Coalition V Labor policies for women at work: Get informed and get voting - Women's Agenda

Coalition V Labor policies for women at work: Get informed and get voting

Forget the internal bickering and personality clashes – at least for a moment. It’s time to judge the Coalition and Labor parties on their policies.

For those of us concerned about women’s workforce participation, that means examining issues like child care, workplace flexibility, equal pay and women in leadership.

And although we’re likely to see a few changes to such policies in coming weeks as Kevin Rudd gets comfortable in the Prime Minister’s position and Coalition leader Tony Abbott responds to the change of leadership, we already have somewhat of an idea of what both parties have planned for women.

The National Foundation for Australian Women has just made it easier to compare and contrast what the major parties have planned with its Review of Female Workforce Attachment Policies. The group’s working with a number of women’s alliances in order to encourage more women to enroll to vote, and make informed decisions on how to vote.

“We’re all been concerned by the reports from the AEC about the number of eligible Australians who either haven’t enrolled to vote, or didn’t in the last election,” Marie Coleman told me this morning.

“This project is saying we want to get women who are eligible to enroll to vote, inform them on how to vote formally, and give them the kind of information needed to allow them to make informed choices.”

The group’s latest guide examines Labor, Coalition and, where applicable The Greens, responses to child care, the baby bonus, workplace flexibility, employment protection, breastfeeding, pregnancy discrimination, equal opportunity, equal pay and women and leadership. All material provided within the report is cleared by relevant party spokespeople.

Authored by Professor Marian Baird, today’s report follows an earlier study comparing the paid parental leave schemes of the two main parties in May, and a review of superannuation policies in June. Coleman says they’ll follow up with a more comprehensive review of child care policies in mid July, as well as a report on education policies and internet access and use.

While Coleman told me she wasn’t in a position to say, overall, which party’s policies would make working life easier for women, she believes the report goes a long way for assisting voters in comparing and contrasting what’s on offer.

Indeed, certain portfolio areas look much more comprehensive than others. And, depending on what matters to you, you’ll find some pretty clear cut examples where one party’s delivered much more than the other.

But make your own mind up. Read what Labor and the Coalition have on offer for women, and let us know what you think in the comments below.

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