Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Hansard source

ALLAGHER (—) (): I thank Senator Pratt for the question because the gender pay gap continues to sit at 14.1 per cent. I think all of us on this side of the chamber agree that that is unacceptable. Women go to work and they work hard but they earn less then men in the workplace. We must address the gender pay gap if we're going to have a gender-equal Australia. The secure jobs, better pay bill will provide greater access to bargaining for low-paid, highly feminised sectors such as the community sector, cleaning and early childhood education and care. Employees on enterprise agreements earn on average more than employees on awards. For example, in the female dominated healthcare and social assistance industry employees on awards are earning 19 per cent less in average hourly earnings than employees on collective agreements. We must prioritise these laws so we can improve the pay rates of women in these industries.