In a landmark case for closing the gender pay gap, the Full Bench of Fair Work Australia yesterday agreed to make an equal remuneration order under section 302 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).  What this effectively means is that there will be an increase of up to 41% in the Award pay rates for employees in the social and community services industry – roles predominantly held by women – as compared with other public servant roles.   Read More

I don't know if it's got anything to do with the new year, but there's been a pile of "helpful advice" articles of late on what women should do to get what they (presumably) need in terms of their pay, position and profile.  Build relationships and get a male mentor.  Learn to sing your own praises. Be more of this, less of that. Read More

News out today says that 70,000 Australian mums are locked out of the workforce solely because they cannot get affordable childcare.  Boy this makes me cranky. And it’s not just because I was up half the night showering and changing Master Almost-3 who’s had a recurring gastro for 3 weeks now.  This issue makes me crazy; partly because of the impact it’s having on the career advancement, life choices and personal power of women; but it’s also ludicrous to consider here is a talent pool that wants to work and contribute to the productivity of our nation and its employers, but can’t get over the structural barriers to do so. Read More

If I had a dollar for every time I've been told "don't worry, GenY women are different, they've got gender balance all sorted..." well, let's just say my bank balance would be looking pretty darned healthy!  But while there's no doubt that GenY women are well positioned for career and life success, it's also true that most of what you read about their attitudes and beliefs is based on loose assumptions and opinions.  Now new research by Business & Professional Women International shines the light on beliefs, values and expectations of over 600 women from USA across four key areas: workplace values, work-life balance, gender in the workplace and intergenerational workplace dynamics. Read More

A new report by the Law Society of NSW was launched in Sydney yesterday by The Honourable Justice Julie Ward, putting the advancement of women in the legal profession under the spotlight. Unfortunately much of its findings read like another how-to guide for “fixing the women”; whereas very little has been said about the culture and leadership that fails to fully harness the value and opportunity that women lawyers present.   Read More

Finalists and winners in the 2011 EOWA Business Achievement Awards were announced this week to recognise organistions that are implementing innovative programs to enhance women's workforce participation, and individual leaders who are champions for change in supporting and advancing women in business. Read More

HR firm Randstad recently conducted a survey of approximately 400 Australian workers and found that only 40% of the male respondents say their employers, when looking for new managers, take into account the current number of men and women in higher management positions, compared to 25% of female respondents.  Randstad chief executive Fred van der Tang says it is concerning that only a quarter of women recognise their employer’s efforts to address gender imbalance. Read More

This year 7,100 people voted to determine Australia and New Zealand’s top 20 Dream Employers of choice.  So who made the list?   Read More

I’m supposed to be at an Equal Pay Day event right now… but I was so cranky that women still earn 17% less than men in equivalent roles that I decided to stay home.  Instead of hearing more women speak about how unjust the gap is, and decree another call to action for the female audience to demand change, I took my frustrations out on the garden.  After much hacking and pruning of the hedge I’ve let off enough steam to write this post, which I need to do because I’m speaking next week at a BPW luncheon in Geelong on this very topic... even though I’m quite convinced that no one really cares about pay equity anyway. Read More

I’m deeply concerned about by the government’s announcement that the childcare rebate is to be reduced (yes – you read right: reduced!).  As you’ll be aware, I recently co-founded the Make Care Fair lobby aimed at increasing childcare support and flexibility for Australian families… and yet the government has just announced plans to cut the childcare rebate back to $7,500 per child per year, from the current $8,179 per child.  This is going to have an impact on tens of thousands of Australian families with children in paid care and their employers.  One in four parents of kids in childcare already go back to work for no net financial gain; reducing the childcare rebate will make this worse, reduce the number of women in the leadership pipeline as even more women drop out of the paid workforce, and of course fewer women in senior roles. Read More