Looking to Scandinavian policies, a government gender equality agency has said encouraging men to take more parental leave could be part of the solution to the gender earnings gap.
EXCERPTS
Women in Australia on average earn 23.1 per cent ($26,853) less than men when measuring full-time total remuneration earnings. However, 17 per cent of women's wages lost over their lifetimes is attributable to the cost of raising children, the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) has said.
As such, “gender balanced paid parental leave” could reposition the financial burden of care more equitably, the agency argued.