More than 460,000 workers in the health, disability and community services are set to benefit from a $630 million injection to address historic gender inequities.
The Federal Government announced today that the funding would support charities and not-for-profit organisations delivering government-funded services.
The Government said the additional funding would help service providers meet higher wage costs without reducing the availability or quality of services.
It followed a series of Fair Work Commission decisions focused on the historical undervaluation of work in female-dominated industries.
More than 128,000 organisations funded through 92 government programs will receive additional financial support to help implement award-related wage increases while maintaining existing services.
The Fair Work Commission’s decisions follow changes to the Fair Work Act that made gender equality an explicit consideration in workplace relations.
The Commission found that gender-based assumptions had contributed to the undervaluation of work performed in sectors employing predominantly women.
Minister for Finance and Women Katy Gallagher said addressing the undervaluation of women’s work was important to reducing the gender pay gap.
“We cannot close the gender pay gap without confronting and addressing the historic undervaluation of work performed predominantly by women,” she said.
“Australia’s gender pay gap is at a record low, and this is another significant step towards ensuring women are properly recognised and rewarded for their contribution.”
Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations Amanda Rishworth said the Fair Work Commission’s decisions would deliver better wages for affected workers.
“This Fair Work Commission decision is helping to address decades of gender-based undervaluation and deliver better wages for workers in health, disability and community services,” she said.
“This is what closing the gender pay gap looks like in practice – recognising the value of women’s work contributions and helping Australian workers earn more.”
Health Minister Mark Butler said the funding could also help address workforce pressures in the affected sectors.
