The story on the increasing numbers of older homeless women in The Australian (3/09/10) is a visceral reminder of the inequality in income between men and women in the workforce. Some would be aware that today, the 4th of September, is Australian Equal Pay Day, so-called because it is today which is the extra numbers of days from July 1 which an ‘average’ woman must work to earn what the ‘average’ man earned in the previous financial year.
Shamefully, the gap in Australia is growing.
For those of us who thought we’d achieved equal pay more than 30 years ago this information can come as a surprise. For all of us the realisation that this date is three days behind last years and more than a week behind that of 2008 should be a an embarrassment. An embarrassment that women are not typically accumulating the same assets, including home ownership or superannuation, that men are.
Sadly, even more women will facing homelessness in their older years if the pay gap continues to widen.
Tammy's Blog 