The law, which will apply across Great Britain, would ensure equal pay claims on the basis of ethnicity and disability are handled the same as those made by women, who currently have more stringent protections on pay than other groups. The 2010 Equality Act mandates that women and men are entitled to equal pay for equal work.

On Monday, Jacqueline Mckenzie, a lawyer who contributed to the taskforce set up by Labour to develop the new Race Equality Act, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the party’s plans were “a bold step”.

“What we’re not sure about, because we haven’t seen the act, is whether or not it will actually include enforcement penalties and mandatory reporting,” she said. “Because if it doesn’t do that it’s not actually going to make any difference.”

Under Labour’s plans for the Act, the law would be gradually introduced to give employers time to adjust to remunerating all their staff appropriately. Back pay will only be offered to workers from when the law officially comes into play. 

The proposals will take up the “dual discrimination” that some workers face, allowing them to bring a single claim if they believe they have experienced a combination of discriminations — for example, both sexism and racism, or ableism. 

Labour also announced it plans to appoint a Windrush commissioner if it wins the general election to surveil the compensation scheme, and that business groups and unions will be consulted before the law is enshrined. 

Shadow women and equalities secretary, Anneliese Dodds released a statement, saying “It has never been more important to deliver race equality.”

“Inequality has soared under the Tories and too many black, Asian and ethnic minority families are working harder and harder for less and less,” she wrote.

“This is holding back their families and holding back the economy. We are proud of our achievements in government, from the landmark Equality Act [in 2010] to strengthening protections against discrimination. The next Labour government will go further to ensure no matter where you live in the UK, and whatever your background, you can thrive.”

However, Dr Begum believes the proposals are not flawless.

“[The Act] fall short of addressing the formidable scale of inequalities that shape the experiences and opportunities of people of colour,” she said. 

“Committing to address structural racial inequality needs to understand that racism doesn’t simply arise when the system fails – but that racism is actually sewn into the very fabric of the system itself.”

“Labour must use the race equality act as a platform to commit to an ambitious, cross-governmental approach supported with sustained investment addressing the unacceptable – and in some cases worsening – disparities in health, housing, wealth and policing, faced by so many communities of colour.”

Minister for Equalities Kemi Badenoch is even more sceptical, calling the proposals “a bonanza for dodgy, activist lawyers”.

“[The Act would] set people against each other and see millions wasted on pointless red tape,” she wrote on X. “It is obviously already illegal to pay someone less because of their race.” 

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Australia risks returning to the days when the value of a female care worker’s effort and their working conditions were largely determined in private, informal relationships out of sight and out of the scope of regulation that protects most other workers.

For most of the 20^th Century, women workers providing care and assistance to people in private residences were explicitly excluded from the industrial relations system that ensured rights and standards, including minimum wages and employment conditions, for 90 per cent of Australian workers.

Homecare and other social and community services workers were only recognised as workers at the end of the century, after long and enormously difficult struggles by women and their unions. 

Finally, in the 1990s, for the first time, care and support workers gained regulated minimum standards of pay and conditions. Previously, as unregulated workers, they had extremely low pay rates and some of the worst working conditions in Australia.

Fast forward thirty years to 2024. The care and support workforce is still highly feminised. It is large and it is growing 3 times faster than other sectors in the Australian economy. Most care and support jobs are still relatively low-paid and insecure.

Today, however, the need for fair pay, better quality jobs, and career paths for care and support workers has the attention of government and other policy makers. In the wake of the pandemic there is greater appreciation of how the quality of these jobs impacts on the quality of care and support for the aged and people with disability.

And it is very clear that, if we are to successfully tackle Australia’s gender pay gap and women’s economic inequality, we must ensure better pay and career pathways for care and support workers.

But now, digital or ‘gig’ labour platforms are undermining the slow progress that has been made towards proper recognition and valuing of care work. This is because most platforms, through which aged care and disability support workers connect with people requiring care and support, insist that workers are independent contractors.

Platforms compete in the NDIS and aged care markets by using independent contractors to provide cheaper services, while other service providers directly employ workers. Platforms profit from avoiding the costs of employment, including superannuation, training and supervision. Platform workers have no minimum employment standards.

Digital platform care and support workers have a lot in common with previous care and domestic workers who, for most of the 20^th Century, were invisible and isolated, and struggled to have their labour recognised as work.

Platform workers are without any rights to minimum rates of pay, working time standards, superannuation or other benefits and protections they would have as employees. They mostly perform their labour without peer support, organisational supervision and training, and they are cut off from opportunities for development and promotion.

Opponents of employment standards for platform care and support workers don’t see it like this. They argue standards are not needed as workers are “entrepreneurs” who set their own rates, earn more than employees, enjoy the flexibility of working when and where they want, and are doing this work as a “side hustle” on top of more substantial jobs.

