Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm delighted to support this motion brought forward by the member for Indi, and I would like to agree heartily with the statements made by the two previous speakers.

As a father of three sons and three daughters, it would be absolutely absurd to think that my sons are more deserving of higher positions in their workplace for no reason other than their gender. However, this concept continues to be a reality in Australian industries, particularly in agricultural industries. I'm someone who clearly remembers when the Whitlam government lobbied the Australian Institute of Company Directors for equal pay. I would have hoped that over 45 years later gender diversity in the workplace would be at a much higher level than it is today.

The conversation around female representation in top positions in each industry, especially board director roles, has been had for many decades and yet our progress has been inordinately slow. Change seems to be happening at a snail's pace; in fact, we're seeing progress stall. The Australian Institute of Company Directors' quest for 30 per cent representation for female company directors across ASX 200 boards by 2018 seems highly unlikely to succeed, with only a 0.1 per cent increase in female directors from 25.3 per cent in 2016 to 25.4 per cent in 2017—a pathetically small increase.

There's no justifiable reason that we're not seeing consistent increases in gender representation at these levels. It comes down to two things: poor excuses and gender bias. We hear that there aren't enough qualified women, that women are not flexible enough and that women have to look after and bear children and therefore they cannot fully commit to the position. These excuses are very archaic and just don't cut it these days.

Only 66 companies in the ASX 200 are meeting or exceeding 30 per cent female representation, while the other 134 are falling short—often way short—and 64 of those companies that are falling short only have one female board member. It is a far cry from gender diversity and gender equality, and for no particularly good reason. There's no reason why women can't be represented, in the same proportion they represent of the general community, on company boards. No-one's seriously suggesting that women are less intelligent, less capable or less able to do the work, yet this bias persists. We just cannot continue at this rate, and I certainly don't want it to continue at this rate for my children and my grandchildren. We cannot continue to allow male-dominated boards to promote only men. Gender diversity is a choice—this is a choice—that companies have to make. Any industry, company or organisation that does not strive for equal gender diversity needs to be put on notice and needs to be put on notice now.

I come from a profession, paediatrics, which has embraced gender diversity for decades. Over 50 per cent of practising paediatricians are female, and over 70 per cent of registrars—that is, paediatricians in training—are female. With figures like these, it's no doubt that some of Australia's most famous paediatricians, and hardworking paediatricians, are female: Professor Fiona Stanley; Professor Elizabeth Elliott, who's been very prominent lately in alerting us to the considerable numbers of children with foetal alcohol syndrome disorder; and Professor Ingrid Scheffer, from Melbourne, who's world renowned for her work in the genetics of epilepsy. One of my old mentors, Clair Isbister, pioneered the importance of breastfeeding in the mid 20th century. Dr Audrey Greenberg, my cousin, was one of the first developmental paediatricians in Australia. Dr Genevieve Cummins was one of the first female paediatric surgeons. Dr Verlie Lines was one of the first paediatric anaesthetists in Australia. Paediatrics was one of the first professions that brought in job-sharing with great success. When we see more women at the top of their profession, we see more women promoting the cause of women, and that's a great thing.

We need to change. I want to stress that: it is time for change. We can no longer accept the snail's pace of reform. Women make up 50 per cent of the population yet are still held back from top positions on boards in many companies. Gender diversity is an issue that this parliament needs to take seriously. Corporations are receiving government funds; it is time for them to act.

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