Why do I post so much about gender equality?

My girlfriend recently asked me why I care so much about the feminist movement and why I constantly post about the topic on my Facebook page. "We should be equals, we are equals, so let's move on" she said. I was flabbergasted. Floored. But rather than get into a debate about it over lunch, I thought I'd write her this open letter, setting out the poignant statistics, hopefully explaining why I care so much, and why I still feel that this is a relevant topic for us in Australia. I've made it personal, and I hope my girlfriend forgives me for this, but considering that she has a three year old daughter, I thought it would be of maximum impact to consider her daughter's future to demonstrate why I do care. And why we need to deal with this issue NOW.

Let's first look at the Australian workforce. My girlfriend is extremely smart and is an accountant, having held senior roles at large companies in Australia. Her husband is also incredibly intelligent, and works in the airforce. When I imagine what their daughter will do when she grows up I think, well wow, the world is her oyster. But is it?

The most recent statistic (April 2014) show that women comprise over 60% of the workforce in three occupations: clerical and administrative workers; community and personal service workers; and sales workers. And whilst my girlfriend's daughter might want to work in those fields (and they are great areas) she has a 40% chance of only being able to perform part-time work in those sectors. Women are also more likely to be under-employed than men (10.4% for women compared to 6.1% for men).

But what if my girlfriend's daughter doesn't want to work in those areas? What if she wants to get a trade qualification? Currently only 14% of technicians and trade workers are women. You don't have to try too hard to imagine how difficult it is for a woman to be a tradie in today's workforce.

Another recent statistic shows that among total workers, over a quarter of women (26.4%) (compared to a fifth of men (19.9%)) do not have paid leave entitlements. Women are least likely to have paid leave entitlements if they work as part-time sales workers
(67.5%). This is despite the fact that women still play a major role in our society as carer's (mostly unpaid).

So women are under-represented in many professions, much more likely to work part-time, experience under-employment and don't have access to paid leave.

But we get paid equally right? No. In November 2013, the gender pay gap stood at 17.1%. The average weekly ordinary time earnings of women working full-time were $1,270.30 per week, compared to men who earned an average weekly wage of $1,532.80 per week, making women’s average earnings $262.50 per week less than men. For exactly the same job.

But this is being fixed right? No. Since November 2012 the gender pay gap has increased by 1.6 pp respectively in South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania, followed by smaller increases in Queensland (+0.6 pp) and the Northern Territory (+0.5 pp).

This means that in Victoria, a woman has to work an extra 49 days per year to receive the same pay as a man.

So my girlfriend, and her daughter, also need to work more hours to receive the same pay as a man.

What if my girlfriend's daughter wants to be an accountant like her mum? Well, in November 2013, the financial and insurance services industry had the highest gender pay gap (31.9%). So my girlfriend is currently being paid less than the man sitting next to her doing the same job, and unless things change, so will her daughter.

What if my girlfriend's daughter wants to go into the airforce like her dad?

The Sex Discrimination Commissioner recently undertook a survey which, for the very first time, compares data of the prevalence of sexual harassment in the Australia Defence Forces (ADF) to other Australian workplaces.

The survey findings show that sexual harassment rates for women in the ADF are comparable with the general community at around 25%.

Hang on, women have a one in four chance of being sexually harassed in the Australian workforce? Wow. That's high.

This means that if my girlfriend's daughter wants to follow her dad's footsteps in the airforce, there is a high risk that she will be sexually harassed. But it also means that wherever she works in Australia (unless things improve by the time she enters the workforce) there is a one in four chance that she will be sexually harassed.

No one should have to worry about that issue when commencing a career, or gaining work experience, or getting some pocket money.

The research (conducted by the Sex Discrimination Commissioner) also found that for many women in the ADF, they also had a very difficult choice to make: career or family.  In the star ranks (the most senior ranks in the ADF), the contrast between men and women who have children is telling – almost 90% of the men have children compared to just over 20% of women. These figures speak to the difficulty that women with caring responsibilities encounter in building their military careers.

No person should have to choose between these things.

And if my girlfriend's daughter is a high-achiever, and wants to work her way up the ranks - well she will be in a very small minority of women in leadership in the ADF. Women are particularly underrepresented in leadership positions in the ADF, with less than 5% of all star, or senior officer ranks women, and less than 8% of all senior non-commissioned officers.

I have every confidence that my girlfriend's daughter will be a success, in whatever she chooses to do. I know that she will choose a profession, and she'll be a star at her chosen career. And I also hope that one day she will fall in love, and be able to have children and a career.

So to do that, to get that far, she's avoided, or survived, sexual harassment. She's overcome the hurdles of being a minority in a senior role. And now she's pregnant. What then?

The Australian Human Rights Commission have just released their report on pregnancy discrimination. They found that one in two women report experiencing discrimination in the workplace during their pregnancy, after requesting or while on parental leave, or upon returning to work.

As a result of this discrimination, the vast majority of women (84%) experienced negative impacts on their mental health (such as stress and marked reductions in confidence and self-esteem), physical health, families, finances, career and job opportunities.

So after all of her hard work, she will then have to fight to keep her job, and her health, just to be able to have a family.

And I haven't even touched on domestic violence. I haven't even yet told you that one woman dies every week from domestic violence in Australia. One woman. Each week.

So this is why I care about feminism. And gender equality. This is why I post about it all the time. This is why I celebrate the successes (of both men and women). This is why I encourage my friends, including my girlfriend, to think about equality in the context of her daughter, and her daughter's future.

I think many of my girlfriends think of sexism as something that doesn't happen much, or just happens to other people. The statistics prove otherwise. The statistics are not acceptable.

On a final note -  if it is this hard for us to get right, if we can't even provide equality for women living in Australia, an affluent first world country, just imagine how hard it is for women in less fortunate circumstances (not that far away from us across the sea). Yes we do have it pretty good. But pretty good isn't good enough. And our lack of action, or acceptance at the wrongness of the current situation, is definitely not good enough and won't help anyone.