Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank my colleague the member for Griffith for introducing this motion today and I am very proud to second it. International Women's Day is recognised on 8 March every year. Importantly, it is a day to celebrate the economic, political and social achievements of women worldwide, but it is also an opportunity for us all to reflect on and assess just how far women have come in our collective struggle for equality both here in Australia and abroad.

Born at a time of great social turbulence and crisis, International Women's Day inherited a tradition of protest and political activism. I want to pay tribute to the garment workers who on 8 March 1857 marched and picketed the streets of New York City, demanding improved working conditions, a 10-hour day and equal rights for women. Here we are, nearly 160 years on, and there are still millions of garment workers, mostly women, around the world who are struggling to survive on poverty wages and provide for their children. They are forced to work 14 hours a day in appalling conditions. Last month I was in Cambodia witnessing firsthand some of the great work that Cambodian women are doing to improve the working lives and conditions of women garment factory workers. I was honoured to stand alongside garment workers fighting for their dignity at work.

While progress towards gender equality has been slow and uneven across the globe, achieving equality for women and girls is essential, not merely because it is a matter of fairness and fundamental human rights but because progress in so many other areas depends on it. According to the latest data from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, equality in the Australian workforce is still a very long way off. Two key measures expose the inequality. Firstly, there is still a 24 per cent gender pay gap for full-time workers. Secondly, just 15.4 per cent of CEO positions are held by women, and women are only 27.4 per cent of key management personnel, despite women making up nearly half of the total workforce.

Discrimination in the workplace based on gender is also a major obstacle, in particular for pregnant women and women returning to work after having a child. According to the Human Rights Commission's pregnancy and return to work report, one in two mothers experienced discrimination in the workplace during pregnancy or parental leave or on return to work. In the most recent financial year, the Human Rights Commission received 136 complaints from women about pregnancy discrimination, with another 63 complaints lodged by parents who felt discriminated against because of their family responsibilities or breastfeeding needs. We also have a situation where in a number of industries, including the Australian Public Service, new mothers are being forced to trade off important workplace conditions, such as lactation breaks and flexible work arrangements, to secure modest wage increases.

When it comes to violence against women and their children, the data is especially shocking. In Australia, at least one woman a week is killed by a partner or former partner. Intimate partner violence contributes to more death, disability and illness in women aged 15 to 44 than any other preventable risk factor. One in three Australian women has experienced physical violence and one is five has experienced sexual violence since the age of 15. The social, health and economic costs of violence against women are enormous. Preventing such violence is a matter of national urgency.

There is a growing body of evidence that demonstrates a strong and consistent association between gender inequality and levels of violence against women. I especially want to acknowledge the work of Our Watch, ANROWS and VicHealth and their report Change the story, which details a national evidence based approach to preventing violence against women and their children. To change the story we need to recognise that violence against women and their children is preventable. It is not an inevitable or intractable social problem, but the evidence makes clear that gender inequality is both the core of the problem and the heart of the solution too.

There are five essential actions needed to address the gendered drivers of violence against women. Collectively, we need to challenge the condoning of violence against women; promote women's independence and decision-making; challenge gender stereotypes and roles; strengthen positive, equal and respectful relationships; and promote and normalise gender equality in public and private life. It is time to redouble our efforts to address gender inequality both domestically and internationally. We owe it to the women garment workers of 1857 and we owe it to current and future generations of women across the globe.

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