Gender segregation in the workplace and its
impact on women’s economic equality
Joint submission by the
Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia
&
CEOs for Gender Equity
to the
Senate Standing Committees on Finance and Public
Administration
3 March 2017
1
About CCIWA
1.
The Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA (CCIWA) is the leading business association in
Western Australia with approximately 9000 members.
2.
CCIWA members operate across all industry sectors and throughout Western Australia with the
majority being private businesses, although we also have a significant proportion of members in the
not for profit sector and the government sector.
3.
CCIWA’s vision is to make WA a world leading place to live and do business. Essential to this is a
vibrant business community that is able to create employment and provide employees with an
equal opportunity to improve their standard of living.
4.
CCIWA is a foundation member of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and we
support their submission to this inquiry.
About CGE
5.
CEOs for Gender Equity (CGE) brings together influential Perth-based CEOs to improve gender
equity in Western Australia.
6.
CGE recognises that on average, women earn less and are under-represented in leadership and
management roles more so in WA than anywhere else in Australia.
7.
CGE sees an opportunity to boost women’s workforce participation and state productivity, and
increase the representation of women in management across all enterprises in WA. This is reflected
in CGE’s commitment to addressing gender equity in WA not only because it makes good business
sense, but because it makes good sense for the state.
8.
The CGE solution is to inspire and influence WA CEOs to put gender on the agenda, share what
works and does not work at an enterprise level and together campaign initiatives that turn the dial
in WA.
Introduction
9.
The Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Public Administration (the Committee) has invited
interested parties to make submissions in relation to gender segregation in the workplace and its
impact on women’s economic equality. CCIWA and CGE welcome the opportunity to provide the
Senate Committee with submissions regarding this issue.
10.
Our organisations recognise that the extent of industrial and occupational gender segregation in
Australia remains an ongoing problem and that gender stereotyping pervades different sectors of
national life including education, employment, health and familial relations.1
11.
Industrial segregation results largely from gender stereotyping, which begins from an early age in
Australia.2 The greater representation of males in higher paying industry sectors is a significant
contributor to the existing gender pay gap.
1
Cook RJ & Cusack S 2010, Gender Stereotyping: Transnational Legal Perspective, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia.
2
Anker R 1998, Gender and Jobs, Sex Segregation of Occupations in the World, International Labour Office, Geneva.
2
12.
Our organisations recognise that this is a serious community issue and that facilitating gender
equity in the workplace is critical for economic and social progress.
13.
It is CCIWA’s experience that employers are increasingly focussed on promoting equity in the
workforce, which is supported by the latest Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) report that
states 70 per cent of employers have policies in place to support gender equity.3
14.
However, there are aspects of government regulation and policy that inhibit greater gender equity
and it is the view of CCIWA and CGE that efforts should be made to remove these barriers. This
submission identifies the following options that should be considered by the Senate Committee,
including:
a. encouraging female participation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics
(STEM) subjects;
b. incentivising opportunities for men and women to develop careers in industries that are
typically dominated by the alternative gender;
c. in promoting workplace flexibility, government agencies place a greater focus on promoting
its broad application, removing its association solely with caring responsibilities;
d. encouraging government agencies to develop an accountability and performance framework
that measures outcomes versus inputs thus promoting flexibility in work practices;
e. the Federal Government review the operation of the industrial relations system for the
purpose of removing barriers to workplace flexibility;
f.
the Federal Government review the operation of the child care industry and examine the
options for reducing the regulation currently applicable to this sector in order to promote
flexible child care options that meet the needs of working parents. Some areas for possible
consideration include a consumer-directed funding model or creating one fund to consolidate
all childcare funding thus reducing the administrative cost of acquitting and regulating funding
for: long day care, OSHC, family day care;
g. ensuring that measures to professionalise and improve conditions in female dominated
occupations and industries are economically sustainable and not result in the diminution of
entry level employment opportunities;
h. to facilitate better superannuation savings, workers with broken work records should be
allowed to make top-up payments without penalty, along with allowing tax offsets for
employees who make contributions to their partner’s superannuation account, where the
partner is a low income earner;
i.
3
In the specific context of Western Australia, full deregulation of retail trading hours would
provide working families with greater flexibility, access to essential services and work-life
balance, which would in turn assist women in returning to higher paid, full-time roles.
Workplace Gender Equality Agency Gender Scorecard 2015-2016
3
STEM: Unconscious bias, education and awareness
15.
To effectively address the gender pay gap we must consider industrial and occupational segregation
in the context of culturally defined gender roles.
16.
A core focus of CGE’s activities are aimed at targeting gender inequality at its core and advocates
for cultural change that will shift the dial, as opposed to regulation, as this will move the dialogue
away from influencing cultural change and into the realm of compliance.
17.
STEM subjects tend to result in higher paid employment. As fewer girls than boys continue to elect
to study STEM subjects, the long term economic consequence for women is that they end up
working in roles that cannot sustain higher pay salaries. Likewise, males should be encouraged to
pursue subjects and careers that are commonly perceived as being female dominated.
18.
Gendered ideology strongly influences the subjects that young women and men select to focus on
during their high school, university, other training and apprenticeship courses.4 It is recommended
that the respective state and federal governments take action to rectify this imbalance, including:
a. inspiring and educating young girls so that they know they can pursue careers in traditionally
male dominated industries, and vice versa;
b. education of the public, and particularly of parents and school age people, in relation to their
subject choices;
c. a focus on encouraging young women to study STEM subjects at the primary, secondary and
tertiary sectors;
d. encouraging women to undertake STEM studies later in life; and
e. incentivising opportunities for men and women to develop careers in industries that are
typically dominated by the alternative gender; and
f.
19.
incentivising the uptake of teaching qualifications for professionals with STEM qualifications
in declining industries to transition to education as a vocation.
This is a longer-term shift in which a cultural change will be visible over time.
Part-time work and flexibility
20.
In terms of workforce participation, women comprise 46.2 per cent of all employees in Australia yet
they constitute 71.6 per cent of all part-time employees.5
21.
As most part-time workers are women, flexible working is ideologically associated with women and
caring responsibilities. Part-time work in Australian culture is often associated with the
prioritisation of caring responsibilities over workplace deliverables.
4
Anker R 1998, Gender and Jobs, Sex Segregation of Occupations in the World, International Labour Office, Geneva.
5
Workplace Gender Equality Agency Gender Scorecard 2015-2016.
4
22.
While flexibility in employment remains an important tool
in assisting women to balance work and family
responsibilities, it is increasingly being sought out by both
men and women for a wide variety of reasons.
23.
Therefore, there is a need to focus on promoting the
benefits of workplace flexibility on a gender-neutral basis,
with WGEA identifying through research that men feel
judged and less supported when working flexible hours.6
24.
We believe that encouraging both men and women to
work more flexibly will help remove the gendered nature of caring responsibilities, promote a more
equal division of labour and culturally shift the dialogue surrounding part-time work.
25.
Encouraging part-time and other flexible forms of work as a mainstream option for all employees
will reduce the stereotyping that may be associated with such work practices as well as promoting a
greater role for men in actively caring for their families.7
26.
To facilitate this shift we believe that there is a need to shift the gender stereotype associated with
workplace flexibility. Employers are increasingly taking steps to address this through the promotion
of work life integration strategies, which recognise that all employees can benefit by considering
how they can better integrate the demands of their work and personal life by adopting a more
flexible approach to work.
27.
However, the effectiveness of such approaches are often limited by the industrial relations system
that establishes a prescriptive approach to the regulation of work.
28.
The need for employers to be adaptive and flexible is driven by a range of external factors over
which the industrial relations system has no sway. These factors are diverse and include:
Demand for workplace flexibility
increasing amongst male workers.
CCIWA is increasingly receiving calls
from employers where male workers
are requesting to take parental leave in
order to become the primary care giver
of their child. This often occurs in blue
collar industries where the employee’s
income is lower than his partner’s.
a. changing technology that permits employees to work
remotely;
b. employees’ personal circumstances, which can change
regularly; and
c. changing cultural expectations as to how and when work
should be conducted.
Flexible start and finish times
CCIWA members regularly receive
requests from employees seeking to start
or finish work early in order to balance
their work and family responsibilities.
Many employers are force to deny these
requests because the relevant award
establishes additional payments where
employees start or finish work after a
prescribed time. Whilst employers and
employees can enter into individual
flexibility arrangements the current
inability to take into account nonmonetary benefits in assessing whether
employees are better off operates to the
detriment of many female workers.
