Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to take note of the annual report from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency. I move:

That the Senate take note of the document.

I do so noting that this is a relatively new institution in the Australian public sector and the function it performs is also relatively new: in particular, that function of requiring private sector organisations with employees numbering more than 100 to provide information about the number of men and women and the level of pay provided to those men and women is extremely important and a function that I think everyone in this chamber ought to support.

Of course, this new function was established by the previous Labor government. In introducing the bill that provided for this function, then Minister Collins said, 'Gender equality is essential to maximising Australia's productive potential and to ensuring continued economic growth.' The bill that she introduced brought in new obligations for reporting, including reporting on pay and the gender pay gap. It was a response to the persistent gender pay difference in this country. I note that the gender pay gap has not really budged in any substantial way since I graduated from university. It hovers around 19 per cent and is still sitting there on the latest reports.

The annual report that has been tabled talks a little bit about the work of this agency in bringing forth the information we need to tackle the problem. The firs thing to note is that we, through this agency, have created a world-class data set. It was launched in November 2014 and reports on a range of metrics. One important metric is the pay gap based on total remuneration. The gender pay gap is revealed at 24.7 per cent, which is an absolutely extraordinary figure. The agency has also set about providing customised information to those business entities that report to it, so the businesses that are providing information to the WGEA receive regular confidential, customised reports that allow them to assess their own performance, have a look at how they are going relative to other organisations and assess over time whether the strategies that they have in place are actually making a difference.

The acting director, Louise McSorley, in the report that has been tabled notes that this positions Australia as a world leader. The says that the agency has been approached by other governments and organisations around the world for our insights. You can also see in the report that the agency has been quite vigorous in reaching out to businesses. There is a list of the many public presentations and talks that have been pursued by staff from the agency getting the message out there that gender pay matters and that gender equality at work matters.

There are some encouraging results reported. We see the percentage of women in leadership increasing from 26 per cent to 27½ per cent. We see the number of employers conducting gender remuneration gap analysis rising from 24 per cent to 26 per cent. We see the percentage of employers with a strategy or policy to support employees with caring responsibilities rising from 55 per cent to 57.8 per cent. But of course there are still many challenges to address. These are important improvements and are in my view a direct response to the information that has been made available through this agency and program of work. However, there is still quite a lot of work to do.

The latest figures reveal, as I said, a very substantial gender pay gap. They show that this is worst in the finance sector. They show that only 15½ per cent of CEOs and 27 per cent of key management personnel are women. There is still a very big problem in this country with employers finding senior roles for women that allow them to exercise their leadership capabilities and to receive the pay that they deserve. The consequence of that is a persistent difference between the pay received by men and the pay received by women.

I think we should all be enormously supportive of the work by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency. There was some talk, early in the Abbott government's period, of winding back the functions of this agency and winding back its budget. That seems to have been put on the backburner. I think that is a welcome change and hope that there are no attempts from the government to revive that strategy.

I seek leave to continue my remarks later.

Leave granted.