2015-02-26
Mehreen Faruqi, NSW MP
Over the past 10 years in NSW we have seen the number of women in leadership roles stagnate, a pay gap that gets no closer to closing, the continuation of abortion laws that leave women vulnerable, and an erosion of the rights and options for victims of domestic violence. The consequences of continuing to ignore these issues are increasing marginalisation and a system that remains fundamentally unequal.
Women continue to be under-represented in leadership roles in Australia. We make up more than half of Australia's professionals, but less than 10% of executives. The same problem is reflected in parliaments across Australia. Of our federal parliamentarians, less than one third are women and it only gets worse the further up you go. Less than a fifth of all current ministers are women, we have had only one female Prime Minister and there has never been a woman leader of the opposition.
In NSW we have the dubious distinction of the lowest proportion of women in any lower house in Australia (20.4%), a figure that has moved backwards over the last decade. This is substantially below the 30% that is considered the 'critical mass' for women to make a visible impact on the content of policy decisions.
As an equal rights and justice-oriented party, the Greens have prioritised full participation by women. Our strategies strive to encourage and support women to stand and to be effective candidates, and share internal leadership roles equally between men and women. The greatest evidence that our techniques are working comes from the Victorian Greens, where five of the seven Greens MPs are women. We can replicate this across all states.
It is important that we bear in mind the additional barrier of racism faced by non-white women. There is only one Aboriginal woman in parliament here in NSW. This is not good enough.
Pay inequity
Inequality in leadership is one of several causes of our persistent gender pay gap - another issue that seems to have fallen off the government's agenda. The current pay gap in NSW is 14%, or $205 each week. It exists across industries and occupations, although the highest gaps are in healthcare and financial services. The biggest determinant of the wage gap is simply being female. Nowhere is this more obvious than among new graduates, where women make 9.4% less than men with identical qualifications.
The Greens are committed to equal wages for equal work. Simple changes can make a real difference to the persistent pay gap, for example by challenging pay secrecy policies. The pay gap is largest when pay is secret, and disappears when pay is set publicly by award.
End the violence
Domestic violence is the leading cause of death and injury to Australian women under 45. Yet, over the past year NSW government has rolled out a program that has defunded specialist women's refuges across NSW resulting in the loss of a quarter of a century of built up trust, networks and expertise which is devastating not only for the women and children experiencing domestic violence but also to the broader community. This is unacceptable. We must do everything we can to end the cycle of domestic violence. The Greens NSW plan to address domestic and family violence prioritises prevention strategies and programs to help break the cycle of systemic violence and provides more support to frontline services. From the schoolyard to the boardroom, the root causes of domestic and family violence need to be acknowledged and dealt with. Gender inequality, power imbalance, sexist attitudes, social isolation and alcohol abuse must be addressed if governments, the community and businesses are to make any headway on this issue.
The right to choose
It's clear that the rights and protections we have fought so hard for can be fragile. Nowhere was this exemplified more than in the case of abortion and the recent moves to enshrine the concept of foetal personhood in NSW (Zoe's Law). With the community, the Greens spearheaded the campaign against foetal personhood and we won.
Now, its time to decriminalise abortion in NSW. It's time to ensure, once and for all, that it's a woman who makes decisions about her own body, no one else. Women must have the right to access safe reproductive health without fear of prosecution, stigma or shame.
Together
There is no doubt that much has been achieved through the successive waves of feminism over the last century. We've fought hard and won many battles, but there is more to do. I have seen a rise in activism and direct action in the last few years and that gives me much hope. I am inspired and energised to see a new wave of feminists and activists, young and old, across politics, class, gender and ethnicity joining together for equality and change. Together we will turn the tide, as we have in the past.