COSMOPOLITAN November 2015 11
from the editor
M
y f ive-
year-old
daughter
says she
wants to
be a nurse
when she grows up (this
week anyway). If my son
decided he also wanted to
be a nurse, he would be paid
$3700* more per year as a
graduate than his sister. Same
job and skill set, just different
genitals. How on Earth is
that fair? Oh wait, it’s not.
Right now Australia’s
gender pay gap is at an all-
time high of 18 per cent.
Yep, that’s right – it’s 2015
and women working full-
time are getting paid 82
cents for every dollar that
Aussie men earn.
Compared to our mums
and grandmothers, things
have come a long way. But
despite there being legislation
against sexual and gender
discrimination, a gender pay
gap still exists – and it’s
growing. While there’s a
stack of reasons/excuses for
why the gap is getting worse,
not better (women often work
in lower-paying industries,
are under-represented in
senior management positions,
take time off to care for kids
and/or return to work part-
time), there is still a gender
pay gap that simply can’t be
explained as anything butbias and bullshit. It’s what
former Sex Discrimination
Commissioner Elizabeth
Broderick refers to as “gender
asbestos”: the unexposed
forms of discrimination that
allow for men to be valued,
economically speaking, more
than women. But if all we do
is talk and complain aboutBronwyn McCahon, EDITOR
@bronwynmccahonIT’S 2015
AND WOMEN
WORKING
FULL-TIME ARE
GETTING PAID
82 CENTS FOR
EVERY DOLLAR
MEN EARN”
WELCOME
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Read our report on p50 and
join Cosmo in making some
real change.
Enjoy the issue.“
why the gap exists, no matter
how smart, how educated or
skilled women are, they will
still have to work an extra
two months (or more!) each
year to earn the same as men.
Let’s stop complaining
and start actually doing. It’s
not enough to just say that
women and men should be
paid equally – we need to
PHOTOGRAPHY BY KRISTINA SOLJO/BAUER. *WAGE DIFFERENCE FROM 2014 STUDY BY GRADUATE CAREERS AUSTRALIAtake action. And we have aWeight Loss Programme