International Women’s Day is the global celebration of the economic, political and social achievements of women and this year’s theme is Balance for Better.
The Hodgman Liberal Government is committed to creating a more equal Tasmania, and has led the way with initiatives aimed at achieving positive change for women and girls.
While International Women’s Day is about striving for change to create a more equal world, it’s also an opportunity to celebrate how far we have come.
When we released our Women on Boards Strategy 2015-2020, the number of women on government boards was 33.8 per cent. Since then, as at December 2018, we have made outstanding progress to now 44.23 per cent – the strongest growth in the nation, since the Strategy’s release, with a 10.43 percentage points increase.
Women also now hold 54.54 per cent of Director positions on Government Business Enterprises and 48.83 per cent of Director positions on State-Owned Companies.
However, there is more work to be done, and the Government has a target of 50 per cent female representation on government boards and committees by 2020.
The State Service is also leading by example in having set a target to have 40 per cent representation of female senior executives in the State Service by 2020. I’m very proud to announce we have already achieved this target, with 41.4 per cent of senior executives now being female - an increase of over 12 percentage points since we came to government.
The State Service will now work towards the goal of achieving 50 per cent females senior executives.
Tasmania has also made great strides in reducing the gender pay gap, and we now have the lowest pay gap in the nation at 9.7 per cent, however with men taking home on average $137.40 more than Tasmanian women, we must continue to reduce that.
I am proud to be part of a Government that is committed to gender equality, and has demonstrated this by making substantial progress in creating a much more inclusive place to live, work, and have a family.
To view the latest Gender Diversity Action Plan, visit: https://bit.ly/2Tns19b