Holding heavy half of sky

Holding heavy half of the sky Jo Flanagan, Acting CEO, Tasmanian Council of Social Service Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says one of his favourite sayings is that women hold up half the sky.

Sky holding up sounds like a big job; nation building even. However, I cannot help but wonder why the pay and conditions are so much worse on this half of the horizon.

Perhaps the PM is expressing an interest in the work of the Half the Sky movement. They aim to improve the condition of women, focusing on issues like human rights.

Perhaps he is reflecting on the composition of his Cabinet (seven women out of 33 members) and his Federal Government’s policies — because a great deal of work would need to be done to make these reflect a commitment to equality.

Turnbull is on the money that men and women are equal halves of the population. Unfortunately, that is the only statistic where women and men enjoy equality.

TasCOSS’s recent report, “Acting for change: Tackling the big issues for women in Tasmania”, considered the effects of inequality on women residents of this state. Here is some of the data we found: FROM the start of their careers, women receive less pay for their work than men. When new male and female university graduates with the same qualifications apply for similar jobs, there is a pay gap of more than $2000.

AUSTRALIAN women spend twice as much time on essential unpaid work around the home than men, reducing their ability to take on fulltime work and progress to higher levels of pay.

ONE in five Australian women yet to retire has no superannuation, and nine in 10 women will not have enough savings to fund a comfortable lifestyle in retirement. This inevitably leads to higher rates of poverty and lower quality of life in older age.

And for Tasmanian women: THE gender pay gap in Tasmania as of November 2015 was 12.6 per cent (on average that is more than $9000 a year). That gap widens as women get older and increases the chance of living in poverty in retirement.

ON average Tasmanian women are more likely to experience poverty than women in other states.

None of these statistics is surprising or new, but they do point to the fact that this half of Australia’s skyholding team are working in very difficult circumstances and for less reward than males.

I look at young women and the dreams they have for their lives, and I look at their parents and think of their hopes for their daughters: a change is going to come.

Are we seeing a new will to change these circumstances?

There is evidence of change, of efforts to create circumstances in which women are more able to participate in our communities, both socially and economically.

The change is quiet and gradual, but it is there.

We can see it in Tasmania where our Premier and ministers have committed to improve how our systems respond to gender-based violence. We can see it in the raised awareness of the reality of violence against women in their homes and on our streets, and an increased refusal by bystanders to look the other way.

We see it in Police Commissioner Darren Hine, who is leading by example to change the culture in his own organisation and out in the community.

And we can see it in the public disquiet at how few women are appointed to Federal Cabinet or included on boards and forum panels.

What is the change women are seeking? We want equality between women and men — both halves of the community working as partners and beneficiaries — of the economy, of human rights, of representation, of peace and security. It is achievable.

I look at young women and the dreams they have for their lives, and I look at their parents and think of their hopes for their daughters: a change is going to come.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, like Malcolm Turnbull this week, makes headlines by calling himself a feminist. He says he will keep doing so until that fact no longer makes the news. He says that is when he will know things have actually changed.

It would be a welcome turning point in this Federal Election campaign if we heard leaders making the same commitment to change, and more. We want to hear our political leaders say what they are going to do to reduce gender inequality in this country. That would be new.