Presentation to Chief Executive Women (Victoria), Thursday 18 October
The battle for gender equality in Australia must be fought on several fronts: the government needs to look seriously at the disincentives to work created by the interaction of the tax, welfare and childcare systems. Parental leave policies should do more to encourage fathers to take on the role of primary carer in the crucial first year when lifetime caring patterns are established. Business needs to find ways to support flexible work for men and to embrace the very clear evidence on pay reporting to close the gender pay gap. And, as Grattan’s Danielle Wood argues in this speech, we should all look to the division of labour in our home – because the amount of time we spend washing dishes or doing school runs might be the key to unlocking Australia’s great untapped resource: women’s workforce participation.