Report from the Human Resources and Equal Opportunity Commission
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Sex Discrimination Commissioner announces roadmap towards gender equality
Tuesday, 22 July 2008

Introducing paid maternity leave, tackling sexual harassment and bridging 
the gender gap in retirement savings were among the priorities highlighted 
today when federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick 
outlined her plan of action towards gender equality.

"The stories and ideas that people shared with me during my Listening Tour 
have shaped my plan of action," Commissioner Broderick said.

"Progress towards gender equality has stalled. We have more work to do if we 
want to ensure women and men live in a fair and equal Australia. Today, I'm 
announcing initiatives that will help us reach that goal."

Speaking at the launch of Gender equality: What matters to Australian women 
and men, the community report from her national Listening Tour, Commissioner 
Broderick identified five areas where she will be focussing her efforts to 
improve gender equality in Australia:

* Increasing the number of women in leadership positions, including a focus 
on supporting Indigenous women's leadership;
* Balancing paid work and family responsibilities beginning with the 
implementation of a national government funded paid maternity leave scheme;
* Driving down the incidence of sexual harassment;
* Reducing the gender gap in retirement savings; and
* Strengthening laws to address sex discrimination and promote gender 
equality.

"Reducing sexual harassment is one of my main priorities. Today I can 
announce that I have commissioned a national survey to track trends on the 
extent of sexual harassment in Australia," Commissioner Broderick said.

"This survey is the only research of its kind in this country. It's the 
second time we have undertaken this survey and it will be the first time we 
will have accurate trends. The research will be used to develop an education 
strategy aimed at reducing sexual harassment in the workplace."

There will be concrete programs to address each of the issues in the 
Commissioner's agenda and progress has already been made in some areas.

"As part of our women in leadership programme, we are working to create a 
forum to bring together Indigenous women and women in the corporate sector. 
This is a small first step, but an important one, to ensure women have the 
chance to share the knowledge they have used to overcome obstacles in their 
own communities. The forum will help to build their skills as the leaders of 
tomorrow," Commissioner Broderick said.

"I will also be continuing to push for the implementation of a national paid 
parental scheme as part of a broader focus on achieving greater balance 
between paid work and family responsibilities.  A federally funded scheme is 
good for families, good for business and good for the community. It gives 
mothers the chance to recover from childbirth, establish breast feeding and 
bond with their babies - it also increases the number of women returning to 
work.  Many employers that have implemented paid maternity leave schemes 
have return-to-work rates nudging 90 percent."

The Commissioner also noted that the gender gap in retirement savings has 
the potential to spiral into a huge social and economic problem for the 
Australian community.  "Half of all women aged 45 to 59 have less than $8000 
in retirement savings and the average superannuation payout for women is a 
third of the payout for men.

"Women spend more time in unpaid work, particularly caring for children. 
They are also more likely to work part-time than men, leaving them with much 
less retirement savings," Ms Broderick said.

"Right now, many women are living their final years in poverty. If we don't 
act, another generation of women will suffer the same fate.  And, as the 
population ages, we'll face a looming cost blow-out for key services."

The plan of action towards gender equality and the community report were 
launched by the Commissioner at Sydney Girls High School with guest speakers 
Caroline Lambert, Executive Director, YWCA; Michael Ullmer, Deputy Group 
Chief Executive Officer, National Australia Bank; and Lucy Connell, Public 
Speaking Captain, Sydney Girls High School.

The community report and media kit, including fact sheets on each of the 
focus areas will be available from 10.30am on 22 July at: 
www.humanrights.gov.au/listeningtour/launch