None of this is true of the majority of care and support workers on platforms. Most (70 per cent) believe they are employees of the platform, even though they’re not. Even the platforms’ own data shows that workers from groups likely to be vulnerable to exploitation – migrants and younger workers – are over-represented on platforms. Many workers are paid below the relevant award minimum pay rate.

It makes little sense to refer to jobs as side hustles when 4 out of 5 home and community-based care and support jobs (on and off platforms) are part-time, often short-hours jobs.

Just because jobs are part-time, or a worker holds multiple jobs, doesn’t mean fair pay and working conditions don’t matter.

For decades, women had to put up with undervalued work while employers, economists and public policy makers argued women worked in care jobs for love rather than money, and their earnings were not essential income. Present-day arguments opposing minimum standards are a little different, however, they would achieve the same end, perpetuating undervaluation and gender inequality.

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The NSW government has recently announced they’ll make it a requirement for NSW sporting peak bodies to provide a plan for equal prize money and gender equity on their board when applying for government funding next year.

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“This is thanks to decades of advocacy from awesome women who haven’t sat down and shut up but instead stood up and said we deserve to be valued as equals,” said Small about the announcement. 

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Two and a half years ago, Small called out a surfing competition for sexism– the organisers wanted to award the female surfers less than half the amount of prize money than the men. 

Wanting to stamp out this kind of inequity for good, Small banded together with sports journalist Kate Allman to further the impact. The pair founded Equal Pay for Equal Play NSW– a campaign focused on ensuring public money is spent fairly on men’s and women’s sport.

Their goal involves making equal prize money, equal opportunity and equal access and support prerequisites for sports organisations and local councils to receive grants or funding. Small says the NSW government’s recent commitment to equal pay “goes a long way towards achieving that”. 

Speaking with Women’s Agenda, Small says that while there’s still plenty of work to be done in achieving equal pay for women, she’s excited to see these changes taking place. 

“It doesn’t go anywhere near far enough in addressing the broad gender inequality that still happens in the industry, but it does have potential to really drive some cultural change from the bottom up, which is really awesome,” says Small.

Alongside Allman, Small has been lobbying the government and meeting with ministers to progress equal pay at the policy level. 

“This is the first really big step and success in that level of campaign that we’ve been doing,” she says. 

This year, the money that the government is giving to state sporting organisations is $5 million, and next year that money will double. 

Now, in order to get approved for funding with the government’s commitment to equal pay, CEO of NSW Office of Sport Karen Jones says sporting organisations will have to provide a plan for how the money will be allocated equally to men and women. 

“And then there are certain milestones in which we will actually check progress against that plan,” said Jones. 

“And as I said, it’s actually a year-on-year funding. So there’s at least one checkpoint every year where we will actually go back and go through those plans to make sure that they’re achieving what they set out to do when they committed.”

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With this new equal pay commitment set to shift the dial, Small says it’s important to remember the work that women have been putting in for decades to get to this point.

“This is two and a half years of campaigning for me, but it’s also building on the years and years of campaigning and work that so many awesome women have done for decades,” she says. “And so, it’s really cool to have this sort of really positive outcome.”

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Currently, the global gender pay gap is 20 per cent. This means, on average, for every dollar a man makes, a woman gets 77 cents. 

This gap becomes even wider for women with children. While women carry out at least two and a half times more unpaid domestic duties than men, the UN estimates only 28 per cent of working women are entitled to paid maternity leave.

These inequalities, among others, are a reflection of “historical and structural unequal power relations between men and women”, and considering how slow progress is made, the UN estimates it will take 131 years to reach gender equality.

Simone Clarke, the CEO of UN Women Australia, said the gender pay gap is a global issue, and women and girls around the world are held back by poverty and inequalities, stopping them from accessing the same opportunities as men.

“Progress on narrowing the gender pay gap is slow,” she said.

“While equal pay for men and women has been widely endorsed, applying it in practice has been difficult.”

But there are some very powerful people and organisations that can make a difference – multinational corporations.

So, what have MNCs got to do with it?

A report from the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in 2021 found multinational corporations (MNCs) can directly and indirectly champion gender equality, particularly in developing countries, through company policies and practices.

For example, in Brazil, gender equal policies in the transportation and communications industries reduced the gender pay gap by about 20 per cent.

The World Economic Forum conducted a study in 2020, which found the gender wage gap was smaller in developed countries, but larger in developing countries.

The researchers suggested more attention must be paid to MNCs’ gender policies – or lack thereof in developing countries – and how they directly or indirectly impact the gender wage gap.

Simone Clarke, the CEO of UN Women Australia, said MNCs should commit to closing the gender pay gap that exists in all regions of the world.

“We need to see a comprehensive approach to this in all regions and we need a commitment at all levels of business to work on closing this gap,” she said.

