The 8th of March was first marked in 1913[1] as International Women’s Day (IWD), spurred on by the women’s rights movement in the 19th century for gender equality. IWD is celebrated globally in a variety of ways; many countries observe it as a national holiday, while in other countries it is observed socially to celebrate and promote the achievements of women and girls.
The UN Women Australia’s IWD theme for 2023 is ‘Cracking the Code: Innovation for a gender equal future’[2], which is aligned with the UN’s broader IWD theme of ‘DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality’. This theme emphasises that innovation is key to achieving a gender equal future, and that access to inclusive digital technologies and education are critical to close the digital gender gap. It aims to recognise and highlight the unique skills and knowledge that women and girls in STEM contribute to technology and online education.
Image source: https://asiapacific.unwomen.org/en/stories/in-focus/2023/02/international-womens-day-2023
To improve gender equity and address the gender pay gap issue in Australia, the federal government has introduced into parliament the Workplace Gender Equality Amendment (Closing the Gender Pay Gap) Bill 2023. According to Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA), the national gender pay gap in Australia is 14.1%, with Australian women earning $263.90 per week less than men. Under this new bill, the gender pay gaps for employers of 100 workers or more will be reported by the WGEA, and from 2024, anyone will be able to search company-specific gender pay gap data on the WGEA website. The 2024 reports will be based on data reported to 31st March 2023, and employers can also provide a statement outlining their actions to address the gender pay gap to accompany their filings for the public reports.[3] The Gender Pay Gap Bill was referred to the Senate Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee for inquiry, which is due to report on 16 March 2023 with a view to the Bill passing this month to allow the requirement to apply to large companies for the reporting year ending 31 March 2023 (see the Part 2—Application and transitional provisions in the Bill).
In late February, AIRAH announced the appointment of Trish Hyde as their new Chief Executive. She is the second female to be appointed as AIRAH’s CEO in 20 years, which is welcoming news in time for IWD 2023. We congratulate Trish Hyde on her appointment and wish her success in her new role. Our Executive Director Trevor Lee joined her at the Women of AIRAH (WOA)[4] Sundowner seminar in Sydney on 8 March – a discussion about the coming government policy regarding gender pay gap disclosure, featuring a presentation from the special guest, Rachel Howard (Senior Advisor, 89 Degrees East).
At the Women of AIRAH Sundowner seminar held in Sydney on 8th March 2023 (from left to right): David Connolly, Sarah McMahon, Jason Duncan, Ura Sarfejoo, Penny Tralau, Mikaila Ganado, Rachel Howard, and Trish Hyde [Photo courtesy of Jason Duncan of Reliable Controls]
[1] https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/02/international-women-day-what-why-when/
[2] https://unwomen.org.au/get-involved/international-womens-day/
[3] https://www.hvacrnews.com.au/news/employers-gender-pay-gaps-to-be-disclosed/