki Vincent told InDaily it was "bizarre" and "disappointing" that the state's public service gender pay gap was higher than that in the private sector.

According to Australian Bureau of Statistics figures, the opposite is generally true across the country: the wage gap is generally higher in the private sector than the public sector.

Those statistics include local, commonwealth and state government employees.

"It's bizarre and it's disappointing that in South Australia, where we have had such a strong focus on gender equality," Vincent told InDaily.

"At least the State Government is at the point now where (it) will be able to address (the gender pay gap), now it knows it exists.

"I'd say congratulations to the South Australian Government for actually undertaking a pay audit."

The latest SA public service gender pay gap figure, from June 2016, was lower than at the same time in 2015 (17 per cent) and 2014 (16 per cent).

The Minister for the Status of Women, Zoe Bettison, said the public service gender pay gap study was the first of its kind.

"Recognising the public sector's gender pay gap is the first step toward addressing it, and I am pleased this informative work has been done because we can't change what we don't know," Bettison said.

"I'm really pleased to see our overall pay gap decreasing are that we are tracking in the right direction."

Today is national Equal Pay Day.

"This is an important day for our leaders to reflect on the pay gap and how we can all work to address and narrow the gap," she said.

The only other state government to conduct a gender pay gap study of its public service was the WA Government, which found a gap of 16.3 per cent in June 2014.

According to the federal Workplace Gender Equality Agency, the gender pay gap is caused by "a number of interrelated work, family and societal factors, including stereotypes about the work women and men 'should' do, and the way women and men 'should' engage in the workforce".

Vincent said the gender pay gap across the economy was the result, among other factors, of conscious and unconscious discrimination against women in employment decisions, and a failure by employers to extend career-progression opportunities equitably.

She said that there was a 4.5 per cent gender pay gap in favour of male graduates of the same university degrees, despite women on average achieving better grades at the tertiary level.

She said men were on average also offered more opportunities for training and development than their female colleagues - and were disadvantaged in career progression by more time spent away from work, especially maternity leave.

Vincent is the SA convenor of Chiefs for Gender Equity (CfGE) - a group of senior business leaders from prominent South Australian companies.

CfGE member David Martin, Managing Partner at Finlaysons said the gender pay gap was harming the economy.

"Wanting to hire or promote people who look, think and work like us is a natural inclination, but it's not good for building diversity, or an equitable place to work - it's also bad for business because a gender-balanced workforce leads to better performance," he said.

"We need to find ways to eliminate entrenched bias in our recruitment processes and leadership decisions - not just because it's fair, but also because it means greater innovation and problem-solving capacity, better productivity, reduced turnover and happier employees."

CfGE today released a guide to combatting gender discrimination in the workplace, embedded and downloadable below.
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"Bizarre": SA public service gender pay gap worse than private sector - InDaily

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South Australia has the lowest gender pay gap in the country - but the discrepancy is considerably larger in the public service, where some men are paid up to $43,000 more on average than their female colleagues.

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September 04 2017 By Mary Barry, Our Watch CEO
When women in Australia won the right to vote and be elected to parliament in 1902, the path to suffrage had been long, painful and undulating.

Although more peaceful than our British counterparts, the Australian suffragettes fought hard for political enfranchisement.

Despite the seemingly insurmountable task ahead of them, they persisted with what I can only imagine was an unwavering sense of optimism for the future of equal rights.

Little did they know that progress would be so slow. Fast-forward to over a century later and we are still advocating for gender equality throughout all areas of society. For putting an end to gendered violence, for equal representation in public and private life, and for equal pay for equal work.

To address the gender discrepancy in the workforce, today, 4 September 2017 marks Equal Pay Day.

It's a significant date represents the additional time from the end of the previous financial year that women must work to make the same as men. It is also a stark reminder of the significant journey still ahead.

According to The Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA), in 2017 the gender pay gap sits at 15.3%, with women's average weekly earnings $251.20 less than men's.

Albeit a slight improvement from last year, the gender pay gap is representative of how deeply gender stereotypes and inequality are woven into the tapestry of our culture and value system.

In a telling investigation into Australia's largest 200 companies earlier this year, men named Peter or John were found to be 40 percent more likely to be at the helm of a company, than women.

Deeply engrained gender stereotypes, and lack of female role models at the top, discourage women and girls from pursuing leadership positions or simply achieving basic pay parity.

Throughout my career, I have come up against these stereotypes, time and time again. Typically, 'feminine' qualities in the workforce are seen as a weakness, yet if a woman tries to adopt a more 'masculine' approach, she is penalised for violating her role.

If a woman is decisive and authoritative, she is seen as 'bossy'. Whereas if the same strengths are exuded by a man, he is seen as a natural born leader.

It is uplifting to see the cogs starting to turn in the corporate world, particularly through a show of solidarity from 122 business leaders from the Male Champions of Change coalition.

They signed an agreement to ensure equal pay for equal work in like-for-like roles within their organisations, and outlined a number of key performance targets.

This is a welcome step towards ensuring workplaces collectively review and measure their gender pay gap, promote equitable processes and set some basic gender-based targets.

It makes business sense that workplaces introspect, learn and create an environment that holds employers and employees alike to the highest standards in equality, safety and respect.

The numbers discrepancy is mirrored in political decision-making, where despite women comprising of half of the population, they are still significantly underrepresented in parliament.

According to the International Inter-Parliamentary Union, when it comes to women in parliament, Australia is ranked 50 in the world.

In Australia, representation is even worse for marginalised groups such as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, who currently only have two members sitting in federal parliament.

Women from all ethnicities and backgrounds should be able to write the laws that govern this country, and have their matters addressed in parliament.

The power to prevent violence against women and achieve true gender equality lies in the collective efforts of a 'whole of society' approach.

Through the leadership of workplaces, schools, sporting clubs and federal, state, and local governments, we can build the momentum needed to address the great gender divide.

After all, evidence tells us violence against women can be reduced in Australia by increasing gender equality in all elements of everyday life.

The women that came before us fought for the right to be valued and to have a say. They fought for equality and respect, and the right to live free from violence.

Our Watch is committed to carrying on their legacy and we won't rest until workplaces, individuals and society more broadly, take an active role in addressing the gendered drivers of violence against women.

Until boys and girls are not socialised into believing that the likes of Peter or John make better leaders than Nicole or Jessica, gender inequality will persist.

This article was originally published byThe Huffington Post on Equal Pay Day.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Hannah Grant, Media and Ambassador Program Manager, Our Watch: 0448 844 930 or hannah.grant@ourwatch.org.au

*If you cover this story, or any story regarding violence against women and children, please include the following tagline:

"If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, domestic or family violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au. In an emergency, call 000. For more information about a service in your state or local area download the DAISY App in the App Store or Google Play."

Read guides for reporting about violence against women and their children.
ABOUT OUR WATCH
Our Watch's purpose is to raise awareness and engage policy-makers and the Australian community in action to prevent violence against women and their children.

To do this the organisation works to increase gender equality and respect in all aspects of everyday life, such as through schools; workplaces; media; sporting organisations; social marketing, and developing and influencing public policy.

Our Watch's work derives from the government's commitment to the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010 - 2022 and gives expression to many of the activities in the Second Action Plan 2013-2016 - Moving Ahead.

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OurWatch - Standing on the shoulders of giants - the fight for gender equality continues

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See Categories September 04 2017 By Mary Barry, Our Watch CEO When women in Australia won the right to vote and be elected to parliament in 1902, the path to suffrage had been long, painful and undulating. Although more peaceful than our British counterparts, the Australian suffragettes fought hard for political enfranchisement.