“We can’t leave women behind.”

The UN created the Women’s Empowerment Principles to try and encourage MNCs to commit to gender equality in the workplace, employment marketplace and the broader society.

These principles include having women in high-level corporate leader roles, fostering education and career advancement, measuring and reporting policies and progress and more.

Clarke said measuring progress and transparency of company policies are key in applying the Principles and achieving gender pay parity in all industries and sectors of society, including MNCs.

“Closing the global gender pay gap is more important than ever, and it takes the effort and commitment of the global community to make change,” she said.

“The United Nations and UN Women call on everyone – governments, community-based organisations, businesses, workers and employers to promote equal pay for work of equal value and the economic empowerment of women and girls.”

Who’s leading the way?

There are 8,363 MNCs who are signatory to the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles, including Unilever, a consumer goods company that produces more than 400 brand names in over 190 countries.

In 2017, Unilever was recognised by the Australian Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) as an Employer of Choice for Gender Equality.

This is because more than half (54 per cent) of the Unilever management team globally are women, including Shruti Ganeriwala, the head of HR in Unilever ANZ.

“I feel immensely proud to work for a company like Unilever that truly champions inclusion and uses its power to drive positive change in the society,” she told Women’s Agenda.

“For us, gender equity is about doing what’s right for our employees, meeting the needs of the modern workforce, and laying the foundations for a future-fit business.”

Unilever ANZ review their pay policies on an annual basis in their commitment to close the gender pay gap and help women thrive.

“When they thrive, our business thrives!” Ganeriwala said.

“Our analysis (of pay policies) helps us identify any areas of gender representation imbalance, such as in the types of jobs held by women compared to men.

“A diverse, equal and inclusive business makes us, and society, stronger.”

Unilever isn’t alone in pursuing gender equality within the MNC, but it is certainly one that is leading the way.

Microsoft recently committed to growing the employment of women within the company by one per cent every year. In 2022, 32.7 per cent of workers were women.

Pfizer’s 2019 global gender equity survey found women within the company, comprising just under half (47 per cent) of workers, were paid more than 99 per cent of what their male colleagues are paid.

In 2022, Amazon reported 43.1 per cent of workers were women. More than three quarters of senior leadership positions were held by men, with 24.5 per cent held by women.

Ganeriwala is aware of the barriers that still face women in the workforce every day around the world, perhaps slowing the progress in gender equality for MNCs.

“Numerous barriers are preventing women around the world from actively participating in the economy and realising their full potential, from discrimination in hiring and unequal pay to the risk of harassment and physical violence – underpinned by harmful social norms and gender stereotypes,” she said.

“I am heartened to see more companies prioritise these issues and put in place key steps to creating and fostering a workforce that is fair and equitable.

“A collaborative approach that galvanises change makers across the full spectrum of business, industry and Government is critical to achieving true, systemic change.”

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The iconic match between Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King came off the back of significant advocacy towards equal pay for female players in the US Open. In 1973, the tournament became the first tennis grand slam to reach pay parity between men and women.

But Billie Jean King, a trailblazer for women in sport and the winner of the Battle of the Sexes match five decades earlier, knows there is still a long way to go.

“We’re here to celebrate a moment 50 years ago that changed our sport and all sports forever – equal prize money at the US Open,” she said in a speech at the 2023 US Open in New York City, celebrating the milestone.

“This journey to equality was not an easy one – or a quick one.

“We have set the standard for so many other sports, especially women’s sports, and that is one of the reasons women’s tennis is the leader in women’s sports.

“While we celebrate today, our work is far from done.”

Prior to the organisers of the US Open granting equal pay for men and women competitors in 1973, male players were paid almost eight times more than female players.

So when King won the grand slam in 1972, her third US Open win and seventh grand slam title, she threatened to not play at all the next year, unless the US Tennis Association closed the gender pay gap. Other female players that King rallied together also threatened to do the same and stood with her in solidarity.

The following year, in 1973, the US Open became the first sporting event to give equal prize money for men and women.

Michelle Obama spoke at the 2023 US Open event and acknowledged the powerful advocacy of Billie Jean King five decades ago.

“Billie Jean had a choice. She could put her head down, keep winning tournament after tournament, and just accept whatever cheque she was given,” Obama said.

“Or she could dig deep and break the serve. She could make a stand.

“Let us remember that all of this is far bigger than a champion’s pay cheque. This is about how women are seen and valued in this world.”

After the 1973 US Open, former world number one Bobby Riggs, who reportedly once declared women’s tennis to be inferior to men’s, challenged Billie Jean King to a game of tennis. Riggs was known for his sexist and misogynist remarks, especially in the lead up to the Battle of the Sexes match.

“There were folks like Bobby Riggs out there making ridiculous statements, like ‘Women belong in the bedroom and kitchen – in that order.’ Those were his exact words, believe it or not,” Michelle Obama said.

