20 February 2025
International Women's Day (IWD) has been around for over a hundred years. Since 1911, IWD has been a day to advocate for women’s equality, celebrate advancements and raise awareness about gender discrimination. It’s a great opportunity for workplaces to come together and commit to prioritising equality. This year IWD falls on March 8.
International Women’s Day
This year’s International Women’s Day themes are March Forward and Accelerate Progress. At GuildSuper we think it’s a great time to work together to help close the gender pay and retirement savings gaps.
The national gender pay gap is the difference between the average pay of men and women. In Australia, based on full-time average weekly earnings, the gap is 12% (or about $238 per week). This means women need to work an additional 44 days a year to earn the same as men.
That number comes from weekly earnings, but if you add superannuation, bonuses and overtime, the gender pay gap grows to 19%.
Some of the reasons for the gender pay gap include:
Women are more likely to work in female-dominated industries and jobs, which tend to pay less.
Women take on more unpaid care roles (such as caring for children or elderly parents) meaning they are more likely to take time out of the workforce, or work part time, especially if there is a lack of flexibility to accommodate other responsibilities.
Discrimination and/or bias (both conscious and unconscious) when hiring staff and making decisions about pay and other benefits.
Of course, at GuildSuper, we’re always looking for ways to help members grow and protect their super, so we’ve also got our eye on the retirement savings gap.
In the age group close to retirement, women have an average of 25% less in their super then men. A big part of this difference in retirement savings is caused by super not being paid on parental leave. The government has only just mandated super be paid on government funded parental leave from July 1 this year. Time out of the workforce, part time work and lower pay generally also has a big effect on the retirement savings of women.
Don’t let International Women’s Day pass us by. This is our chance to take stock of the important issues facing women and actually #MarchForward and #AccelerateProgress!
How can you make International Women’s Day count in your workplace?
Connect to the issues that matter to you
Look at your industry and consider the issues that matter to you. Do you want to see better rates of pay for the industry? Closure of the national pay gap? Greater recognition of the positive contribution your industry makes to society? This is the perfect chance to highlight the ways your industry can improve.Set an agenda
If you’re committed to delivering an unforgettable IWD event set an agenda and plan speakers or fundraising events that will get people excited and spark conversation.Invite everyone
IWD is for everyone, invite your male and non-binary colleagues to join the conversation and build equality together. And remember, this applies to planning too – all the responsibility for planning and organising events shouldn’t fall to women.