Cathy O'Toole (Herbert, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Think back to 1 July, the first day of this financial year. It feels like it was a long time ago, I suppose, but that's because it was a long time ago. It was just over two months ago—66 days ago. Sixty-six days is actually really significant because it's one more day than the 65 additional days from the end of the previous financial year that a woman must work to earn the same as a man. Despite the 0.9 per cent decrease over the previous 12 months, the national gender pay gap still sits at 15.3 per cent. That means, on average, men still earn over $250 per week more than women. When you add the recently announced penalty rate cuts by this government, which disproportionately affect women, that gap looks set to be wider and wider and wider. This just shows that we've got such a long way to go as a nation to stamp out bias, move on from outdated gender stereotypes and knock down the barriers that women still face when seeking senior and higher paying roles. We must address this immediately. Women are retiring with less super. They are living week to week on wages in total less than those of men, and we must do something to help our women.