Melissa McIntosh (Lindsay, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

As a government, we will continue to create, prioritise and back pathways towards a safe, secure, fair and equal status for women in our economy and our society. 'It's our stance, and it's my commitment,' said the Prime Minister on International Women's Day earlier this year. I thank the member for moving this motion because it gives me an opportunity to talk about an issue that is very important to me and one I'm passionate about.

Before coronavirus, there were more women in work than ever before, and the gender pay gap had closed to its lowest level on record. There was still a long way to go, and, after coronavirus, there will be more work to do. All of us have felt the effects of the virus. Families have been kept apart, and many have fallen into economic hardship. We've been there every step of the way, to support Australians to get through this and to get out the other side of coronavirus.

We do know that women are disproportionately affected. I've seen firsthand what can be accomplished when we tackle these economic challenges head on. In 2014, I led a think-tank program at the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney, the 21st Century Global Women's Initiative, which explored important issues around women in work, and, under Australia's presidency and leadership, the G20 leaders, in 2014, committed to women's workforce participation as a critical factor in breaking down social and economic barriers.

Our target set Australia to work towards reducing the gender gap in workforce participation by 25 per cent by 2025. Lifting women's workforce participation includes additional financial security for women and their families through higher lifetime earnings. It is true that we often see the effects of women not accumulating enough superannuation. I have seen, firsthand, where women are living and experiencing homelessness in older age. It's something that we do need to address as a society. We need to ensure that women do have increased savings for retirement.

Economic independence is absolutely critical for women as they age, and it also helps women assist themselves and their families leave domestic violence relationships. It provides financial security. It breaks intergenerational welfare, improves personal confidence and, ultimately, ensures safety. We know that we can get back on track after coronavirus and get back to the strong trend of supporting women's economic security. There are already signs that economic security is improving. Women's employment increased in June and July, as the economy has begun to reopen. Our $158.3 million women's economic security plan, first introduced in 2018, will be refreshed again this year to better target support for where it's needed most.

This package is delivering support for women entering the workforce, with grants to increase entrepreneurship opportunities as well as investing in the Career Revive initiative to help businesses attract and retain women returning to work. This plan also invests in the Academy for Enterprising Girls, to support and encourage more young women into science, technology, engineering and maths, or STEM. In my electorate of Lindsay there's no end to the opportunity that's coming, in regard to STEM, with Western Sydney airport and the aerotropolis precinct. It will be a hub for emerging industries, including advanced manufacturing, defence industry, agriculture, research and medicine. I'm very pleased that Sydney Science Park will be in the electorate of Lindsay.

We're backing established industries to take hold of these opportunities and get behind entrepreneurs and start-ups to create and sustain jobs. For young women in STEM, these opportunities will be there for the taking. I really want to encourage that. The average, for women's workforce participation in Western Sydney, last year was 63 per cent. It is higher than both the Australian and New South Wales averages but, when we're looking at the industries of the future—particularly in Western Sydney—women still only make up 43 per cent of science and technology, 28 per cent of manufacturing and 17 per cent of agriculture. So it is critical that we encourage more women into these roles, which will be key to getting to our full workforce potential. That's why it's so important to equip young women with the skills they need to take the jobs of the future.

From the Girls in STEM program at Jamieson High School and the robotics classes at Samuel Terry Public School to the Western Sydney Women aviation program, Western Sydney has the opportunity to pave the way for young women in these emerging industries.

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