I’ve been lucky during the course of my career to come across supportive male allies. In my first office job, while still at university, I was hired by a man who saw the potential in me despite me being under-qualified to do the role. In another position, when I made it clear to my male manager I wanted to be a writer, he helped change the remit of my role so that I did more writing as part of my job.
It has been my husband who supports me and has supported me the most, by equally taking on household chores, as well as childcare responsibilities, not to mention the daily emotional support he provides.
Many women would have had similar experiences with supportive men helping them both from a professional and personal level. But as International Women’s Day (IWD) rolls around for another year, we as a society need to work out what more can men do across the board to reduce gender inequality that seems stubbornly persistent.
The by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency released last month have shown that we still have a way to go at least in terms of the gender pay gap, which in Australia currently stands at 22.8 per cent. This means that on average women earned $25,800 less than men. Men are also twice as likely to earn over $120,000 than woman and 85 per cent of Australian employers are still paying men more on average than their female employees.
It’s not much better for women at home. Despite men contributing more to household chores since the pandemic hit, women are . And , women always or usually do up to 60 per cent of tasks compared to five per cent for men.
There needs to be a better way, especially as gender equality isn’t just a women’s issue, but a societal one as increasing gender equality can significantly .
And it’s not like men don’t want to help. An International Women’s Day in 2019 found that most men believed women won’t achieve equality unless men take action too. Though in the same study almost half of the men surveyed felt like men were being asked to do too much.
Whether they like it or not, at least men know that they need to step up. And how they step up needn’t be too complicated. One way men can help women is to be open about how much they are getting paid. has become a much talked about topic. The more people, especially men, are open about their salaries the more women know how much to ask when going for a role.
But more importantly, found that pay transparency could significantly reduce the gender wage gap.
It’s not much, but sharing your salary allows someone entering that role to make sure they are valuing themselves correctly when applying for a job. This especially goes for women, who are to ask for as much in salary as men.
And then there is the inequality that occurs at home. Even in , she still did the majority of the household chores.
As by the University of Technology of Sydney found, the way heterosexual couples divide household chores is based on traditional gender roles. “Many women have a higher wage than their male partners, but the HILDA data shows they usually still do more housework than their partner, and less paid work,” economist Professor Peter Siminski told The Sydney Morning Herald.
Another thing that needs addressing is ‘gender apathy’, which is slowing down the closing of the gender pay gap. Deputy director of the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre at Curtin University, Prof Rebecca Cassells, analysed seven years of gender reporting data covering more than 4.3 million Australian workers, “There is an attitude that runs through our workplaces, our homes and our institutions that devalues and discriminates against women. These attitudes and poor culture lead directly to discriminatory practices against women.”
This year’s IWD should be all about celebrating women’s achievements and elevating women's voices. But all this doesn’t mean that men should take a back seat. We need the rest of the population to do their bit to bring about change, because the whole world benefits when this becomes a more equal world for women.
Saman Shad is an author, journalist and freelance writer.
