Census data reveals Balmain is one of the state’s leading electorates for female workplace participation.
Commenting on the data Jamie Parker MP, Member for Balmain said:
“Balmain has the first NSW electorate where women in the work force outnumbered men.
“The Balmain electorate had the state’s highest proportion of women in the labour force in the 2006 and 2011 census surveys, dropping to the number two spot in 2016 behind Coogee.
“It’s so important that we do as much as we can to encourage women into the workforce. Workplace participation benefits women’s individual financial security improves Australia’s productivity and prosperity overall.
“It’s encouraging that women in Balmain are bucking the trend for work participation but more support is needed – starting with quality child care.
“The government is massively underinvesting in the childcare sector. If we are going to pay early educators fairly, either parent fees increase or government funding needs to improve.
“An increase in parent fees could counteract that fantastic trend we’re seeing in Balmain and force women to stay at home simply because they can’t afford quality care for their kids. No one wants that.
“Hundreds of childcare centres across Australia are closed today as workers walk off the job to protest low wages. The government needs to do more to support these workers and ensure families have access to affordable child care so women have are free to make decisions about their career rather than be coerced by their own circumstance.”
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