You have 0 free articles left this month.
Register for a free account to access unlimited free content.
Powered by MOMENTUM MEDIA
accountants daily logo

MYOB seeks to close super gender gap

Technology

Coinciding with International Women’s Day, MYOB has announced an adjustment to its parental leave policy that will see the cloud accounting provider combat the superannuation gender gap.

By Mitchell Turner 9 minute read

Primary carers employed with MYOB, with a minimum of 12 months’ service, are now entitled to full superannuation contribution payments for the length of their parental leave for up to 52 weeks.

Alla Keogh, MYOB’s head of people and performance, said the decision serves as a big step to address the existing superannuation gender gap that sees the average super payout for women on retirement at $112,000, compared with the average payout of $198,000 for men.

“On average, women retire with 43 per cent less super savings than men. One of the reasons for this gap is the fact that women tend to spend more time out of the workforce to care for family, and because super is a percentage of your salary, that means less super,” said Ms Keogh.

The change to MYOB’s parental leave policy is on top of its existing policy to pay eligible team members 12 weeks’ full salary and the Australian Government Paid Parental Leave Scheme offering up to 18 weeks of paid parental leave at the federal minimum weekly wage.

“It is great to see a significant employer like MYOB taking real steps to close the gender gap in superannuation savings for their staff,” said Pauline Vamos, CEO, the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA).

Ms Keogh said: “It is a sad reality that the majority of women currently retire with inadequate savings to fund a comfortable lifestyle throughout their retirement. I hope to see more organisations following the lead set by MYOB and others in addressing this issue."

She concluded: “By supporting our employees in both their personal and their professional lives we hope to not only retain our existing talent, but attract further talent to join our team. We encourage employers to think about ways they can work towards an equal future for all their employees."

Mitchell Turner

AUTHOR

You are not authorised to post comments.

Comments will undergo moderation before they get published.

accountants daily logo Newsletter

Receive breaking news directly to your inbox each day.

SUBSCRIBE NOW