It has been the practice since 1984 for Federal Governments to produce a Women’s Budget Statement as one element of the official Budget Papers. In 2014 this practice ceased. There has been no explanation from the Government. It is regrettable that the Government has made this decision.
NFAW, with other women’s organisations, is committed to examining the potentially differential impacts of policies and their outcomes for men and for women, and whether the consequences of policies, intended or unintended, may adversely impact on women. There is an average gap of 17 per cent between the incomes of men and women.
We respect the right of first nations women and girls to set the priorities for their future, grounded in first nation ways of working and understand of your own needs, as set out in the implementation statement.
The Government has advised women not to worry about how the Budget affects them because ‘Nothing in the budget is gendered’. Policy-makers evidently need reminding that gender blindness is not gender neutral. COVID is not gender blind: it actively undermines the position of women. The 2020 Budget was an opportunity to counter the effects of COVID by proactively supporting women.
We are responding to the terms of reference through a gender lens. Women’s workforce participation reflects their role as unpaid carers as it changes over the working lifecycle. The industrial relations framework penalises women as it is based on the male breadwinner model, while the tax-transfer system imposes high EMTRs on second incomes and gender segregation limits career progression.
Insecure employment affects women and men in different ways; it is not gender neutral. This submission responds to the Inquiry’s terms of reference through a gender lens. The displacement of secure by insecure work is not due to a single factor such as growth in casual work.
Insecure employment affects women and men in different ways; it is not gender neutral. This submission responds to the Inquiry’s terms of reference through a gender lens. The displacement of secure by insecure work is not due to a single factor such as growth in casual work.
Access to income support affects women and men in different ways; it is not gender neutral. This submission responds to the terms of reference through a gender lens.
Paid Parental Leave (PPL) affects women and men in different ways; it is not gender neutral. This submission responds to the terms of reference through a gender lens. NFAW is a strong supporter of PPL, and was part of the coalition that promoted the policy prior to the Productivity Commission Report1 (Productivity Commission, 2009) that led to the introduction of PPL. In that report the Productivity Commission identified the following commonly agreed objectives.