But King handled the build-up to the match with grace and resilience. Then, on September 20 1973, she beat Bobby Riggs in the Battle of the Sexes in straight sets: 6-4, 6-3, 6-3.

“When we got to the net after the match, he said, ‘I underestimated you’,” she recalled in a recent interview with Good Morning America (GMA).

“And I couldn’t wait to see my dad because he always told my brother and me… ‘Always respect your opponent, even if you don’t like them.’

“I really respected Bobby.”

In the 50 years since the match, and since equal pay was given to US Open competitors, a lot has changed in the space of women’s sport. But tournaments like the FIFA Women’s World Cup, co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, has highlighted how far there still is to go.

“We’re now at a tipping point where people are investing in us and believing in us because they think we’re going to make money,” King said on GMA.

“We have to keep working harder and harder because we have a long way to go.”

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The Premier’s attack, in which he also accused Taylor of being a lazy worker, was followed by his office approving an unusual background media alert notifying them of Taylor’s request, against the context of essential workers (like nurses and teachers) contending with a soon-to-be-changed wages cap of 2.5%.

While Taylor has pursued an increase in her salary, she claims it’s not a mysterious, “money-grab” as framed by the government, but a simple regulation change to an archaic rule that would enable her to fairly receive an allocation of funds for her high-grade duties in parliament.

Taylor, the first woman to hold the position of Deputy Leader of the NSW Nationals in 100 years, says she was advised by parliamentary clerks to seek the allocation which currently only covers Deputy Leaders serving in the Legislative Assembly not the Legislative Council. Political parties need to have nine members in the upper house to qualify for the additional pay, where there are only five Nationals presently serving.

In an initial letter to the Office of the Clerk, Taylor noted that “women already face obstacles to getting equal pay for what they do- serving in the Legislative Council and not the Legislative Assembly should not be a barrier or act as a deterrent to other Legislative Council women seeking leadership positions”.

Taylor says that after speaking with several Labor ministers about the regulation change after this, the advice had ubiquitously been that the process should and would be straightforward. Despite this, she received no update on the application.

Prepared to leave the issue until she could speak in-person with the Premier, Taylor says she was shocked and humiliated when Minns opened fire toward her on the floor of parliament last week, leaving her with little choice but to lodge a formal complaint with the Independent Complaints Office.

Questioning the conduct of Minns, Taylor says the premier has failed to espouse the party values Labor prides itself on.

“If Chris Minns is the person that he purports himself to be, then why would he not have just come and spoken to me about it?” she asks. “Why would none of them respond to emails or text? Messages or anything? The real issue for me here is it’s the independent advice of the clerk that says this is an old archaic rule when leaders never came from the upper house. It’s a stroke of a pen, and it’s a swap”, she says.

Taylor believes Minns’ approach to the situation reflects how he’s prepared to play in politics.

“When I think of The Labor Party, I think of the values of a fair day’s work a fair day’s pay. I think of the values of treating everybody equally. I think of a party that has really burst the glass ceiling in terms of women’s representation and done a really good job. I think of a party that represents itself to be fair and equal. And all this behaviour that’s been exhibited by him really speaks to his character and not mine,” she says.

But Taylor is also cognisant of how the government will continue to use this issue to paint her in an unforgiving light during a cost-of-living crisis.

“They have an office full of media advisors that try and spin a story that is not factual, to demean and diminish”, she says.

“I think a lot of people in my position would not pursue this because of the reasons of what they’re trying to pin on me. They’re trying to make me look greedy. And who wants to talk about a politician getting a pay rise? No one! So, they’re using that ability to lie about what the situation is and then try and create a narrative by sending out background information.”

Despite the possible stakes, Taylor says any possible blood shed is worth it for the principle of the case, and the broader ripple effect it might achieve for women in politics rising up the ranks.

What she’s requested as part of the resolution to her lodged complaint is an assurance that this never happens to anyone else.

“Most people wouldn’t do what I’m doing. They wouldn’t risk it. They wouldn’t risk talking about it,” says Taylor.

“But if I don’t stand up for the principles of a female leader in New South Wales, well, then who am I? And they will do it to someone else, and they’ll do it to someone else who may not have, you know, the courage and the conviction or the ability to stand up to this,” she adds.

Taylor also makes the point that this plot line is something that “happens to women everywhere”.

“We know that they do the same job and then they don’t get paid the same amount. But it shouldn’t happen in the Parliament of New South Wales. And it shouldn’t happen under a premier who, you know, puts himself forward as being this modern progressive leader that espouses the values of the Labor Party.”

The current base salary of a Member of the Legislative Council is $172,576.

Premier Chris Minns was contacted for comment.

