Gender Issues In Pay

E quality, a luxury our world has never experienced. Men have always been seen as in some way, better, stronger or smarter. Women; weak, irrelevant or unintelligent. But now is the time for change. Our ever changing world is evolving and we need to evolve with it. Gender should by no means determine our professions, pay or rankings, however, it very much does. On average, men in the work place earn 24% more than women which equates to $27 000 more a year. The gender pay gap is not a new issue, in fact it has been stuck between 14% and 18% for the past two decades. In addition, statistics show that women are far less represented in management positions, according to Liz Burke in “Australia’s Triangle of Shame”. This is also supported in
Sexual harassment is a very serious issue affecting women of all ages in and out of the workplace. Overall, between 2007 and 2012, over ¼ of women in the workplace were sexually harassed, be it by another co-worker or a client. Sexual harassment does not have to be physical, in fat two of the most common incidents (sexually suggestive comments or jokes and instructive questions about private life) are considered verbal harassments. This is not an issue faced by only working women. The fact that nearly 1 in 5 Australian girls aged 15 and under, your children, our future, have experienced sexual assault is absolutely disgraceful. Studies show that the majority of raped victims are aged under 30, with the most targeted age bracket being 12-34 year olds (69%). Overall, 82% of all juvenile rape victims are female, the same going for 90% of adult victims. While this is not discriminating men from the equation, it does show that women are more common rape victims and therefore at more jeopardy of being a victim. Much like gender pay gap, sexual harassment and assault are not new issues, however continually to become more and more common and are continually
The “Sex Discrimination Act” was established in 1884 in order to take charge on gender and sexual discrimination. With the act in place, it means that it is against the law to discriminate, especially on the basis of sex and commit acts of sexual violence, assault or harassment. The act promotes equality between both men and women and protects people from unfair conduct based on their sex, marital (or relationship) status or family responsibilities. Additionally the act allows victims to lodge a complaint to the Human Rights Commission as well as the Equal Opportunity Commission, where an investigation will be conducted and a decision will be drawn. The Australian Government has obviously gone to great lengths to protect its people from the issue that is discrimination and the SDA is one that brings great benefit and comfort to people across the