Gender equality… have we really come as far as we think?

Gender equality… have we really come as far as we think?

Recently a news article was posted that sparked our attention and became the source of discussion in our Co Gear office.

The article was titled “Nearly 30% of men say progress toward gender equality has come at their expense, according to new report”. It’s safe to say we were shocked to hear these statistics in today’s modern world. The article which was based on a US survey of 3000 men and women can be found here.

This led us to take a look at our Australian statistics to see how we were progressing in regards to gender equality in the workplace and some interesting numbers were shown. For those interested, all data can be found on the Australian Government Workplace Gender Equality website. 

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Let’s start with some positive statistics! 2020 can’t all be doom and gloom now can it. Access to parental leave has improved significantly with 50% more employers offering primary care leave (dad’s included!), the best results in 6 years. Companies like Accenture have seen a 330% increase in fathers taking parental leave – now this is some news we can celebrate!

There has been massive focus increases on flexible work arrangements, family and domestic violence strategies and gender equality (in general) in the workplace. Stats show that over 75% of employers have a gender equality strategy or policy in place (why not 100%??).

Women’s promotions seem to keep rising however CEO levels remain heavily men dominated with only 17.1% of women being at this level. Not only that but the gender pay gap is a long way from being closed with men taking home, on average, $25679 more than women yearly.

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These are figures from 2018 - 2019 and it will be interesting to see how far Australia has come when the 2020 statistics are released. Our thoughts? We believe that change needs to happen at a more rapid pace and not just every workplace, but every individual needs to play their part. So how can we achieve this? The WGEA website gives these helpful guidelines to creating gender equality in the workplace –

  • Workplaces need to provide equal pay for work of equal or comparable value

  • Removal of barriers to the full and equal participation of women in the workforce 

  • Access to all occupations and industries, including leadership roles, regardless of gender; and

  • Elimination of discrimination on the basis of gender, particularly in relation to family and caring responsibilities. 

We’re on board, are you? 

— Claire Aitchison
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