Looking After Women's Interests - Pay Equity Inquiry

Submitted by Melissa Lovell on Thu, 2008-09-25 12:54

Issued by: House of Representatives Liaison & Projects Office, Wednesday 24 September, 2008.

LOOKING AFTER WOMEN’S INTERESTS - PAY EQUITY INQUIRY

The Office for Women is situated in the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs and will appear before the House Employment and Workplace Relations Committee in Committee Room 1R3 Parliament House Canberra on Thursday 25 September from 11 am to discuss recent trends in pay equity and possible priority areas.

“The Committee is keen to assess the potential impact of the increasing pay gap between men and women on the range of opportunities available to women and families in making decisions about career options and balancing family responsibilities and make recommendations that will ensure families have the opportunity to choose the option most appropriate to their situation.

The complexity of pay equity issues means that women’s issues must be considered in all aspects of Cabinet and budget decisions.” Ms Jackson added.

The Committee is enquiring into the causes of any potential disadvantages in relation to women’s participation in the workforce including:

Current structural arrangements in the negotiation of wages that may impact disproportionately on women;
The adequacy of current arrangements to ensure fair access to training and promotion for women who have taken maternity leave and/or sought flexible working hours; and
The need for further legislative reform to address pay equity.

The Committee will commence the interstate hearings on 26 September and interested persons and organisations are invited to make written submissions to the inquiry.

Further details on the inquiry, including the terms of reference, background documents, membership of the Committee and advice on making submissions can be obtained on the Committee’s website at http://www.aph.gov.au/ewr or by contacting the committee secretariat on (02) 6277 4162 or emailing ewr.reps@aph.gov.au. This hearing will be webcast live (audio only) on: http://webcast.aph.gov.au/livebroadcasting/

For background information, contact the Committee Secretary, on (02) 6277 4162

Issued by:
Liaison & Projects Office, House of Representatives
Tel: (02) 6277 2063 w

Groups: