This week's topic for The Sun-Herald's weekly column The Loaded Dog is:

New global research has found Australian women rank best for access to education, equal pay and childcare and are the most ''economically empowered'' in the world. Yet they are being paid 17 per cent less than men. Are Australian women enjoying new-found power in the workforce? Or do the barriers to women participating in the workforce remain?

We invite entries of no more than 150 words. Please send them to loadeddog@sunherald.com.au by 10am on Friday.

Please include your full name, email address, telephone number and the suburb where you live.

With a nod to Henry Lawson's popular tale of the same name, The Loaded Dog is a forum for readers to debate a set topic each week.

Kate Cox, Editor