...If women's wages rose to that of men's the Australian economy would expand by $93 ....

That's great, so where does the extra money come from, to pay the extra wages?

While I am not sexists I do believe there are several issues that see women offered less jobs than men like,
Women have babies and to do so they leave work, not only that but now they get paid to do it.

Also, having women in the work place opens the door for sexual harassment cases, cases that are generally easier avoided than dealt with.

I would also suggest that one reason why men are paid higher is that they are perceived to be more reliable in the long run. May just be a perception but does make some sense.

Personally I don't have issues with women earning the same as men, provided the employer is not effected by the fact that they are a woman.

even an ardent feminist if honest must admit the sisterhood brigade was a total diaster for this country. It is going to take years to clean uo the mess.

Because other people are not your property?
Jardine K. Jardine,
I agree but can you do me a favour & convince the bureaucrats of that ? You know the ones that take my Tax Dollars & give to those who breed indiscriminately.

Conrad, the usual anti-feminist suspects that have commented on gender pay inequality so far, never let the truth get in the way of a good female-bashing...

The truth is that there is still unequal pay for equal work/hours for women in some industries in this country. This figure is nothing to do with kids, or part time work or whatever other pathetic excuses misogynists want to put out there.

This is Man doing the same job as Woman, and yet the hourly rate for the Woman is less.
Does everyone understand that scenario?

Women stopping work to have children, whether 'contrived' or not, is not the issue here.
If it was, then all the men should ensure they only practice protected sex when they want to get a bit.....and voila.....no unplanned kiddies!

Wouldn't that ensure all those 'lazy, sneaky' women out there don't slyly get pregnant to get out of work?
One would think all the boys would have worked that out by now.

Suse,

I can agree with you that an individual should get payed the same for the same employment position regardless of their gender.

However, take this example into consideration:

A company has two levels of employment. A high salary full time positions, and low salary part time positions. If the company employs equal number of males and females in each of these positions, then the average salary is equal between the genders.

However, if this company decides to hire one more female employee in the low salary part time position, and everything else remains the same, what happens to the average salary? That right, the average salary of the female gender is decreased compared to the average male salary in the same company.

People such as the author could argue that this is unequal treatment of the genders. As a defender of womens rights, they believe that more females should be hired in the high salary position to make up for this unequality.

What is not asked, is whether the company gets more female applications for low salary part time positions, and this 'unequality' accurately represents the wants and needs of the employees.

I notice you did not comment on quotas. Can you explain your position and how this would be practically regulated. Would it require changes to the sex discrimination act to allow discrimination (which can be positive or negative) based on gender?

For your reference I have quoted the Sex Discrimination Act 1984, which you should note already prevents discrimination based on gender for offering employment, and the terms of employment (including salary).

Part II—Prohibition of discrimination
Division 1—Discrimination in work
14 Discrimination in employment or in superannuation
(1) It is unlawful for an employer to discriminate against a person on the ground of the person’s sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, intersex status, marital or relationship status, pregnancy or potential pregnancy, breastfeeding or family responsibilities:
(a) in the arrangements made for the purpose of determining who should be offered employment;
(b) in determining who should be offered employment; or
(c) in the terms or conditions on which employment is offered

(2) It is unlawful for an employer to discriminate against an employee on the ground of the employee’s sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, intersex status, marital or relationship status, pregnancy or potential pregnancy, breastfeeding or family responsibilities:
(a) in the terms or conditions of employment that the employer affords the employee;
(b) by denying the employee access, or limiting the employee’s access, to opportunities for promotion, transfer or training, or to any other benefits associated with employment;
(c) by dismissing the employee; or
(d) by subjecting the employee to any other detriment.