Barbie and the Matildas help reignite progress on gender equality

The Barbie and Matildas effect could help support a resurgence in progress towards gender equality if past social trends are any guide, the latest Financy Women’s Index shows.

In many ways, the Barbie movie phenomenon and the Matildas FIFA Women’s World Cup fever have the potential to supercharge progress similar to what was seen immediately after the 2017/2018 #MeToo and Times Up movements in terms of their ability to challenge and change social attitudes.

However, the big difference is that the Barbie and Matildas effect has been indicative of positive cultural sentiment made possible by the entertainment power of fresh and clever comedy, whereas #MeToo and Times Up were powerful social campaigns that allowed victims of abuse, primarily women, to be heard, to unite and importantly push for action and indefinite social change.

In the two years post #MeToo and Times Up, women’s financial progress in Australia, as measured by the Financy Women’s Index, rose by 3% in 2019 and 4% in 2020. The number of women occupying ASX 200 board positions also improved by 14% to 29.7% from 26% in the year to December 2018 – the biggest improvement since 2012.

This momentum came to an end with the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic, which disrupted progress in employment in 2021 (1%) and 2022 (-1%).

“Barbie has raised awareness around gender equality to a whole new level but in a very positive way and the Matilda’s showed women’s’ sport can be just as popular as men’s sport,” said Dr Shane Oliver chief economist AMP Capital.

“We just have to keep building on these favourable events to make sure that they are turned into lasting change in reducing gender financial inequality,” he said.

The latest Financy Women’s Index June quarter report shows that progress toward gender financial equality is back on the front foot after two successive quarters in decline, helped by record advancements in the gender pay gap and the number of women appointed to ASX 200 board positions.

The Index rose by 0.2 points to 76.5 points in the June quarter of 2023, up from a revised 76.2 points in March. The Index is also 0.4 points higher for the year to date.

The most impressive gain was in the number of women appointed to ASX 200 directorships, which rose to 36.4% during the quarter compared to 36% in March. This helped the FWX Board Leadership sub-index gain by 3.4 points and was the most impressive improvement among all the FWX sub-indexes.

The gender pay gap also fell to a historic low of 13% during the quarter – as reflected in May 2023 data as average weekly wages for women rose by 2% compared to 1.6% for men, helping to narrow the disparity. This helped the gender pay gap sub-index add 1.1 points and is an improvement on the 13.3% pay gap reported at the start of this year.

“Female equality is gradually shifting in the right direction fresh off the back of cultural trends like the Barbie movie and the Matildas effect on women’s sport locally and globally,” said Amber Daines founder and CEO of Bespoke Co.

“It’s a sign of what can be done. Let the momentum remain by ensuring leaders in all areas of business keep pushing forward in areas like the gender pay gap and be accountable.”

With Equal Pay Day on August 25 this week, the gender pay gap data shows that full-time working women earn $252 less than men each week and that Australian women will have to work an extra 56 days to make up for the difference, according to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency.

Employment was the only FWX indicator where progress declined as the growth rate in monthly hours worked by men grew by 1.5% in June compared to only 0.7% for women.

Women also struggled to find work in part-time employment more so than men, with the biggest job cuts in male-dominated areas including construction (-43%) and electricity, gas, water and waste services (-37%) and transport, postal and warehousing -(25%).

“While the FWX is showing more positive signs this quarter and as we come off the highs of Barbie and the Matildas, the real test will be how women fare as the cost-of-living crisis deepens and economic growth slows,” said Simone Cheung, partner at Deloitte Access Economics.

“The question of whether the modest improvements in the FWX are enough of a buffer for women as we enter a period of growing economic uncertainty remains to be seen,” she said.

This article was first published by Women’s Agenda.