Don't get angry. Get equal!

I’ve spent a lot of time recently reflecting on the absurdity of the gender pay gap and why women aren’t paid the same as men. It’s possibly because I’m getting older, closer to retirement and wondering if my superannuation will be enough?

At least I have super, most single women in Australia over 70 can’t afford to retire.

For those of you who don’t believe in the gender pay gap, or are comfortable accepting that women are paid less, I urge you to check out the new “Wages and Ages” report launched by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency this week.?

New data shows that men out earn women across every generation, every age group, every career stage. And to add insult to disadvantage, men aged 55-64 earn almost 32 per cent more than women, at the?peak of their careers.

The fact that women get paid less than men?is “apparently” not?about gender, and yet every single pay cheque women?are short-changed, entirely because of their gender – what is that about?

Women in Australia have been graduating from university in greater numbers than men for more than a decade, yet Australian women in professional, scientific and technical jobs are paid 24% less than men – that’s our scientists, our lawyers, our vets, our engineers.

So we are smart, but apparently not smart enough to get equal pay.

I cannot think of ONE SINGLE reason why this is acceptable (to women or to men) – I know we get paid less – but WHY?

This is not about men versus women. It’s about men AND women. Equal pay is about fairness and parity. What’s so revolutionary about that?

Right now Australian women are further from being equal than we have been in decades, falling behind in every equality indicator except education.

We know women aren’t safe in Australia. On average, one woman a week is murdered by her current or former partner. We hear this statistic again and again, but when is it going to change??

We are also seeing decisions being made every day FOR women, not by women. We need more women making?the?decisions,?to ensure equality becomes a reality in our lifetime.

So, we have some choices… we can get angry. If the last 96 hours on social media are anything to go by, plenty of us already are! And while women all over the world are incensed and scared about protecting their reproductive health, it’s?not?the only challenge we are facing.

The real challenge is convincing ourselves, and others, that irrespective of our gender, our ethnicity, our spirituality,?our sexuality,?our ability, or “otherness”, every single person has value. The value we bring is the value we create and the contributions we make – at home, at work, online, in the community. Women’s contributions matter.?Let’s recognise that and reward it.

To unlock?that value, we need access to opportunity. Women need to be safe. We need to have access to health care?and child-care,?and?we deserve equal pay.

We need to keep pushing and questioning, so that equality?becomes?the norm not the exception.?

We shouldn’t just accept that gender equality will be our Final Frontier,?several generations away?– we can change this now.

We need to call out misogyny and poor behaviour when we see it and encourage others to find their courage to speak up and take action.

My hope is that EVERYONE - can be empowered and inspired to take action.

But my fear is that Australians will continue to accept gender inequality, that we will continue to marginalise?and harm?women and deny?the value and untapped potential?that?women bring to every situation, every workplace, every community.

What on earth are we waiting for??

Enough?already – let’s make gender equality a reality in our lifetime, right here, right now,?in Australia.

*UN Women Australia has released a new campaign, created by the Monkeys, called “Equality: Our Final Frontier”. It highlights how humankind is set to reach extraordinary achievements ahead of closing the global gender gap. Click here to see the full campaign.