Women have come a long way in the work force - but it's still out there that the 'pay gap' between men and women still exists in the region of 20% or a bit under.
People hear this statistic and think that it's saying, all things being equal, women are earning nearly a fifth less than men and their response is, that's not right!
If that indeed is what it's saying, that response is justified. The problem is, statistics don't always say why we think they're saying.
This number is not a comparison of a man vs a woman with the same qualifications and experience in the same role. This is just a statement on the average earnings of all adults considered to be full time workers.
The reasons for this are not necessarily discrimination. There are many other factors that can make up that 'gap'.
Women on average work fewer hours per day than men. Women may gravitate towards lower paying jobs because they are more family friendly, have more regular or flexible hours, require less travel and many other factors.
Some say this has been 'socialised' into us, to aspire to less, to expect less of ourselves. There may be something in that - this type of subtle ingrained discrimination exists even in what we tell ourselves. (For example, women are less likely to ask for a raise or promotion than men.)
But there is another side to that explanation that I find a bit insulting. The insinuation that if you choose a 'lower flying' life as a woman you are somehow betraying your gender.
This is why I say focusing on the pay gap is the wrong approach. It simplifies things too much and fails to celebrate and support those women who are choosing family or a different lifestyle over career aspirations.
We cannot champion the rights of women to have career opportunities equal to men by devaluing women who genuinely do not want that sort of career.
I'm not saying there is no discrimination. There is plenty of room for improvement in making work places more family friendly, to support women earning money as well as having children.
But we've got to be sensible about it. We need to know what we are talking about if we want to be taken seriously. We can't just throw numbers around as if that wins the argument.
It not as simple as closing a pay gap - if women continue having families and choosing certain lifestyles the gap will never close. It can't. Women cannot logically earn the same as men if they take time off to have children, don't want to work long hours or travel as far etc.
And that should be ok. Why does being valued as a woman always seem to be defined in terms of how we match up to men?
(And I want to say, men shouldn't be valued against how willing they are to pursue aggressive careers or not either.)
We should be focusing on the kinds of things that are really the issue:
Are we teaching our girls (through our words, attitudes and behaviours) their value in character, love and determination rather than indoctrination.
(Pursuing a career is not unladylike; staying at home is not lazy or un-aspirational. and its not that black and white. Whatever you do, do it with all your heart.)
Are we giving girls equal access and support in education to let them think for themselves?
Are we building up the value of family (for men and women)?
Are we enabling people to have the opportunity to support their family securely and reasonably without having to work unreasonably?
What do others think? What other things are important to focus on? Do you think Australia is doing pretty well at this? Have you seen any evidence of a discrimination based pay gap?
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