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According to Diversity and inclusion expert and academic, Dr Linda Peach, media companies in Australia and overseas present a major barrier to closing the gender pay gap because they continue to prioritise men’s sport over women’s and their focus detemines what fans perceive to b e more important.

“When it comes to football, it’s going to take a lot of shifting for the media to stop focusing primarily on men’s football. They basically tell us all the things that men are doing before telling us what the women are doing.

“For change to happen, media bosses first need to see a value in it for them. The media machine as it exists is primarily run by middle-aged white men and is steeped in misogyny – it’s going to take a major shift for them to change the way present women’s sport,” said Dr Peach.

Whilst an agreement has been reached for the Matildas to get the same percentage of prizemoney from tournaments as the Socceroos, the prize pool is driven by what media outlets are willing to pay for TV broadcast coverage.

Indeed, FIFA said it wants to see parity between the men’s and women’s tournaments by 2027, but for that to happen media needs to lift their game.

According to the Australian Financial Review, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said that some bids for broadcast TV rights for the Women’s tournament had been for 1/100th of the value of nations’ equivalent men’s World Cup deals.

Declan Boylan, founder of Seven Consulting, a Program Management company and original sponsor of the Matildas since 2017, said the Matildas are packing out stadiums and absolutely deserve equal pay.

“When even the warm-up match for the biggest women’s sporting event globally ever, it is a 50,000-person sellout event in a proud Aussie Rules town. The CommBank Matildas also added 50 per cent to that in Sydney a week later when the team played against Ireland and there was a small increase again when they played Denmark.

“The viewing figures on television for even a round of 16 games are topping the Men’s AFL Grand Final, NRL Grand Final, State of Origin since 2016!” he said.

“The Matildas are now truly Australia’s team, and the equal pay deal now looks to be favouring the Socceroos!

Pressure on the Matildas to change more than the World Game

Dr Peach believes that as in the corporate sector, where successful women will often attest to the higher expectations of women than men for the same outcomes, the Matildas will have to work harder than the men if they are to stand a chance at shifting gender norms.

“The Matildas have a lot of pressure on them to win to be taken seriously as footballers. I think the fact that a lot of men are supporting Matildas in their efforts to win the world cup is wonderful – and it also begs the question of what will happen after the world cup?

Indeed, will the support continue? Will people show up in droves to club matches? Or will they just go back to watching men’s football because the TV companies continue to prioritise men’s club matches over women’s.

“My sense is that there has been a solid and important step taken towards more support for women’s football, but I don’t think it is anywhere near the level of support given to men’s football and I don’t see that changing in the immediate future regardless of whether the Matilda’s win or not. There is still a long way to go.”

Matildas’ paid the minimum wage to play for Australia.

Boylan said that when his company first sponsored the Matilda’s in 2017 each player was on moderate wages. Today, the average player is believed to be paid over $215,000 to play for their respective club with stars like Sam Kerr believed to earn around $3 million, including sponsorship deals.

“Back in 2017, I read about the Matildas’ victories in beating the USA, Brazil and Japan in the USA. I learned these talented athletes earned $35,000-$45,000 annually at the time, and that they had zero dedicated sponsorship. There was a clear gap and an opportunity to support a world class side. That was reinforced when I spoke to my sons that evening, and they were both supportive having been across the team’s successes.

“Determined to explore the team further, we three boys trooped off to see Matildas v Brazil in Penrith. A full house provided a great atmosphere, and I vividly remember my initial mistake, hastily dismissing a shot as a “miskick” just before halftime. Ten seconds later, I was profusely correcting myself when I saw the replay. A centimetre perfect instinctive volley from Lisa De Vanna from 20m was the correct and corrected assessment. And Sam Kerr scored as well in a 2-1 win, followed by a similar 3-2 win over Brazil again a few days later in Newcastle. We were won over by the skills, effort and clear connection between the team and the fans.

“When we signed, we said that we hoped we would be replaced by a major corporate one day because that would be testament to how the game would have grown so much, and that too will come to pass later this year. As we proudly move our sponsorship to Tess Madgen and wonderful world class Seven Consulting Opals, we have enjoyed and are honoured to be a small part of the Matildas’ journey and a wonderful celebration of women’s sport,” said Boylan.

Financy writes about gender financial equality, diversity and inclusion. The company also provides the DEI tech tool Impacter and publishes the Financy Women’s Index report which measures timeframes to equality in Australia.  

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But so often, we hear leaders with the responsibility for such action using that same spotlight as the excuse to for avoiding such conversations, wanting to instead focus on all the positives that can be celebrated in front of the cameras.

The latest such example comes courtesy of FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who has described himself as “happy with everything” on the eve of the Women’s World Cup, officially starting today, just as he was asked about equal pay and the Australian national team’s powerful call for those participating in the men’s and women’s world cups to receive equal prize money.

