It’s become a bit of a well-known fact that the superannuation system is flawed, with women retiring with less than half the superannuation of men.
Part of the issue, alongside the gender pay gap, is that it fails people who take career breaks and work part time, casually or flexibly for long periods of time.
It’s an issue I hope to see more employers playing their part in addressing in the years to come.
Viva Energy Australia has just announced it will do just that, becoming what it believes is the first company in Australia to offer a full-time superannuation payment of 12% of their base salary to men and women who take unpaid parental leave, as well as those working part-time, for up to five years.
Chief executive Scott Wyatt believes it’s a policy that should inspire the rest of corporate Australia to consider what more it can do to support working parents.
Wyatt’s also a Workplace Gender Equality Agency Pay Equity Ambassador, which means he’s made a pledge to encourage other employers to acknowledge the importance of pay equity.
As well as being the right thing to do, he says the new superannuation policy also makes good businesses sense, in that it will help attract and retain great staff while enabling them to better manage their lives outside of work.
WGEA has congratulated Viva Energy on the move, especially for what it does for acknowledging the superannuation gender gap and proactively seeking to shift it.
I especially like this policy for the open statement it makes regarding the value of part time work, especially in the energy sector which is still so male-dominated.
This is an edited version of an article that was first published by Women’s Agenda.
Angela Priestley is the publisher and founding editor of Women’s Agenda. She’s an author, journalist and passionate advocate for workplace gender equality and diversity. Her first book is Women Who Seize the Moment.
