The announcement was made on Monday morning, with the Chairman of the Grattan Institute Board Lindsay Maxsted saying Dr Sathanapally heading the organisation will secure a positive future for the Institute.

“We are delighted to be able to appoint someone of Aruna’s calibre, intellect, and standing,” Maxsted said.

“The Board is confident that under Aruna’s leadership, Grattan will continue to build its position as a permanent institution in Australian public life, to the benefit of present and future generations.”

A former barrister and management consultant, Dr Sathanapally has a strong background in law, completing her masters and doctorate at the University of Oxford as a Menzies Scholar and a John Monash Scholar.

She is currently the Executive Director, Macroeconomy at the NSW Treasury and previously led the Revenue division, the NSW intergenerational report, and health and justice reform.

Dr Sathanapally will become the third CEO of the Grattan Institute, as Danielle Wood departs from the role to become the Chair of the Productivity Commission. Dr Sathanapally will commence her role in late February.

In a statement, Dr Sathanapally said she feels honoured to be the next CEO of the organisation.

“Grattan Institute is Australia’s independent public policy powerhouse, so it’s an honour to take on this vital role,” she said.

“I know from experience that Grattan has a well-earned and enviable reputation in government and beyond for intellectual rigour and innovative thinking.

“Grattan’s Program Directors – Tony Wood in Energy, Peter Breadon (Health), Jordana Hunter (Education), Brendan Coates (Economic Policy), and Sam Bennett as head of the new Disability Program – are all recognised leaders and experts in their field.

“I can’t wait to start working with them and the Institute’s highly motivated research staff, to identify and advocate for better public policy in the interests of all Australians.”

The Grattan Institute is an independent public policy think tank, established in 2008. Since then, the organisation has advised governments and helped shape major public policies in Australia through research, reports and recommendations.

Some of the important policies Grattan has advised on include making paid parental leave more gender-equal and the Federal Government’s 2022 cheaper childcare package, among others.

The post Dr Aruna Sathanapally appointed as CEO of the Grattan Institute appeared first on Women's Agenda.

Wood’s appointment to the Productivity Commission is for a term of five years, with her set to become the first woman to lead the commission or any of its predecessor agencies that stretch back for more than a century.

Her appointment comes after the previously announced candidate for the position, Chris Barrett, told the federal government he would not proceed with the appointment.

Wood has been the CEO of the think tank the Grattan Institute since 2020, and has been at the forefront of economic policy conversation across Australia during this time. She has published work on economic reform priorities, budgets, tax reform, women’s workforce participation, generational inequality, and reforming political institutions.

“Ms Wood is an outstanding economist who will bring exceptional public policy expertise to the Productivity Commission. Her track record of leadership and innovative research at the Grattan Institute will greatly contribute to the PC’s mission,” Chalmers said in a statement on Wednesday.

“Her appointment follows a merit‑based process involving interviews with two departmental secretaries and the APS Commissioner. Subject to the Governor General’s approval, Ms Wood will take up her position as soon as possible. Until then, the standing acting arrangements will apply.”

Previously, Wood has worked as Principal Economist and Director of Merger Investigations at the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, as a senior economist at NERA Economic Consulting, and a senior research economist at the Productivity Commission.

She is also the President of the Economic Society of Australia and co‑founder and first Chair of the Women in Economics Network. She has an honours degree in economics from Adelaide University and Masters degrees in economics and competition law from Melbourne University.

In a statement on Wednesday, Wood said she was honoured to be offered the position of Chair at the Productivity Commission, but also sad to be leaving Grattan.

“My time at Grattan has been the most exhilarating, challenging, and fun of my career,” she said. “I’m proud that, under my leadership and that of my predecessor, founding CEO John Daley, Grattan has been able to evolve from an institute into an institution, with a central role in improving public policy in the interests of all Australians.”

‘The credit for that belongs to the incredible staff we have at Grattan – they are stunningly bright, intellectually curious, and driven to improve public policy in the public interest. Australia is lucky to have them, and I will miss them all.’

Wood will continue in her role at the Grattan Institute until 10 November 2023.

The post Danielle Wood appointed Chair of the Productivity Commission appeared first on Women's Agenda.

That’s according to Grattan Institute’s new report released today highlighting the impact of the COVID recession on women’s work in Australia.