Infantino told a press conference in New Zealand that he would prefer to discuss the “positives”.

“Money is always a tricky and sensitive issue,” he said.

Money is particularly tricky for women in professional sports, especially where they put the same effort, dedication, travel, time and passion into the game as their male counterparts. And despite women bringing in increasingly larger crowds, higher ticket sales and more broadcast viewers.

A record-breaking 1.3 million tickets have been sold for the Women’s World Cup, which is now on track to become the biggest women’s sporting event in history, achieving an expected global audience of 2 billion.

But the women playing won’t receive anything like what the men took home from FIFA Men’s World Cup in 2022. The women’s tournament will see a US$110 million ($162 million) prize pool split across the players of 32 teams. It is a massive increase from 2018, but it is still just a quarter of what was on offer for the men’s World Cup, which was US$440 million ($648 million). 

So can we talk about it? Can we raise it? Can we use this spotlight to highlight the value these players are bringing to the sport?

Can we use all the “positives” about the current tournament that those like Infantino want to raise to have a bigger conversation about it here that can trickle into other sports, to other industries and workplaces?

But as the FIFA boss said on Wednesday. “Today is the eve of the opening game of the Women’s World Cup and for me, it’s a moment to focus on the positive, focus on the happiness, focus on the joy.

“Until the 20th of August, you will hear from me only positive things about everything and everyone.”

He added that he loves everyone. He is happy. 

”If somebody’s still not happy about something, well, I’m so sorry. I am happy with everything, and I love everyone. As of the 21st of August, we focus on some other issues around the world and all the problems that are coming up.”

Earlier this week, the Matildas released a powerful push for equal pay.

They shared how collective bargaining enabled them to get the same conditions as the Socceroos men’s team – with one exception. “FIFA will still only offer women a quarter of as much prize money as men for the same achievement,” midfield Tameka Yallop said in the video.

Sam Kerr said in the video: “Those who came before us showed us that being a Matilda means something… They showed us how to fight for recognition, validation and respect.” 

But it’s not a conversation FIFA wants to have. Not now. Not while the spotlight is on.

FIFA’s goal is to achieve equal prize money between the men’s and women’s tournaments by 2027. But it’s far from guaranteed to happen, described as an “ambition” and highlighting the role the broadcasters will need to play in stepping up their bids for the rights to air the women’s tournament. 

Meanwhile, women continue to await the opportunity to participate in a club world cup for women, with FIFA launching the men’s Club World Cup 23 years ago, in 2000. An announcement is pending, we’re told.

In the past, leadership at FIFA has spectacularly failed on sponsorship and media rights bids. Numerous followers of these broadcast negotiations have seen how FIFA has used the Women’s World Cup as a freebie – an extra little sweetener – for those who bid for the men’s World Cup. The 2023 tournament marks the first time that FIFA has sold the women’s tournament’s commercial rights separately to the men’s commercial rights. This World Cup edition is the first time the tournament will break even – it’s brought in US$500 million. 

Infantino said that deals had been reached in Europe – after FIFA threatened a blackout in some countries – that saw promises made for long-term investments in promoting the women’s game. Infantino pushed to defend this – he noted that “the financial element was not the most important” thing, and that “we added this promotion element, and this is the way, for me, forward to promote the women’s game. It’s the most effective way to grow women’s football.” 

“We want to see, all over the world, at least one hour of women’s football streamed by the main broadcasters because that’s the only way you can promote the game,” he said. “That’s what we’ll focus on over the next couple of years.” 

Australia will get that hour – and a little more – over the coming weeks, with every Matildas game and the tournament final aired on free-to-air TV. The remaining matches? You’ll have to sign up for a paid subscription for that. As Women’s Agenda reported last week, just 25 per cent of the games will be on free-to-air television. 

FIFA could learn from the International Cricket Council (ICC) here, following its announcement last week that men’s and women’s international cricket teams will receive equal prize money in the sport’s largest tournaments – including world cups. 

ICC chair Greg Barclay noted how cricket is “genuinely a sport for all” and that this decision reinforces this, and enables them to “celebrate and value every single player’s contribution to the game equally.” 

What a lesson for FIFA to take on. A sport for all, celebrating every player’s contribution. We could even call it the world game.

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Having founded the WTA 50 years ago, Billie Jean King shared her feelings on the association’s changes, saying, “Fifty years after the players found strength in unity, I’m proud the WTA continues to be a global leader focused on providing opportunities, and hope that women in other sports and walks of life are inspired by its example.”

One of the main pillars of the WTA’s strategy is the pathway to equal prize money, which they say is a goal first envisioned by King. The increase in prize money will happen gradually, with WTA 1000 and 500 combined events attaining equal prize money by 2027 and single-week WTA 1000 and 500 events by 2033. 

