1. Australian women and the gender divide Presentation to the China Australia Governance Program Rebecca Cassells Acting Senior Research Fellow 21 May 2009

2. 2 The Generations

3. 3 Background ●Economic and social status of Australian women ●Changes over time ●Comparison between men and women ●Employment, educational attainment, income, wealth and lifetime earnings.

4. 4 Background ●Essentially, we seek to answer the question: “Have women gained equal standing in Australian society today?”

5. 5 Social and economic changes – a brief history ●Right to vote – 1902 ●Legislation – 1960s, 70s, 80s and 90s ●Contraceptive pill – 1961 ●Abolished university fees – 1974 ●Booming economy – 1990s

6. 6 Women ≠ Babies

7. 7 Changing age-specific fertility,1927-2007

8. 8 Educational Attainment ●53% of women have a post-school qualification, 55% of men ●Generation Y (those aged in 20s), 46% women, 42% men ●Currently there are almost 80,000 more women than men enrolled in University

9. 9 Labour force participation ●Increased from 48% in1986 to 58% in 2008. ●Increasing for women with young children ●Increased pressure to “balance” work and family ●70 per cent of part-time jobs are held by women

10. 10 How are women working?

11. 11 Men still dominate senior leadership positions

12. 12 Division in wages, wealth and retirement ●Gender Wage Gap ●Retirement incomes ●Superannuation ●Lifetime earnings

13. 13 Gender Wage Gaps

14. 14 Disposable income of retirees, 2006

15. 15 Principal source of income of retirees, 2007

16. 16 Superannuation balances by age group and gender, 2007

17. 17 Gaps in expected lifetime earnings, with and without children, 2006

18. 18 Gaps in expected lifetime earnings, children and educational attainment, 2006

19. 19 Conclusion and discussion ●Women are now engaged more in the workforce ●Delaying and having fewer children ●Highly educated, especially the younger generations ●Struggle to balance work and family ●Gender Wage gaps are closing ●Large gaps in retirement incomes, superannuation and life-time earnings. ●Paid parental leave

20. www.natsem.canberra.edu.au