Paying superannuation on top of parental leave was considered important enough for Minister for Women Marise Payne to mention her government would be supporting the reporting of, as part of a number of changes to Workplace Gender Equality Agency.
And yet it doesn’t seem important enough for the Morrison Government to support through changes to the parental leave scheme that would see superannuation paid on top of government paid parental leave to new parents.
Indeed, the idea has been rejected, according to the Sydney Morning Herald, in a blow that came just in time for International Women’s Day.
Speaking in Sydney at the UN Women event on Friday, Senator Payne noted the Morrison Government’s review of the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, announcing it would be working towards implementing the review’s ten recommendations, including refining the “gender equality indicators” to include mandatory reporting of whether superannuation is paid by an employer during periods of paid and unpaid parental leave.
Clearly then, paying superannuation during paid parental leave is considered a “gender equality indicator”.
The Productivity Commission also recommends superannuation payments be added to government-paid parental leave.
But clearly again, the Morrison Government would prefer that employers take on this responsibility – leaving new parents taking leave (around 90% of whom are women) at the mercy of who they work for to determine whether or not they will receive this critical support to their economic security and retirement savings later on.
The Herald reports that ministers had been considering the idea of extending the government paid parental leave to include superannuation, but it was ultimately rejected, including by Social Services and Women’s Safety Minister Anne Ruston, according to Liberal sources that spoke to journalists, Katina Curtis and Jennifer Duke.
Paying superannuation during government paid parental leave won’t alone close the massive gap in retirement savings between men and women, with women having 40 per cent less superannuation on retirement despite living longer, according to the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees.
But the move would at least contribute something towards women’s economic security. It would highlight the value of the work that occurs during periods of paid parental leave and symbolize to employers the importance of continuing to pay superannuation during periods of leave.
We know this symbolic power ourselves on Women’s Agenda, with employers regularly highlighting how they are modernising existing family leave schemes to ensure staff are paid superannuation on top of the paid time they have off.
As AIST CEO Eva Scheerlinck (pictured above) said in her organization’s calls for the Morrison Government to support super payments, the gap between men and women’s retirement savings is significant. Gender pay gaps and many other factors also contribute – which further highlights the need to ensure payments continue during paid leave.
“Action should be taken to ensure they don’t fall further behind during career breaks,” she says.
“Super on paid parental leave would allow parents to continue building their retirement savings while taking time out of the paid workforce to care for children.
“It would be another step to improving the fairness, equity, adequacy, and transparency of a retirement savings system which, although one of the best in the world, still has room for improvement.”
During last week’s session for UN Women, Senator Payne spoke about how governments are just “the start” of achieving real change for women.
She highlighted the role communities, employers and individuals also have to play.
Ultimately though, governments set the bar.
This paid parental leave change was an opportunity to do so.
But it was another bar too high for the Morrison Government, this International Women’s Day.