WTA Chairman and CEO, Steve Simon said: “Equality, including equal compensation, is a fundamental principle of the WTA and it is crucial to attain this level.”

Over the past few years, there’s been a widening pay gap between the WTA tour and the ATP tour (men’s professional tennis). The Guardian reports that at the recent Italian Open, a joint event, the men’s event boasted a total purse of $8,637,966 (roughly £6.75m) while the women’s event was $3,572,618 (roughly £2.75m).

Speaking on behalf of the tournaments, President of Beemok Sports & Entertainment and Tournament Director of the Credit One Charleston Open, Bob Moran said, “we are proud and committed to make equal prize money a reality. This investment is critical in finally having professional women’s and men’s tennis on equal footing.”

To ensure growth opportunities and a structure for player mobility, the WTA is also creating a revised calendar. The new tour will showcase the top players consistently playing the top events, and will provide a strong narrative throughout the year to tell the story of athletes’ journeys to the global fanbase.

The WTA 1000 level tournaments will increase to a total of 10 events. Several of the tournaments– Rome (2023), Madrid and Beijing (2024) and Cincinnati and Toronto/Montreal (2025), in addition to the existing Indian Wells and Miami competitions– are transitioning to become two weeks long, a strategy meant to increase draw sizes.

The additional WTA 1000 events will be one-week events in Doha, Dubai and a yet-to-be-named event. 

WTA 500 tournaments will increase to 17 events — Abu Dhabi, Adelaide, Berlin, Brisbane, Charleston, Eastbourne, Monterrey, San Diego, Seoul, Strasbourg, Stuttgart, Tokyo, United Cup, Washington, Zhengzhou and two yet-to-be-named events.

A stronger regional focus in tournaments will occur at the WTA 250 level, which the WTA says will “create a more sustainable and viable business model that will help foster the next generation of stars.”

There will also be new player entry rules to boost the quality of the player fields. 

“This game-changing moment for the Hologic WTA Tour will align both tournament and player interests and help current and future generations of female tennis players,” WTA Players’ Council member Donna Vekic said. “We are incredibly proud to be part of these developments and the legacy it will have on equal prize money.”

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The Workplace Gender Equality Amendment (Closing the Gender Pay Gap) Bill 2023 is a key reform to drive transparency and action towards closing the gender pay gap. 

Australia’s national gender pay gap was last reported at 13.3 per cent in 2023, and the average weekly full-time earnings of a woman in Australia are $253.50 lower than their male counterparts. 

Minister for Women, Senator the Hon Katy Gallagher said the gender pay gap bill is a critical step to achieving women’s economic equality.

“On current projections it will take another 26 years to close the gender pay gap. Women have waited long enough for the pay gap to close – this government will not let them wait another quarter of a century,” said Gallagher, adding that, in addition to this gender pay gap bill, the government is working to close the gap in other areas as well. 

“In just nine months in government, we have already got cracking in other areas to progress the economic equality of women with access to cheaper childcare and the increase to 26 weeks for Paid Parental Leave; through our Industrial Relations changes; and through our investments in housing and women’s safety,” Gallagher said. 

Going forward, gender pay gaps will be published on the Workplace Gender Equality Agency website.

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Australian women are largely hidden in our history. As A Monument of One’s Own has pointed out, there are more statues of animals than women on Australia’s streets.

Nowhere is this more evident than the history of women in the workforce. We know very little about the contributions of women to our workforce and our economy. 

It was 2010 before Australia had its first female Prime Minister after 109 years as a Federation. 

And last year, just 14 of 200 CEOs at Australia’s top ASX-listed companies were women.

Women are missing in leadership and under-represented at all levels of management.

Just over a third of ASX200 Board directors are female and only one in 10 ASX200 Boards are chaired by women.

Despite being a majority of the workforce, women hold a minority of manager level roles and men are twice as likely to be in the top income earning bracket than women.

Until the Second World War, it was rare for women to participate in the workforce, outside of domestic serving roles.

The outbreak of war transformed the Australian workforce.

Women took on jobs in traditionally male-dominated occupations – as machinery drivers, builders, farmers and on the factory floor. Although with the understanding that they’d hand back those jobs once the men returned from war.

Between 1939 and 1943 female workforce participation increased 31 per cent as 200,000 women took on jobs that society had previously deemed too ‘challenging’ for them.

But despite taking on ‘men’s work’, women doing these same jobs were paid around two-thirds – or less – of the standard male wage.

A fight for equality led to women securing 75 per cent of the male wage in 1943. 

It took 26 more years before women secured equal pay for doing exactly the same work as men.

In 1969, the Australasian Meat Industry Employees Union and other workers’ groups brought a case to the Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission against the Meat and Allied Trades Federation (and others) arguing for equal pay for all employees. The decision stipulated women were to be paid the same as men in instances where they were assessed as doing exactly the same work as men in traditionally male roles. 

