Sophie Scamps (Mackellar, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

Ha! She went on:

Almost half of women who retire before 55 cite their health as the reason they stopped work. Ignoring menopause in the workplace is not working.

Research and modelling done by the Australia Institute on superannuation trustees in 2022 estimated that even if just 10 per cent of women retired early because of menopausal symptoms, it would equate to a loss of earnings and super of more than $17 billion. If that figure jumped to 20 per cent, the economic loss would grow to more than $35 billion.

And then there are the caring responsibilities in addition to child care, which are often taken on by women—more by women than men. There's the unpaid work associated with caring for disabled, injured, unwell or elderly relatives. Currently, 12.3 per cent of all women in Australia identify as a carer, and women represent 72 per cent of all primary carers. These medical issues, both separately and together, have a huge impact on women's financial stability over the course of their lives. The poor level of paid parental leave to date has been at the core of financial instability and inequality for women. The superannuation gender gap is also well documented. It's a result not only of the gender pay gap but also, as has been described, because women are more likely to have breaks in employment and are more likely to have work in casual and part-time roles. Disturbingly, the average superannuation payout for women is one-third the payout for men. On average, it's $37,00 for women, compared with men on $110,000. The result of all these factors is that many women are living their final years in poverty. A report in February this year by Anglicare described older women as the 'invisible homeless'.

The next policy step, if we're serious about equality in this country, must be for superannuation to be paid on paid parental leave as well. The disruptions to women's lives and careers are numerous and lengthy. Apart from emotional and wellbeing impacts, these disruptions, either separately or compounded, can be devastating for a woman's financial, job and housing security. The 2016 census showed that older women were the fastest-growing group to experience homelessness in Australia, and that was an increase of 31 per cent on the 2011 numbers.

All of these disruptions in women's lives matter; all of these disruptions to women's lives entrench disadvantage; and all of these disruptions to women's lives can be ameliorated with policies such as this one. So I commend these amendments and this bill to the House.

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