29.
Frequently employers are prevented from accommodating an
employee’s request for flexibility as a result of the restrictions
imposed by the national system of modern awards. The inability
to accommodate these requests disproportionately impacts
female employees who often seek alternative working
arrangement to accommodate caring responsibilities.
30.
The impact of increased regulation is promoting what some
might consider ‘less secure’ employment and can be seen in the increased restrictions on the
engagement of part time employees.
6
Workplace Gender Equality Agency Gender Scorecard 2015-2016.
7
The Power of Flexibility: A key enabler to boost Gender Parity and Employee Engagement, Bain & Company and Chief Executive
Women.
5
31.
Most modern awards include provisions which require the hours worked by part time employees to
be established in writing upon commencement of employment, including identifying the days on
which work can be performed and commencement and finishing time.8 This is in marked contrast
to the rostering provisions for full time employees, which normally allow working hours to be
adjusted on a weekly or fortnightly basis, and casual employees for whole limited restrictions
apply.9
32.
By making part time work less flexible than full time and part time employment, the modern
awards disadvantage many women seeking to manage their work and family responsibilities. These
restrictions promote the offering of casual work, which is generally associated with lower security,
training opportunities and career structure.
33.
Modern awards further limit the skill development of women by limiting the opportunities for
apprentices to be engaged on a part time basis. Whilst state and territory training provisions
generally allow for part time apprenticeships the modern awards which regulate terms and
conditions of employment do not. Under most modern awards apprentices progress to the next
stage of their apprenticeship at least every 12 months. These increments are designed to
accommodate for the standard transition of a full time apprentice and do not accommodate for the
longer duration of part time apprenticeships. 10 This is despite the Fair Work Commission recently
reviewing the operation of apprentice arrangements in modern award to allow for competency
based wage progression. The resulting amendment allows for employees to progress through their
apprenticeship faster, but not slower, despite the limitation on part time apprenticeships being
raised.
34.
These provisions do not make it viable for employers to engage a part time apprentice as it results
in higher wages for part time workers compared to their full time counterparts at various stages of
the apprenticeship. This limits the opportunity for many women to move into trade occupations
where they have family responsibilities, further reinforcing industry segregation.
35.
To address these issues, we recommend that:
a. in promoting workplace flexibility, government agencies place a greater focus on portraying
its application on a basis that is not gendered or based wholly on caring duties;
b. the Federal Government review the operation of the industrial relations system for the
purpose of removing barriers to workplace flexibility.
Retail trading hours
36.
While it is a matter of state regulation, CCIWA recommends that the Committee consider the
impact of restricted retail trading hours on work-life balance and families in that:
a. women are more likely to be primary caregivers;
b. Western Australia prohibits retail stores from opening before 11am and after 5pm on a
Sunday, before 8am and after 9pm on a weekday, and before 8am and after 5pm on a
Saturday;
8
See clause 13 of the Manufacturing and Associated Industries and Occupations Award 2010
9
See clause 12 and 36 of the Manufacturing and Associated Industries and Occupations Award 2010
10
See clause 12.10 of the Electrical, Electronic and Communications Contracting Award 2010.
6
c. alongside other restrictions, the Committee should consider the Sunday hours in the context
of working parents trying to prepare for the week ahead; and
d. a CCIWA survey on retail trading hour reform revealed that in terms of Sunday, the majority
of consumers supported extended trading hours, with 54 per cent in favour, 18 per cent
neutral and 28 per cent opposing. Notably, these figures changed to 69 per cent in favour
when broken down by age to the 18-39 age group.11
37.
Increasing the ability for parents to access services which are essential to meeting the needs of
their family outside of their normal working hours better allows them to participate in work
activities that facilitate their career development. Given current societal norms, this will have the
greatest benefit for female employees.
Childcare
38.
CGE actively advocates for better access to quality and affordable childcare. Most women cite the
availability of quality and affordable childcare that they can access easily around their working
hours as the main reason to delay their return to work.12 This in turn impacts upon their career
progression, overall lifetime savings, and most notably superannuation.
39.
The current model of childcare in Australia is already subsidised by the government yet many
women still report that the cost of childcare renders their return to work uneconomical.
