I rise today to speak on the Gender Equality Bill 2019, and I do this in the 59th Parliament of Victoria, which is also the Parliament with a record number of sitting women. This, I assure you, is something that I constantly remind my daughter, Emily, and my son, Leo, of, because right here, right now, we have made history, and I am pretty proud to be part of it. Here in Victoria, we are setting the bar for the rest of the country. Let us face it: someone had to step up and had to take action, because in order to achieve gender equality across our great nation its leaders need to step up and take action.
Every time I walk into this place and look around I am reminded that this Labor government is the first Parliament to have a cabinet where women in equal numbers are able to sit at the table beside their male colleagues. And I remind those opposite—or the empty chairs; the many, many empty chairs—that this has not happened by accident; it has come through the perseverance of both women and men to do what is right, and to speak up and speak out about the need to change the status quo and be on the right side of history.
Through the determination of women on this side of the house, over the past two terms of government we have undertaken the world’s first Royal Commission into Family Violence. This government has promised to implement every single recommendation from that royal commission. It is a promise we will keep, with our $2.9 billion investment. Victorians can trust that our government has got their backs. It is committed to fostering equality and empowering women. But the fight for gender equality does not end there. These steps have been remarkable, but we still have so much more to do. This bill is another step in the right direction.
When we look at how we can even the playing field for women, it is absolutely essential that we look at the workforce. Female-dominated industries are more likely to be paid less than male-dominated industries, despite women needing the same if not higher qualifications. The reality is women are also more likely to take on the domestic work at home, making it harder for them to join the workforce in the first place.
All of these factors have led to shocking statistics: on average, a woman in Victoria will earn 9.6 per cent less than a man. The amount of women in the workforce is 11.2 per cent lower than it is for men. When you put all of these factors together women are left with 37 per cent less in their superannuation savings than men—certainly, knowing what my husband’s superannuation is, mine is a lot less. This is appalling, which is why we are doing something about it.
From a personal point of view, for almost two decades I worked in male-dominated industries. I started off as a young legal clerk, where solicitors and barristers enjoyed after-work drinks while talking about their young female clerks and paralegals—yes, all those clichés and certain behaviours now called out, all of that went on. And no, none of us could ever speak about it. The blokes were the barristers, the QCs, the silks, the magistrates and the judges.
The really strange thing is that none of this seemed odd to me, because this was considered the norm. This is the world that I grew up in. It was acceptable behaviour. No female ever spoke out for fear of ruining her career. I was really young at that time; I was around 21 when I first did a stint for the Director of Public Prosecutions in Queensland. I have spent a lot of time reflecting over the years on why I thought this was the norm and that it never seemed unfair to me at that young age. I think it goes back to my childhood. I grew up in a household—a very happy household—where Mum did all the stuff like cooking and cleaning and raising the kids. And Dad? Dad was an awesome guy. He went to work, and that was it. Mum never complained. She never talked about it being unfair that she gave up her career as a nurse to stay at home and raise her three children. She never complained that she cooked dinner every single night while looking after us three at home, nor did she ever say to me that this type of domestic work was actually unfair and placed upon her because of her gender and a cultural practice that was entrenched in generations before her. So I never questioned the status quo.
It was not until I came back to work—I was aged 30, after having my third child—that I actually felt the sting of inequality in the workforce for the first time. I was highly educated, I was driven and I had years and years of experience in the energy industry behind me by that time. Senior executives and CEOs—well, they were always male. But I never seemed to notice. I remember having a career development conversation when I came back to work after having Leo. I clearly remember being told that I could not be interested in career development and climbing the corporate ladder or doing courses or degrees to continue my education because I was a mum with young kids and coming to work part time was basically a break from my parental responsibilities. I am now 38 years old, so you can do the maths and you can see that this conversation happened eight years ago.
It came out of a cultural, systemic, ingrained and outrageous way of thinking, and that way of thinking still exists—make no mistake. I am not someone who is lost for words, but at the time I remember I paused, and I thought—ashamedly—‘Perhaps, just perhaps, they’re right’. Perhaps it was wrong of me to think I wanted more challenging work and that my contribution to that business was not as important or relevant as my male counterparts’, who always continued to work full time because their wives were at home looking after the kids. I did not say anything; I did not respond. But inside I got mad—really mad. And then it was as if my eyes were opened and I saw the gender equality that existed in my workplace, and I have never stopped noticing. I was outraged. I left that job pretty soon after because I knew I was worth more and I had a bigger contribution to make than just shuffling paper three days a week because I needed a break from my kids. I refused to be put aside like that.
Unfortunately my story is not a unique one. Women right across Victoria share similar experiences, and it should not be their responsibility to constantly fight for equality in the workplace. It is exhausting and it is unfair, and it is our job to make sure that there are systems in place that keep organisations in check. That is why this bill is so important. It takes the burden off women and holds workplaces to account. Over the past year, in the time that I have spent in this place, I have had the opportunity to meet so many wonderful and diverse women, and I have been lucky enough to have them share their experiences with me. Many of them have opened up about the struggles they have faced while entering the workforce, whether it is because they cannot access vital services or they have no other option when it comes to looking after their kids. I do think there is added discrimination against women, particularly in my community, based on their religion and cultural practices, and this is entirely unacceptable. It is unacceptable for our future generation of girls, like my daughter, Emily, who will turn 10 this year, to think that they are worth less in terms of their career progression, their job opportunities or their pay simply because they were born female.
I make this point matter-of-factly because turning to this side and looking at the empty chairs of those opposite, particularly given the fact that one of you turned up—that you have been unable to talk about one or two good things about this bill—I say: be very careful, because you are no different to us on this side of the house. You may not hear that very often, but you are no different. You will have daughters, you will have wives, you will have mothers, granddaughters and females in your lives—girls that will grow into incredible women—and they will look to you as to what is acceptable. What is the norm? What is right? What is wrong? Just like my daughter, Emily, does and just like other members here sitting on this side of the house today know and the Premier does know with his daughter. As a parent, it is my responsibility to set an example, and it is the government’s responsibility to set the right example—and equality is not negotiable.
This bill will change the working lives of women across the public sector. They are our teachers, our nurses, our social workers, police, firefighters and all public servants from across the state. I am absolutely honoured to be here to stand in favour of this bill, and I commend the bill to the house.
