Shivani on the 2022 budget - whats in it for women in business

With the budget this year aiming to scale back on 2021 spending, it’s left many women and small business owners questioning what support can be expected for them. Our Founder and CEO Shivani Gopal commented on these topics in this Smart Company  article.

“The budget appears to have many issues left on the table: especially for women in business.

“Superannuation payments on PPL would barely make a dent in the budget, but it would go a long way in meeting women’s superannuation gap, often at a third of men’s superannuation balances by the time of retirement. This issue was addressed heavily in March of this year, yet left untouched in last night’s announcement.

“Watching the budget I was encouraged to see support in funding for violence against women initiatives, families and childcare. But I earnestly waited for announcements of support for key areas in which women need additional investment: leadership, STEM and entrepreneurship, but towards the end of the speech it dawned on me: there is nothing coming for us.

“The ‘why’ of these support measures can be quantified in numbers: women make up less than 35% of key management personnel according to WGEA, despite being 50% of the population. Women earn less than 3% of the world’s VC capital, and Australia’s VC opportunities are slimmer still, compared to the VC global appetite.

“Women in business appear to have moved off the back of tonight’s budget, from being an afterthought to being forgotten altogether. We welcome support for families. Bit news flash 2022 Labor Government: not all parents are mothers. Not all women want to be mothers. As voting citizens, they need budgetary support too.”