Furthermore, those women who can afford childcare report that the lack of flexibility of traditional
childcare in Australia impacts on their ability to complete
Cost and inflexibility of childcare – a
work and partake in ad-hoc practices such as networking,
corporate employee’s personal account
often resulting in the individual being overlooked for
“It wasn’t worth it anymore. I was
promotion.
spending more than three hours a day in
40.
There is a need in the market for an economically
sustainable system of childcare that provides greater
flexibility to accommodate the needs of working parents.
The needs of working parents are broad, as are their
working requirements. Currently the regulation of formal
childcare limits flexibility and is not focused on the need of
consumers. This prevents many women from returning to
work in industries which require flexible or alternative hour
arrangements.
41.
CGE urges the uptake by public and private enterprise of a new, more sustainable economic model
of less-regulated and more affordable crèches being placed in workplaces. The crèche model is
sustainable on the basis that the ‘parent on site’ model reduces the regulatory and cost burden on
the provider.
42.
The high award wages of the modern award, minimum engagement periods and ratio of employees
to infants also results in the high cost and inflexibility of the current childcare model. The Australian
Childcare Alliance explains that the cost of caring for an infant is very high and is subsidised by the
cost of caring for toddlers and older children. Removing infants from the childcare model would
result in reduced cost.13
the car in traffic, spending most of my
salary on childcare, and missing
networking opportunities, which were a
critical component of my work” – Female
employee of the Oil and Gas sector and
Primary carer to children ages 1 and 6
(Families’ Experiences of Childcare
Flexibility/ Inflexibility in a 24/7 Economy
Seminar UWA Business School, 22 July
2016)
11
Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia, ‘Retail Trading Survey’, 3 March 2017.
12
Families’ Experiences of Childcare Flexibility/ Inflexibility in a 24/7 Economy Seminar UWA Business School, 22 July 2017.
13
Meeting with the Australian Childcare Alliance Western Australia, 30 June 2016.
7
43.
There is also demand from parents for childcare facilities to be based at schools to reduce the
impact of multiple locations for drop off and collections for families with more than one child.
Furthermore, research indicates that primary carers would be more inclined to return to work at an
earlier date if they were able to regularly check in (and/or) breastfeed an infant at their work site.14
44.
CGE believes that the Federal Government should review the operation of the child care industry
and examine the options for reducing the regulation currently applicable to this sector in order to
promote flexible child care options that meet the needs of working parents. Some areas for
possible consideration include a consumer-directed funding model or creating one fund to
consolidate all childcare funding thus reducing the administrative cost of acquitting and regulating
funding for: long day care, OSHC, family day care. As part of this review, the Government should
also consider the barriers that currently limit the ability for employers to support employees with
caring responsibilities, including the application of fringe benefit tax on employer sponsored child
care.
45.
Access to affordable child care is also currently being threatened by a claim by a number of unions
for an equal remuneration order under section 302 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). The claim
seeks a 30 per cent increase to the rates of pay for child care workers that, if successful, will further
increase the cost of child care. Whilst claims of this nature are aimed at increasing wages in a
traditionally female dominated industry, it threatens to increase wages to a level which is not
economically viable. This would negatively impact upon the viability of the industry and result in
fewer jobs in the formal child care industry, pushing many existing workers into the informal child
care system which offers less security and opportunity for professional development.
46.
CCIWA therefore cautions that measures to professionalise and improve conditions in female
dominated occupations and industries needs to be economically sustainable and should not result
in the diminution of entry level employment opportunities for those with limited skills or
qualifications.
Superannuation
47.
In order to help address the issue of lower superannuation income, CGE urges the government, in
line with the suggestion from KPMG, to allow those with broken work records to make top-up
payments without penalty.15
48.
Furthermore, tax offsets should be associated with contributions made by an employee to their
partner’s superannuation account, where the partner is a low income earner. This will largely
benefit women.
49.
The above are simple measures that can be taken by individuals, with minimal impact to
government revenue, that could significantly improve women’s economic standing at retirement.
14
Families’ Experiences of Childcare Flexibility/ Inflexibility in a 24/7 Economy Seminar UWA Business School, 22 July 2017.
15
August 2016 ‘The Super gender gap: a significant issue for equality in retirement’, KPMG.
8