Page 731 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 8 March 2016
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Madam Speaker, Canberra women have shaped and continue to shape our community. One of our greatest sporting icons is Lauren Jackson and one of our best-ever sports coaches Carrie Graf. One of our highest profile entrepreneurs of recent times is Amanda Whitly from HerCanberra. One of our most important business figures is Robyn Hendry, chief executive of the Canberra Business Chamber.
The ACT government has a long history of recognising women and seeing women in leadership roles in our community. Indeed our first ACT Chief Minister, Rosemary Follett, was the first woman to be the head of any Australian state or territory. Out of the eight ACT government directorates, seven have a female as the director-general, including the Head of Service, each of whom is helping to lead and shape our community.
With these examples of women in significant leadership positions that we are celebrating, we know that women continue to be under-represented in leadership roles across all sectors of the workforce and central decision-making positions across the country. This perpetuates the existing stereotypes about the role of women, both at work and within our wider community. This sends a message to our girls.
Having women in leadership positions not only inspires and encourages other women to participate; it also supports women to continue in such roles and demonstrates to our girls that they can achieve positions of influence and leadership.
In 2007 the ACT government set a target of achieving and maintaining women as 50 per cent of representatives on all ACT government boards and committees. In 2011 overall ACT government boards and committees achieved a representation of 44 per cent female membership. Today, we are still moving towards achieving 50 per cent representation of women on ACT boards and committees. Government must and can lead from the front, and in this area we have done so.
The ACT government has implemented a number of strategies and programs to support women’s leadership and participation on boards and committees, including the Audrey Fagan women’s leadership program; Australian Institute of Company Directors chair’s mentoring program; ACT women’s register; and ACT government cabinet board review process.
Madam Speaker, we know that access to paid employment is the cornerstone for economic and social independence. Paid employment provides women with choices about their career goals and aspirations and their living and family arrangements; it also significantly impacts on their quality of life into retirement.
In the ACT, we know that women’s work participation levels are higher than the national average, at 67.9 per cent in the labour force compared to the national average of 58.6 per cent. The national gender pay gap is currently 17.9 per cent and has hovered between 15 and 19 per cent for the past two decades. In May 2014, the ACT had the lowest gender pay gap, at 10.1 per cent. While still the second lowest in the country, a note of caution is required because by May 2015 the ACT gender pay gap had increased by 1.6 per cent to 11.7 per cent. This percentage pay gap means that for every $100 earned by an ACT man, an ACT woman earns $88.30.
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