Media Release 28 September 2009

WOMEN IN RED FOR EQUAL PAY

The staff of Women's Health West plan to dress in red on Equal Pay Day, Tuesday 1 September, as a symbol of 'being in the red' with their pay. They will also send information to state and federal members of parliament, calling for action to ensure pay equity.

The report outlined three options that will now be considered by government, all of which decriminalise abortion.

Equal Pay Day is a symbolic date that illustrates the number of extra days many women have to work after the end of the financial year to earn the same as men. Over the last year the gender pay gap has increased even further, to 17.2%. As a result, Equal Pay Day falls on 1 September 2009 - an extra 4 days compared with last year.

Women's Health West CEO, Dr Robyn Gregory, says that women earn less than men for a number of reasons, including employment in lower-paid, female-dominated industries, part time or casual employment, and because they move in and out of the workforce to look after children. "Women's work is regularly undervalued", she says, "it is seen as an extension of work that is done at home, rather than for the enormous contribution made to our economy and our society". Women are also more likely to work in small workplaces that are not covered by awards, leading to greater inequity in pay over time.

"The gender pay gap is not only a real expression of women's lower status compared with men's, it leads to poverty, poor health and wellbeing, and contributes to women being more susceptible to family violence", says Dr Gregory. "Recent research shows that the greater the inequality in income difference in a society, the bigger the problems on every measure of health and wellbeing, including violence, mental illness, obesity, drug abuse and heart disease. If the government is serious about dealing with the social problems that face us all, they must concentrate on removing economic impediments to feeling valued - such as low wages, low benefits and low public spending on health, welfare and education."

Some key statistics are:

If current earning patterns continue, the average 25 year old male would earn $2.4 million over the next 40 years while the average 25 year old female would earn $1.5 million (AMP NATSEM (2009) "She works hard for the money", Income and Wealth Report, Issue 22, p. 34

Women are two and half times more likely to live in poverty in their old age than men - by 2019, on average, women will have half the amount of superannuation that men have (Queensland Government (2009) "Women and Superannuation", Focus on Women, Office for Women, Information Paper 3

The pay gap starts from the moment women leave university, with female graduates earning on average $2,000 p/a less than male graduates "GradStats 2008", Table 4,

MEDIA CONTACT

For more information contact Nicola Harte, Communications Co-ordinator at Women's Health West on 9689 9588 or email nicolah@whwest.org.au or contact on the day on 0432 637 933. For all other general media enquiries contact us via email.