I wish to thank the member for Newcastle for presenting this motion. It holds great personal significance to me as the mother of two young women and as a member of Australia's first female-majority Labor caucus. The issue of women's employment resonates deeply with me, as it reflects both the progress we have made and the challenges that still lie ahead.
When I first entered the workforce, the gender pay gap was a concerning 23 per cent, and maternity leave was a privilege reserved mainly for those in the Public Service and was unpaid and inconsistently offered across different industries. Domestic violence leave from the workplace was not even considered. However, under the leadership of the Albanese Labor government, we are achieving significant milestones.
We've successfully introduced 20 weeks of paid parental leave for all new mothers, and we've embedded enabling legislation that gives new fathers the ability to better share parenting responsibilities. We have created history by introducing 10-day workplace leave due to domestic and family violence—the first time ever. This will mean women can more readily escape family violence, get children to safety, and keep their job and their wage. The gender pay gap has decreased to 13.3 per cent, a testament to our commitment to narrowing this gap. Recent reports from the World Economic Forum indicate that our nation's world gender equality ranking has improved significantly, moving up 17 places from 43rd to 26th.
Whilst we take pride in these accomplishments, we are also aware that much remains to be done. The current national gender pay gap means that, on average, women working full time earn $253 less each week than their male counterparts. We know this disparity is not good enough, so we are acting to enhance women's economic security. Through the secure jobs, better pay legislation we've empowered the Fair Work Commission to order pay increases for workers in low-paid feminised industries, like aged care and child care. Additionally, we have included gender equality as an objective in the Fair Work Act 2009, prohibiting pay secrecy and establishing a statutory equal-remuneration principle.
Our commitment to women's economic empowerment is evident through various initiatives, including providing better access to flexible working arrangements, enabling families to share work and caregiving responsibilities; allocating $4 billion to government and community organisations for women's safety initiatives; investing $8.6 million in the Australian Skills Guarantee, to set national targets for women in apprenticeships, traineeships and cadetships; funding $91.3 million to strengthen the mental health care workforce, with 80 per cent of additional psychology placements dedicated to women; committing $72.4 million to support the early childhood education and care workforce, of which 92 per cent are women; and delivering fee-free TAFE, which is already having a positive impact, with women representing 60 per cent of all enrolments.
This is important work. These reforms mean more women can work if they want to, to earn more and grow their super. Superannuation is particularly important for women. We know that women over 55 are the most vulnerable group to homelessness, and this is unacceptable. The reforms have been driven by our Labor caucus, which, for the first time ever, proudly has a majority of women. Our Labor government is absolutely committed to advancing equity and opportunity for women. Let us remember that until 1972, around a decade before I entered the workforce, no major party had a women's policy. It was only under Labor, led by former prime minister Gough Whitlam and his women's adviser, Elizabeth Reid, that a revolution for women's rights began.
In closing, I urge all members to come together in supporting women's employment. Let us continue this journey with determination, creating a future where women's economic empowerment is not just an aspiration but a reality for all. We all know that when women do better, we as a nation do better.
