Women still fighting for equal pay
It was one hundred years ago that Marie Curie won her Nobel Prize for chemistry, a few months after being denied membership to the all male French Academy of Sciences.
The feminist movement has undeniably made huge changes to western society in the past hundred years, yet the battle is far from over.
Women are still struggling for equal pay. Thousands of women of diverse ages and cultures, many wearing the feminist green and purple, marched down George Street last Sunday to celebrate the hundredth anniversary of International Women’s Day.
The theme for the rally was “Big changes, not small change” to draw attention that the kind of work dominated by women is still underpaid and does not get the same recognition as male-dominated work.
Sally McManus, Secretary of the Australian Services Union of NSW, said although we have long had equal pay for equal work in Australia, there is still an 18 per cent pay gap between women’s and men’s wages.
“Our industry has been undervalued because it is seen as women’s work,” Mcmanus said.
“We’ve got to change how we see the skills used in feminised industries. We’re people who look after people who have nothing, people who find themselves homeless, victims of domestic violence, people with disabilities.
“These skills are just as important as fixing a car or building a fence and it’s about time those skills are recognised and valued.”
Maree McDermott,a social and community services worker from western Sydney is the ASU ambassador for an equal wage’s test case before Fair Work Australia.
With her tertiary qualifications and 25 years experience in the community services sector, McDermott calculates she has been underpaid $20,000 to $40,000 per year, plus the loss of superannuation, along with 200,000 other workers in her industry.
“It’s been a struggle all these years to throw off the shackles of being seen as a charity worker, or seen as nice caring ladies doing nice things for poor people voluntarily,” McDermott told the International Women’s Day rally.
“So it’s heartening to be seen and known as an industry, and to be now seen as professionals doing professional work in a fundamental necessary practice of a civil, democratic society.”
“Our win will be a win for so many other women who are also being disregarded because of the nature of their work because they are women.”
Australian Idol winner Paulini was part of the entertainment line-up. Her song with the line “Tonight I’ll ask the stars above, how did I ever win your love,” was a little discordant with the feminist theme of the day, but her rendition of Aretha Franklin’s Respect got people jumping up to dance.
BY LIZ CUSH
