General

Equity Issues

Equal Pay even further away

By Sharan Burrow
ACTU President

DEBATE was ignited last week about the role of women - to be a mother, to have a career or to do both and try to balance the two often conflicting roles. In today's working environment, it is a difficult choice that women are far too often forced to make.

The work-life balance that we crave has become as important to this generation as equality in the workforce was to the previous generation. Unfortunately, neither has been achieved for most women.

According to a recent global report measuring inequalities between men and women, Australia has a long way to go to become a world leader at reducing the gender divide.

Alarmingly, women still do not receive equal pay for equal work and changes to IR laws last year has meant that achieving this may be further out of reach. In the report, produced by the World Economic Forum, Australia was ranked 45 out of 115 countries when measuring wage equality for similar work. Clearly, our workforce was designed by men of another era for men of another era.

In spite of the rhetoric from industry and government, opportunities for women have not improved greatly in the past 20 years. Women, particularly professionals, continue to earn less than men, fewer women hold senior roles and work culture continues to be an impediment to promotion.

Workplace culture is often seen as the obstacle to career advancement for women. Long working hours, competing in male-dominated industries and workplaces, a lack of female role models in senior positions, little access to further education and training all affect career advancement.

Professional women faced with these challenges are also less likely to have children than their counterparts who are working in family-friendly workplaces.

A supportive workplace culture and flexible conditions, including working hours, will always be critical to women trying to achieve a work-life balance.

Women are unfortunately often pressured to make career versus family choices and are likely to marry and have children much later in life than a generation ago. A recent Productivity Commission report showed that Australia had the eighth lowest participation rate of women in childbearing years between 25 and 44 among OECD countries.

The Australian economy is suffering the deficit of lower workforce participation by women compared with other OECD nations, and this is likely to worsen under the Howard Government's industrial relations laws.

Excessive work hours have led to an exodus of professionals overseas, looking for better pay and working conditions.

Employees want improved work-life balance. In a survey released this month, 88 per cent of respondents said they did not get paid extra for working late.

We must reform our workforce with family-friendly measures. Periods of permanent part-time work, extended parental leave and affordable child care are essential. Government and employers as well as families will reap the economic and social benefit of such a model offered - if they just had the courage and desire to do so.

Sharan Burrow - ACTU president.

© 2001 Community & Public Sector Union - State Public Services Federation (CPSU-SPSF) - National Office

http://www.cpsu-spsf.asn.au/latest_news/general/20070122_women.html
Last Modified: 22 Jan 2007