In 1972 the Commission ruled that women and men undertaking similar work that had similar value were eligible for the same rate.

But, even today, women are still not valued the same as men in the workplace. And this difference is still very commonly misunderstood. 

From the early stages of their career until they retire, women in Australia experience gender inequality in the workplace. 

This is represented as the gender pay gap.

The gender pay gap demonstrates that gender inequality remains a persistent and complex issue in Australian society.

Expressed as a percentage or a dollar figure, it shows the overall difference between the average earnings of women and men working in an organisation, industry, state or country.

What the gender pay gap represents is the broader story of workplace inequality, including the fact that there are more men working in higher-paid management roles and higher paying industries, that women are still more likely to take time out of the workforce – at reduced or no pay – for parent and caring responsibilities and that bias and discrimination exists in decision making about recruitment, promotions and pay.

In 2022, the Workplace Gender Equality Agency calculated the national gender pay gap to be 22.8%, with women earning, on average, $26,600 less than men.

This doesn’t mean that a female businessperson earns $26,000 less than a male businessperson doing exactly the same job, with exactly the same work history.

It means that a 40-year-old female with a commerce degree will, on average, earn significantly less than a 40-year-old man with a commerce degree because she is more likely to work at a non-manager level, while he is more likely to have gone into a management role; she is more likely to have taken time out of work for caring responsibilities; she is less likely to be promoted; and on it goes. 

Equal pay for equal or comparable work is vital and companies, even today, 50 years after it became the law, still have to remain vigilant to ensure it occurs. 

However, the gender pay gap is much more. It is cultural, it is social, and it is structural. 

Closing the gender pay gap is important for Australia’s economic future and reflects our aspiration to be an equal and fair society for all.

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We see it this week with women’s economic opportunities firmly on the agenda at the Jobs and Skills Summit in Canberra.

But change isn’t happening fast enough.

Australia finally marked Equal Pay Day this week.

Equal Pay Day reminds us all that there’s still work to be done to close the gender pay gap, which increased to 14.1 per cent in the past six months. It’s a difference in weekly earnings of $263.90 each and every week.

As a result, in 2022, Australian women must work an extra 60 days after the end of the financial year to reach the same average weekly earnings of men.

This $264 deficit is burning a hole in already tight household budgets.

We’re all currently feeling financially stretched. A supermarket shop that used to cost a small part of our pay packet, is costing more and more.

But while inflation is over 6 per cent – driving big cost increases to everyday essentials like food and fuel – the $264 pay difference is acutely felt on tight household budgets.

Take, for example, a woman working in a local hotel or motel, or in hospitality.

If she’s working full-time, she’s earning an average of $1,145 per week, a difference of $125 less relative to her male colleague, working in the same industry, who takes home an average of $1,270.

She’s among the lowest paid workers in our community.

After paying for rent, fuel, food and utilities, there’s not much left for childcare, her children’s education, for clothes and incidentals and for other household necessities, let alone the things that will enable life-long financial independence.

She can’t put money aside for a rainy day or a down payment on a house. She lives on a wing and a prayer that her car won’t break down or she won’t chip a tooth.

When you break it down, that extra $125 her male colleague takes home every week makes a huge difference.

The gender pay gap persists and it’s taking a financial toll on women, across all industries, and in all States and Territories.

The good news is that there are achievable steps every single employer can implement to investigate, and fix, the gender pay gap in their organisation.

If employers want to attract the best talent, they need to prioritise gender equality.

Environments that enable and encourage women to take more senior leadership positions, policies that support flexible work and conducting regular pay audits are just some of the immediate opportunities that can be put in place.

These actions will be increasingly important for organisations with the Federal Government’s commitment to publish employer level gender pay gaps in the near future.

Taking action on gender equality is the right thing to do, it’s also a sensible business decision to make sure employers are prepared for gender pay gap transparency, to be able to articulate what analysis has been done and the steps being taken to close it.

And, while employers across all sectors continue to report massive workforce shortages, employees are also in an unprecedented position of strength.

It means it’s more important than ever for employees to get educated about their employer’s approach to gender equality so they can make informed decisions before accepting a job.

Tools, like WGEA’s Data Explorer, provide a comprehensive overview of the state of gender equality for an employer or for an industry.

Educate yourself on the causes of the gender pay gap. Learn what’s a myth and what’s a fact. And talk to your friends and family about the genuine challenges women face in the workplace as a result of their gender.

Increasing gender equality and closing the gender pay gap is good for Australian families, for workplaces and our nation’s economy.

Two months is a long time when you’re struggling to make ends meet.

Equal Pay Day is more than a reminder of pay inequality, it’s a call to action.

By fixing the gender pay gap we will drive long-term change that will benefit all Australians.

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