Mind the gap: Mary Wooldridge on why we need to be ever vigilant about gender equality in the workforce

Women on Boards: Leader, directors & subject matter experts in conversation with Claire Braund

Mary Wooldridge is a woman who believes that if you want change on the big social issues then you get engaged in purposeful action to get policy change and action taken.

As Director of the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, the issues currently in her sights are gender inequality, including closing the 14.2% gender pay gap, and ensuring that women and men are equally represented, valued and rewarded in the workplace.

As a Victorian Member of Parliament from 2006 to 2020 with several Ministerial portfolios (Mental Health, Community Services and Women’s Affairs) Mary had a strong reform agenda. This included establishing the Commissioner for Children and Young People and Australia's first Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People, instigating the Shergold Report into Reform of the Human Services Sector to improve partnerships between the government and community sector organisations, implementing the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010-2022 and being instrumental in establishing Our Watch, the national family violence prevention agency.

Prior to being elected to Parliament, Mary was the CEO of The Foundation for Young Australians and worked with McKinsey & Company and Consolidated Press Holdings. She is now Chair of the Australian board of Global Citizens - whose mission is to end extreme poverty worldwide by 2030

In this podcast, Mary speaks to Claire about why the Liberal Party should implement quotas for women, why we need to be ever vigilant about gender equality in the workplace and why Australia needs to invest in all industries in our COVID world, not just male-dominated industries like construction, to ensure men and women can both benefit equally from any government-funded recovery.

LinkedIn Mary Wooldridge | Claire Braund (host)

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