GENDER EQUALITY COULD BOOST GDP BY $225 BILLION: MCKINSEY REPORT

The McKinsey report, The power of parity: Advancing women’s equality in Asia Pacific, points to how gender equality in the workforce could improve economic growth, particularly in Australia.

According to the report, advancing women’s equality in the workforce would grow Australia’s GDP by 12 per cent by 2025. This would add $225 billion to annual GDP.

The report shows there is a high level of gender inequality in the Australian workforce.

Australia sits behind the Philippines, New Zealand, Singapore and Thailand in terms of gender equality in work. 

The Turnbull Government isn’t doing enough to support women in the workforce.

Instead of taking measures to identify and fix the inequity, Malcolm Turnbull and his Liberals have made matters worse by:

 

Throwing their full support behind cuts to penalty rates, which disproportionately impact women. 

 

Arguing against increasing the minimum wage for award-reliant employees – who are also mainly women.

   

Labor understands that the industrial relations system is not delivering for women.

Women are more likely to be employed in low paid industries and jobs, and are more likely than their male counterparts to be award reliant.  

They are also overrepresented in industries where workers have little industrial power.

Our industrial relations system does not seem to be able to deliver for low paid women – and this needs to change.

A decent wages policy must narrow the gender pay gap and improve the circumstances of the low paid. 

Labor is committed to tackling inequality wherever we see it. 

 

Only Labor will restore penalty rates and make sure our workplace relations system has appropriate power to fix the gender pay gap and ensure women are able to participate in the workforce on equal terms with men.