The United Nation’s Women’s Empower Principles (WEPs) were designed to offer guidance to business on how to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment in the workplace and community. But how many businesses are taking action or measuring what matters?
In the March 2023 quarter Financy Women Index (FWX) report, the timeframe to equality for education (and expected earnings) is 139 years!
On average, a generation spans 25 – 30 years. Based on this measure, it will take between 4.6 and 5.5 generations before we get to a position of equality.
Women (and girls) are already exponentially behind when it comes to education; think of the countries that do not allow; or provide limited access to education for this gender.
What is more concerning is the vocations that are ‘traditionally’ held by women help shape the future of generations to come.
In Australia, roles in Health Care, Social Assistance, Education and Training are predominantly held by women.
These roles are core to basic human needs and yet, they are undervalued both in terms of remuneration and recognition.
There is an expression ‘when you educate a girl, you educate a nation’. Why then do we have such a large disparity in time to equality? Education is one way of helping people to help themselves.
Education helps people make informed decisions, ask better questions, provides access to networks, experts, wisdom, and a sense of belonging.
All of which is good for society and the global economy FWX is measuring what matters when it comes to gender financial equality.
The Australian Government recently completed a consultation on ‘Measuring what matters’ as part of their commitment to improve the lives of all Australians.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) framework indicators includes the measurement of gender wage gap, gender parity in politics, gender gap in feeling safe and labour underutilisation rate as some of its core measures.
In some of these measures we rank lower than the OECD average, and whilst there is improvement, it is not occurring at the pace of change or economic advancement.
In Australia, we have the means, resources, and intellect to solve these problems. Measurement is only effective when there is progress, otherwise it simply becomes another definition of insanity.
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