“When asked
about a range of job attributes, women placed most value on having a job where
they would be treated with respect (80%), where their job was secure (80%),
where the job paid well (65%), was interesting (64%) and offered the
flexibility they might need (62%). The majority of women viewed their job as
being useful to society (69%) and felt that their job allowed them to ‘help
others’ (73%). Two in five working women (43%) said they felt stressed at work,
with it more likely being an issue for younger women, those still in education,
and those in lower paid or casual roles. One in five women (20%) said they felt
isolated at work, particularly those self-employed and working at home.
Two-thirds of women said they received paid sick (67%) and annual leave (65%).
Fewer received paid parental leave (42%) and paid carers leave (43%), and one
in five women were unaware whether or not they received these entitlements at
work.”
[Marian Baird et al, 2018, Women and the Future of Work: Report1of The Australian Women’s Working
Futures Project, p.4]
University of
Sydney, News and Opinion, Significant
gaps between working women's career goals and reality, 6 March 2018:
First study to examine
women and future of work
Australian workplaces
are not ready to meet young women's career aspirations or support their future
success, according to a new national report by University of Sydney
researchers.
“We are talking more
about robots than we are about women in the future of work debate – this must
change,” said co-author of the report, Professor
Rae Cooper.
Launched today,
the Women and the Future of Work report reveals the gaps
and traps between young working women’s aspirations and their current working
realities.
“There are significant
gaps in job security, respect, access to flexibility and training,” said Dr Elizabeth Hill, co-author of the report.
“Government, businesses
and industry need to step up and take action so that our highly educated and
highly skilled young women are central to the future of work.”
The team of researchers
from the University of Sydney’s Women, Work &
Leadership Research Group, surveyed more than 2000 working women aged 16 to
40, who were representative of the workforce nationally.
The report is the first
of its kind and found that young women were generally not concerned about job
loss as a result of automation and economic change.
“Almost two-thirds of
the women we surveyed said they didn’t fear robots coming for their jobs in the
future,” Professor Cooper said.
“Our national debate
about the future of work is too often a hyper-masculinised, metallic version of
work.
“For young women, their
picture of the future workforce is quite different: they see themselves
balancing family and work commitments, and having long, meaningful careers. For
this to be a reality, we need mutually beneficial flexibility in all
workplaces.”
Respect and access to
flexibility critical for women
The survey found being
treated with respect and having job security were critical to ensuring young
women’s future careers.
Despite 90 percent of
women identifying access to flexibility as important, only 16 percent strongly
agreed that they have access to the flexibility they need.
“Young women workers are
generally optimistic about work and ready to contribute,” Dr Hill said. “But
they find themselves caught in gaps between what they need and what the
workforce offers.”
The majority of working
women report that developing the right skills and qualifications is important
for success at work (92 percent). However, only 40 percent said they can access
affordable training to equip them for better jobs.
“Public policy settings,
while improving, remain inadequate,” Dr Hill said. “Projected growth in
feminised, low-paid jobs in health care and social assistance suggests an
urgent need for government action to ensure these jobs meet the criteria of
decent work.
“Current trends toward
fragmentation and the contracting out of employment are undermining many of the
criteria of decent work, making this a pressing policy issue for gender
equality in the future of work,” Dr Hill said.
More women than robots
in future workplaces
The survey also
indicated young women often feel ‘disrespected’ by senior colleagues and
supervisors because of their gender. This was the case both for highly paid
professionals and low‐paid
workers.
Ten percent of
respondents said they were experiencing sexual harassment in their current
workplace. Some groups of women reported higher rates of harassment including:
*
women currently studying (14 percent compared to 8 percent who are not
studying)
*
women living with a disability (18 percent compared to 9 percent not living
with a disability)
*
women born in Asia or culturally and linguistically diverse women (16 percent
compared to 8 percent who are not culturally or linguistically diverse).
“Employers need to
commit and act to create workplaces where women are respected and valued for
their expertise,” Professor Cooper said.
“There will be more
women than robots in the future of work. It’s time that households, government,
businesses and employers listen to them.”
Dr Hill said: “We are
urgently calling on the government to facilitate and implement a public policy
framework that supports young women’s career aspirations.
“We need to work towards
a future where women are valued in the workplace and for their work.”
The study was funded by
the University of Sydney’s Sydney
Research Excellence Initiative 2020. It was authored by the Co-Directors of
the University’s Women, Work & Leadership Research Group, Professor
Marian Baird and Professor Rae Cooper, with Dr Elizabeth Hill, Professor Ariadne Vromen and Professor Elspeth Probyn.
The data collection and
analysis for this research focused on working 16-40 year old Australians, and
was undertaken by Ipsos Australia. It was collected in September-November 2017,
and includes: a nationally representative online survey of 2,100 women; a
survey of 500 men; a booster survey of 50 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
women; and five in-person focus groups of working women.
Full report
can be found here.
“At the time
of study, women with the following characteristics were found as being less
likely to be working (noting that the first of these characteristics may be
age-related):
- Those who have only completed secondary school (70%
compared to 86% of those who have completed tertiary education, for example);
- Those living at home with parents (71% compared to
84% of those living in their own home);
- Women with disability (74% compared with 82% of those
without disability);
- Culturally and Linguistically Diverse women (75% in
comparison to 82% of women who are not Culturally and Linguistically Diverse);
and
- Low-income earners (70% of those earning below
$40,000 as opposed to 88% of those earning above $80,000, for example).”
[Marian Baird et al, 2018, Women and the Future of Work: Report1of The Australian Women’s Working
Futures Project, p.18]
