Page 736 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 8 March 2016
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
to the Fair Work Commission that men are paid at a higher rate of pay and yet they have the same qualifications as early childhood educators have. I hope that United Voice and the early childhood education sector are successful with their claim and that the federal government can get on with fixing the gap in this sector. Low paid workers in the early childhood education sector provide some of the essential services and essential work for women and families so that they can get to work and earn a decent wage, and our early childhood educators should be receiving the same rate of pay.
We see this in other sectors as well. As minister for sport I am passionate about seeing women put on an equal footing with their male counterparts. It has been great today to see that the Matildas are well on their way on their path to representing Australia in Rio after their win early this morning or late last night.
This experience of inequality permeates women’s lives, and impacts on their health, income, lifetime financial security, access to housing and the perpetuation of cultures that condone violence again women. Like Ms Hunter, I believe that this Assembly should be compelled yearly to celebrate the gains we make for women, and that we make as women, because we are making amazing progress every year. And we should consider how far we have to go. It is important, too, that we make this reflection on International Women’s Day, particularly this year, when the international theme is “Pledge for parity”.
International Women’s Day is, and should continue to be, an occasion when we celebrate the amazing women who broke through the glass ceiling. So many of them have gone on to dedicate their careers to holding the door open for others to follow and breaking down barriers that still exclude too many who aspire to these roles. Yet the opening up of the professions to women has been possible because there were others willing to take on the work that was once done by women at home.
The women who choose these caring roles are just as passionate, professional and committed as any of their counterparts in any other areas of the workforce. If they make this work their careers, they deserve to receive equal remuneration to their peers in traditionally male-dominated professions. And if they make these roles their life’s work as stay-at-home mums or carers, they deserve the respect of our community and the promise of economic security.
Ensuring that all women enjoy the safety and prosperity of this city regardless of occupation or background is the next great challenge for women’s equality. As Minister for Women this priority was the first message I heard from the Ministerial Advisory Council on Women and from their input it has gone on to be the central focus of the next ACT women’s plan. This annual statement will give the Assembly an opportunity each year to consider the progress of this plan and its results.
The final part of this motion calls on the government to ensure that we are collecting good gender disaggregated data. This data is vital to tracking and reporting on the progress towards the equality of all women—the good news and the bad.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video