Sexism still exists
IF YOU were an employer and had two resumes exactly the same, except one belonged to a Mary Smith and the other to a John Smith, who would you choose?
Experts say an overwhelming number of people would choose John Smith because often men are seen to be more capable.
This is one of the reasons why National Council of Women member Elise Stephenson wants to instigate change.
"In general it's simply the way our society is structured," she said.
"It makes me angry that this is the accepted way to treat our society by devaluing women."
University of Queensland political science professor Gillian Whitehouse said sexism still existed and was often subtle.
She also said employers often made subtle assumptions about women and their capacity and commitment to a job because there was the possibility they would need leave to have children.
"Parenthood does have a negative impact on women but not men usually," she said.
Prof Whitehouse said people in the 1950s assumed the equal pay debate would have been solved within a few decades.
"It's certainly taking a longer time to erode than we would have first thought."
