While the broader sphere of sexual and reproductive health affects all genders and sexualities, women carry a disproportionate burden of reproductive health issues.
While workplace agreements mean that some employees receive 26 weeks of paid leave, they are likely to be higher earning, professional or public sector employees
the failure to provide a superannuation contribution to PPL has a negative effect on women’s lifetime and retirement incomes, and there is a mismatch in eligibility for unpaid leave under the National Employment Standard (NES) and eligibility for PPL. Some mothers eligible for PPL aren’t eligible for unpaid leave because of their work history.
Women earn less than men. The full-time total remuneration gender pay gap based on WGEA data is 22.4 %, meaning men working full-time earn nearly $26,527 a year more than women working full-time. When you consider total remuneration, women still get paid about 23 per cent less than men (this and other data at the Workplace Gender Equality Agency
Between the 2011 and 2016 Census, the numbers of women aged 55+ experiencing homelessness rose by 31%. Data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare indicate a 10.8% annual average increase of women aged 55+ assisted by specialist homelessness services between 2011-12 and 2017-18.
Prior to retirement women face a gender pay gap, broken work histories, have lower superannuation, have a greater incidence of single person households and an increasing incidence of homelessness.
The housing market is distorted by tax concessions for landlords that drive up house prices for first home buyers and renters. Commodifying residential property can limit the availability of housing, which is a basic human need. The current concessions in the tax system have commodified the provision of housing, creating a speculative market from a basic human need for shelter.
A lack of policies that promote equality and inclusion of migrant and refugee women in Australia’s economic, social, cultural, civil and political life significantly reduces these women’s capacity to participate and contribute, and leaves them and their families vulnerable to short term shocks that could leave them further dependent on assistance in the long-run.
When Government policies and programs are developed and managed in the absence of an informed and evidence-based gender analysis, they are at risk of delivering poor service, as is the case with effective marginal tax rates, or actual harm as is the case with ParentsNext.
There has been a strong focus on supporting women into the workforce, particularly single mothers. Their primary method for doing so has been to keep the Newstart payment artificially low (currently below the poverty line), increase compliance requirements for receiving income support, and take a punitive approach to people who receive income support payments.
