Today 8th March is International Women’s Day, a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. This year’s theme is #BalanceforBetter, which acknowledges that the better the gender balance in government, business and wealth, the better the world. PeakCare encourages eNews readers to take a moment to reflect on and consider how their actions can support achieving gender equity. The research on achieving gender equity shows a trend in social attitudes changing around equality and an emphasis on including men in creating foundations for equity. The Australian Government’s Workplace Gender Equality Agency and Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre have published a report on gender equity insights in the workplace, showing that although women still remain under-represented in positions of power and over-represented in lower-paid jobs, they are likely to dominate middle management roles in years to come. ANROWS has published research on the importance of paid domestic violence leave in supporting women’s rights to economic security.
This week is also Queensland Women’s Week (2nd to 10th March), with this year’s theme – Invest in women. Invest in the future – recognising the importance of women’s economic security in achieving gender equity. Among the significant implications of women’s economic security are the generational effects as women continue to be the primary carers of children. The Queensland government’s 2018 Women’s Economic Security Report Card shows a 17.3% gender pay gap, with the largest gap occurring in the finance and insurance services industry.