And that triple-whammy — at a time when women were already earning less, were already shouldering the burden of unpaid care and domestic work while also receiving less government support than needed — has been brutal when it comes to gains that had been achieved on women’s economic progress.

The latest Financy report finds that 2020 wiped out at least 20 years of positive momentum for women’s workforce participation. It says we’ll now be waiting 101 years for gender equality.

Grattan CEO Danielle Wood says many elements of the government responses to COVID were “inadequate or ill-directed”, which has seen many Australians, but particularly women, suffer more than they needed to as a result of the COVID recession.

Unfortunately, it’s a form of suffering that could compound over time. Especially if it resulted in unexpected periods out of work or a loss of income — without adequate support.

“Policy makers seemed oblivious to the fact that this recession was different to previous crises – women now make up almost half the workforce, and they are overwhelmingly employed in the industries that were hit hardest by the government-imposed lockdowns, such as hospitality, tourism, and higher education,” Danielle said on their new report.

Now, finds Grattan, it’s time for governments to ensure that any further stimulus goes beyond construction. It must include at least temporary expansions of social programs and services. And it absolutely must include a longer-term investments in early childhood education — the key to improving women’s workforce participation.

So what did this tripple-whammy look like?

On job losses, Grattan reports that almost 8% of women lost jobs, compared with 4% for men, during the peak of the crisis. Women’s total hours worked were down 12%, compared with 7% for men.

On that increased unpaid care, Grattan that more women took on an additional hour a day than men when it came to supervising children who were remote learning.

And on that lack of government support, Grattan highlighted how JobKeeper excluded short-term casuals, who are mostly women when it comes to the hardest hit industries.

Meanwhile women who lost or gave up jobs during the COVID recession face an additional whammy if they’re out of work for some time: the compounding impact of career breaks, which already impact women, particularly mothers who’ve taken parental leave. Grattan reports that six months out of work for mothers due to COVID could add another $100,000 to the already average $2 million lifetime earnings gaps that exists between men and women with children in Australia.

Grattan found that mothers in couples, along with single parents, were the most likely groups to leave the labour force during COVID — which may reflect the unpaid work they were picking up. They also found that women of childbearing age gave up study in record numbers.

The report also highlights some of the significant differences in the Federal Government’s response between those sectors dominated by men, and those that are not.

Indeed, it shows just why the Morrison Government must look beyond supporting the construction sector as a central pillar to recovery.

In construction, the sector lost 5% of its work hours between February and May last year, but it received more than $35 billion. But in hospitality, which lost a massive 47% of its work hours, the government assistance received was just $1.3 billion.

The good news is that Australia has experienced a faster-than-expected economic recovery, especially when compared internationally. But the reality is that with unemployment and underemployment rates still high, women remain vulnerable — particularly single mothers.

We are in a very good position to “build back better”, if we learn lessons from the COVID recession and apply them now. “Australia needs a new recession playbook, so women aren’t overlooked or forced to fall further behind,” says Wood.

So what can be done?

The Grattan Institute recommends a range of both short and long term measures.

In the short-term:

Urgently increase the JobSeeker rate and Commonwealth Rent Assistance in order to better support the most vulnerable Australia

• Extend JobMaker wage to more candidates
• Offer government-issued vouchers to boost demand in hard-hit sectors like the arts, hospitality and tourism
• Establish tutoring programs to assist disadvantaged students in catching up from lockdowns
• Temporarily lift cap on number of domestic student places at universities
• Offer grants to support in-demand community services

Offer additional stimulus benefits to services sectors, especially those still impacted by COVID restrictions.

And in the long term

Support and bolster the care economy!

• Make early childhood education and care cheaper
• Reform aged care to improve living standards for older Australians
• Establish an independent inquiry to review Australia’s care industries: including worker pay, future workforce needs and financing models
• Develop training and re-training programs to bolster the care workforce (state governments)

And also: Grattan says Federal and state governments must learn the lessons of this recession: looking at why stimulus must go well beyond construction. They also say gender analysis should become part of budget development processes in order to reduce the risk of women being overlooked.

The post Women copped a COVID recession triple-whammy. It’s time to put the hard hats aside and bolster the care economy appeared first on Women's Agenda.