Research led by the Monash Centre for Health Research and Implementation contends it will take over 200 years for Australian women to achieve income equity with men, and 70 years to achieve equality on full-time employment.
It also claims there are 2.7 million women missing from the Australian labour force, costing the Australian economy $72 billion a year in lost GDP:
At current rates, “it will take 70 years to reach equality on full-time employment and more than 200 years to reach equity on income”, the report concluded…
There are 2.7 million women missing from the labour force, costing the Australian economy $72 billion in lost GDP annually – and also resulting in lower lifetime superannuation accumulations…
“Our workforce productivity is so profoundly affected by the very dramatic impact that childcare has in Australia, because we have one of the most expensive childcare systems in the world,” she said. “At the moment in Australia, having a family has pretty much no impact on a man’s income or their career trajectory; it has a very profound impact for women”…
Has the Monash Centre for Health Research and Implementation ever bothered to consider that many mothers don’t want to return to work full-time and would prefer to look after their children themselves rather than send them to childcare?
My wife is a classic example. She worked full-time before we had kids, but for the last 15 years has worked part-time two days a week while doing most of the house duties. That’s the way she likes it, and she has zero interest in ever working full-time again.
My wife’s dedication to our home has enabled me to focus full time on paid work for the family’s benefit.
Many happy couples we know have chosen a similar division of paid/unpaid work. Yet for some reason, it is presented as a bad outcome by the Monash Centre, which erroneously claims mothers are being duded and costing the economy $72 billion in lost activity.
The majority of Australians operate as family units where husbands/wives pool their financial resources – both incomes and savings – and share workloads, be it paid or domestic. When couples divorce, financial resources are split-up and distributed among the spouses. So even here, any perceived unfairness surrounding superannuation accumulation balances out.
So, what’s the big deal?
Instead of fighting fake gender wars, policy makers should focus on eliminating poverty, irrespective of gender. This is the key cause for concern in Australia.
