Page 1534 - Week 04 - Thursday, 29 March 2012
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from 3.3 per cent at June 2010 to three per cent at June 2011. This result compares favourably to the 12.8 per cent gender pay gap for the public sector nationally. While these statistics paint a positive view of the economic status of many women in the ACT, this is not the case for all ACT women. Women continue to be over-represented in low income households, in low pay sectors and in workforces where there is a high level of casual employment.
The historic Fair Work Australia decision on the equal remuneration case, handed down in February this year, will benefit some of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged workers in our community, the overwhelming majority of whom are women. It is a landmark decision that acknowledges the long-term inequity faced by workers in community services. These are services that engage with some of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable people in our community, and I am proud to say that the ACT government has made a clear commitment to support community services in the ACT to implement a new wage structure. Many community sector workers will receive significant wage increases without their employers having to compromise on service delivery to fund the outcomes of the case.
There are many other ways that the government is further improving women’s economic and financial independence. Access to childcare is a critical factor for mothers who are entering or re-entering the workforce. In 2010-11, an additional 999 licensed childcare places became available across the ACT. An additional funding of $400,000 per annum was made available for after-school and vacation care programs for children and young people with a disability. These services are particularly important to enable women, who generally undertake the role of primary carer, to enter and to maintain full-paid employment.
Recently I launched the new early childhood scholarships program which will boost the skills and qualifications of educators in the early childhood education and care sector, the majority of whom are female. The scholarships will assist the early childhood workforce to meet the new qualification standards under the national quality framework that are due to begin in 2014.
I would like to highlight some of the actual recipients of the ACT government’s assistance, women whose lives we have helped to change. One of the avenues for this has been the return to work grants program, launched in February 2008. Each grant is valued at $1,000 and is designed to assist women on low incomes to overcome barriers they face when returning to work after an extended period of being out of the paid workforce. To date, over 480 women have received practical financial assistance through this program.
One such person is a 22-year-old mother of two who was able to secure employment at a child and family centre as a direct result of the return to work grant and she is now working towards her ultimate goal of becoming a social worker. Another is an older woman who applied for a grant after separating from her partner of 21 years. The woman had experienced domestic violence and had raised a family and, after the separation, had few financial options or resources available to start a new life. The grant enabled her to retrain in her career path of earlier years as a tourism consultant and she now plans to establish her own business.
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