Angus Taylor (Hume, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Cities and Digital Transformation) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you for the question. You raise an obviously very important point about women's participation in the workforce and, more broadly, about our policy in this area. It is an issue close to my heart because I have encouraged my wife to continue working throughout my career and hers. She continues to work to this day, and that has been a wonderful thing for both of us. So, for me, this is a very real issue. It is a very practical issue, and it is one that I have been passionate about for a long while.

Under Australia's G20 presidency, as the member pointed out, leaders agreed to a goal of reducing the gender gap in participation rates by 25 per cent by 2025. That means, as you pointed out, an additional 200,000 women in the Australian labour force. Analysis by Goldman Sachs estimates that closing the gap in participation rates could boost Australia's GDP by about 13 per cent. So this is a very real issue and, for the younger generation of Australians coming through now, I think this is one that we face as a practical issue every day. The government is taking action to boost women's workforce participation. It was a very broad-ranging question, so I will seek to cover off on the key points here.

Firstly, we are doing it by designing an affordable, accessible and flexible childcare system through the Jobs for Families Child Care Package. That is a very important reform. It is one that we have spent a lot of time on and done a lot of work on to make sure we structure it in a way that is actually going to provide that encouragement for participation rates that we know is not just good for women—obviously, that is absolutely paramount—but good for everybody, because it strengthens the economy. We know the advantage that brings. It brings more tax. It brings more ability to provide services—and we all benefit from that. So there are the direct benefits and there are the indirect benefits from that package.

Secondly, we are doing it by supporting business to do its part in creating a more diverse workplace. We have developed the Supporting Working Parents website in 2015, which provides practical resources for employees and employers on how best to manage and support working parents through pregnancy, through parental leave and upon return to work after parental leave. Of course, so many of us have now experienced the challenges of that. I have—in fact, four times over—and each time we battled our way through it. But it is a battle, and it is very important that the government provide that sort of support.

Thirdly, we are doing it by investing $13 million to encourage more women to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics. We know that not only is that focus on STEM important more, generally, across the economy but also we have a challenge with getting enough young women into education in that area, into the universities focusing on STEM and into STEM related industries.

Fourthly, we are doing it by shining a light on pay equity through the work of the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, which assists businesses to address pay equity concerns, including by assisting with gender pay gap audits, providing pay equity toolkits and running awareness campaigns on this very important issue. To add a couple of other points, we are doing it by demonstrating best practice in the Australian Public Service through the APS gender equality strategy and, finally, by announcing a $10 million expansion of the UnitingCare pre-employment project aimed at women—again, another important initiative that the government is pursuing.

Any further issues on this I will direct to the relevant department. It is worth mentioning, though, that, as part of the Women's Leadership and Development Strategy, the government is increasing women's workforce participation by partnering with UnitingCare Australia. We are providing $180,000 for a demonstration project to create long-term employment pathways for women in the community in the aged-care sector which, as we know, has been a sector that has been dominated by women employees. Also, through the Australian Women in Resource Alliance, we are providing just under $500,000 to support the attraction and retention of women in the resources industry through an e-mentoring program.

This has been a real focus for the government. It is an area that has great benefits for Australian women, and for all Australians more generally, through the economic boost that we get from it. It is one that this government will continue to pursue.

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