What are the implications of Australia’s taxation and social security systems for women’s workforce participation and our economic security in retirement? How does this tax-transfer system interact with labour, housing and financial markets, affect our work, saving and investment decisions and shape our family, social and working lives and economic wellbeing over our life course?

This e-book on Tax, Social Policy and Gender: Rethinking Equality and Efficiency arose from discussions during a workshop hosted by the ANU’s Tax and Transfer Policy Institute that applied a gender lens to our tax and transfer system. With a foreword by Marie Coleman of the National Foundation of Australian Women, and numerous expert chapter authors, this is a good read and an excellent resource.

The scorecard presents an informative snapshot of the key findings from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency’s 2016-17 gender equality data, and trends over a 4 year period.

The WGEA notes a big jump in employer action on gender equality – making managers accountable for gender equality outcomes, promoting women into manager roles and encouraging flexible work arrangements – but the gender pay gap persists across every occupational category with men on average earning $26k a year more than women.

There has been no improvement in the proportion of women on company boards and management roles continue to be heavily dominated by men with women holding just 16.5% of CEO roles and 29.7% of key management personnel roles.

Sexual harassment has suddenly risen to the top of the agenda in 2017. The messages of Australia’s policy launched in 2014 remain highly relevant today.  The “Know Where the Line Is” campaign, a joint initiative by the Australian Human Rights Commission, Australian Council of Trade Unions and Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, was launched by a powerful trio of women: Elizabeth Broderick who was Australia’s Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Ged Kearney who was the President of the ACTU and Kate Carnell who was the CEO of ACCI.  

Plan International Australia conducted a national survey of girls aged 10 to 17-years old to find out to what they aspire and what prevents them from following their dreams.  They called the report The Dream Gap because girls modify and curtail their aspirations when they experience gender discrimination. Girls want to succeed but they face barriers that grow more profound as they enter adulthood. Plan reports 98% of girls say they do not receive equal treatment to boys.   Their main dream?  Gender equality.

The #GirlsTakeover Parliament Program gets underway on Wednesday 11 October, when girls will take over the offices of six ACT politicians. Next week, they take on federal parliament. The program aims to showcase the energy and aptitude young women have for a career in politics and give them hands-on practical experience. How would increasing the number of women in parliament change the way we 'do' politics?

In 2013 the OECD issued Gender Recommendations that member nations should implement to address gender inequalities in education, employment and entrepreneurship. The 2017 OECD Report on the implementation of the Gender Recommendations reveals slow progress and much still to do.  Broad Agenda summarises the findings, but a search for Australia in the 2017 report illustrates how we compare.

If you missed BPW South Australia’s Equal Pay Day panel presentation, the audio podcast and the PowerPoint are now accessible online on the Hawke Centre website. 

The CEW Census counts the women in ASX200 executive leadership teams and highlights the proportion of women in ‘line’ and ‘functional’ roles. Line roles drive key commercial outcomes and are a significant pipeline for the ASX200 CEOs of the future. Women make up only 5% of CEOs, 9% of CFOs and 15% of COOs, but dominate HR Executive roles.  The report breaks down the data by industry and company.  

APEC Women and the Economy Forum 2017, Hue Vietnam, Sept 26-29
Congratulations to Carol Hanlon, CEO, Belmont BEC & TCFWA has been invited to join the Australian Government delegation to APEC WEF, as a non-government delegate. One of only two women in Australia invited to the delegation.

Carol Hanlon, Founding Manager and Business Facilitator of Belmont Business Enterprise Centre Inc. (Belmont BEC / BEC Global) and Founder, Manager and Mentor of Textile, Clothing, Footwear Resource Centre of WA Inc. (including TCF Australia / TCF Global) has been selected by the Hon Michaelia Cash, Minister for Women to participate in the Australian Government delegation to the APEC Women and the Economy Forum in Hue, Vietnam from the 26th-29th September 2017.

Carol is a non-government official delegate to the Forum and the delegation will be led by Australia’s Global Ambassador for Women and Girls Dr Sharman Stone.

Carol Hanlon said, “I am thrilled to be attending the APEC Women and Economy Forum in Vietnam, and will have the opportunity to engage with leaders from across the Asia-Pacific region on critical issues relating to business and women’s economic empowerment,

Read more here...

This year the government released its Towards 2025 Government Strategy to Boost Women's Workforce Participation. It prioritises 6 groups of women who experience barriers to participating in the labour force: ATSI women, CALD women, mature age women, rural and regional women, women with disability, and young women.  It focuses on 5 action areas: child care, workplace flexibility, women’s entrepreneurship, economic security, and financial incentives to work. 

The report notes that the workforce participation gap increases dramatically for women when they have children, but not for men whose participation can increase with family responsibilities.  Access to childcare places and financial assistance with childcare costs were 2 of the top 3 incentives for women to increase workforce participation in 2014–15.