A new report has found the gender pay gap is smaller in the public sector than the private one. Mary Wooldridge, the CEO of the Workplace Gender Equality Agency which wrote the report, says more still needs to be done to achieve parity.
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00:00Well, this is the first time that the public sector at the federal level has reported to
00:05the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, and what we've found is there's a lot to be proud
00:09of. The performance in terms of the gender pay gap is lower, women and balance at the
00:15most senior management levels as well is to be proud of. But there is more work to do
00:21because there's still opportunities to close that gap, and particularly in areas like non-managerial
00:27professions, trades and technicians, they're still very heavily male dominated and high
00:31paid roles. There are lessons that can be drawn from the private sector, there's a number
00:36of companies in highly male dominated areas that are really targeting this issue, how
00:42do they design work differently, how do they change things, how do they attract women to
00:47what may be stereotypical male roles, and have that focus to try and shift it. The other
00:54area which has been an area of focus that's highlighted is men's uptake of parental leave.
01:00It's lower in the public sector than the private sector, which was a surprise, and once again
01:06changing culture and environment to support taking parental leave for both men and women
01:12will help shift that dynamic and change gender stereotypes. Well, across particularly the
01:17private sector and the public sector, that idea of taking time out of the workforce often
01:23is seen as stunting careers, and the women's inability to return to work in a full time
01:30capacity because they can't work flexibly is an important aspect of that. Now in the
01:35federal public sector, flexibility is promoted and encouraged, and we see that as a really
01:40encouraging sign about why more women are working full time but can balance their caring
01:45responsibilities. It's an opportunity for the private sector to do more on that front.
01:49So there's lessons to learn from both sides, but we do have to change the culture, change
01:54the expectations and stereotypes, and make sure that care is something that's shared.