Lisa Wilkinson’s speech to 350 pub guests for International Women’s Day

Elusive television host Lisa Wilkinson has delivered an impressive, inspirational speech about the gender pay gap to hundreds of women at a pub lunch.

Television host Lisa Wilkinson delivered a speech about the gender pay gap to hundreds of women at a pub lunch.

Lisa Wilkinson delivered a powerful speech last week as hundreds of women gathered for a $140-per-head pub lunch in Queensland.

The television personality addressed a crowd of 350 women at Brisbane’s Eatons Hill Hotel on Friday as a guest of the Moreton Bay Region’s Industry and Tourism body.

The 63-year-old, who has been laying low while fighting a high-profile defamation case, spoke candidly on the importance of closing the gender pay gap and linked it to the startling volume of women over age 55 facing homelessness.

“The numbers are horrific. The growing number of homeless women over 55 is a direct result of the gender pay gap and its contribution to superannuation,” Wilkinson told the audience, Moreton Daily reported.

Lisa Wilkinson spoke to hundreds of women in Brisbane on Friday. Picture: Wendell Teodoro/Getty Images for Moulin Rouge! The Musical

She highlighted how the gap only widened further when you combined women’s salaries and super.

“It’s not just about the fairness of equal work for equal pay – when you put together superannuation and a woman’s salary over time.”

Wilkinson expressed confidence in pay equality being positively impacted by having “more women in positions of real power”.

She spoke on excelling early in her media career, becoming Dolly magazine’s youngest editor at age 21 and later transitioning into TV where she infamously lobbied to be paid the same as her Today co-host Karl Stefanovic.

Lisa Wilkinson discussed her battle for equal pay with Today co-host Karl Stefanovic. Picture: Nigel Hallett

While she had taken powerful stance in the arena of pay equality, Wilkinson said the thing that gave her the “greatest satisfaction is the opportunity to work with and encourage new young talent”.

“For me, there’s no greater thrill as a boss than identifying young talent, teaching them the ropes and then watching them fly.”

She encouraged the audience to choose their “people” wisely, and to not be afraid “to edit the people you have in your life”.

Wilkinson also urged the crowd to “please, please make mistakes, because often when you make mistakes that’s when you grow”.

Linking arms with other women, she said, unleashed an “extraordinary” force.

Wilkinson said mentoring young talent satisfied her the most. Picture: Ten

Wilkinson has remained off Ten’s screens in the last two months however is understood to be still on the network’s books.

It has been speculated she has still been receiving her full salary, which was reported to be upwards of $1.7 million a year.

If the figure is accurate, she has potentially made about $280,000 during her two-month hiatus.

It’s unclear what reimbursement she received for her pub speech, if any, with ticket prices also covering a two-course lunch with drinks and access to a networking event from 2.30pm to 5pm. The number of tickets sold was also not available.