There are fresh calls for the Fair Work Commission to review the value of women’s work in Australian society as the pandemic shines a light on how many are underpaid and overworked.

Melbourne businesswoman and Reserve Bank of Australia board member Carol Schwartz has called for more to be done to close the gender pay gap – particularly in lower paid female-dominated and “indispensable roles” such as nursing, aged care, childcare and teaching – by strengthening the Commission’s mandate in this area.