...prowess or the fact she was the most powerful women in Australia, the focus was squarely on her appearance (News Ltd, 2014). This is just one of the many obstacles women face when striving for equality in the workplace. This paper will explore the disadvantages women face in the workplace, including the gender pay gap, the under representation of women in senior leadership roles and sexual harassment. A plan to address these disadvantages will be outlined and justification of why it will work will be provided. At the outbreak of world war one far fewer women than men participated in work, and they tended to be lower-paid domestic occupations, as the women’s main role was seen to be in the home. The withdrawal of approximately half a million men, most of who had been in the workforce, still did not result in their direct replacement with women. Women’s contribution to the workforce rose, but the increase was in traditional areas of women work, for example in the clothing and footwear industry. Unions were unwilling to let women join the workforce in greater numbers in traditional male roles as they feared it would lead to a lowering of wages (Adam-Smith, 1996). Since the early 1900’s the country has come a long way and developed at a rate faster than anyone expected, take for example technology, people are walking around with the computing power that put a man on the moon in their pocket, yet in 2014 there is still gender inequality in the workplace. Lack of pay equity and...
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...(12188874) WORKPLACE GENDER EQUALITY INTRODUCTION: In earlier century, the role and importance of women were totally different as compared to today because in the past, there was a general belief that the man was responsible to take care of woman in all sense as men are stronger than women. But today situations has been advance, women have various duties related to inside of home and outside of home. In the past, women have handled only the household area and they have been restricted to go outside for earning money but due to globalization, the role of women have been changed and women are being capable to work in all areas like economical, business, political, social and many more with same responsibilities and duties like men. Nowadays, “Gender Equality” is one of the debatable issues. Gender equality means men and women get equal importance, value, rights, treatments, positions and opportunities irrespective of their gender. Gender equality is obtained when people are being capable of getting equal awards, benefits, means, freedom, scope and chance nevertheless even if they are men or women. In the latest era, most of the countries in the world have shaped symbolic development in the direction of gender equality. The main purpose of gender equality is to obtain just identical results for both male and female and not the uniform results for all human beings in the workplace. Due to all these reasons and to control the situations, the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 is...
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...There are some countries which are neither improving nor declining in the climb for gender equality. Germany, Austria, and Rwanda are examples of this. 1. Traditionally, women in Germany are believed to just stay at home, take good care of their children, go to church with the family, and cook for them (Goordeeva, 2017). However, women and men now receive equal pay because of a campaign called the Gender Pay Gap Campaign. Before, not many women had jobs, but there is a changing pattern in employment tradition for women. The share of female graduates went up, legal protection for all sexual harassment was established. Although, some areas still need to be addressed for lack of child care facilities. 2. Austria is both doing well and bad in...
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...discuss the major issues in today’s society. The fight for gender equality remains a prominent issue of the 21st century. Historically, gender equality has been seen as a “woman’s issue," as women have long been the driving force behind the struggle. This view has contributed to the perception that the equal treatment of men and women can only be achieved by abolishing the stereotypes placed on women by our society. In reality, gender equality will never be achieved unless the social expectations and stereotypes imprisoning men change. This includes eliminating the expectation of men to exercise power, aggressiveness and control in all aspects of life, as well as changing the traditional perception of manhood, allowing men to freely express emotion and even vulnerability. As young men and women, we have a responsibility to change these social norms and stereotypes that restrict men and boys to certain roles, thus causing changes for women and girls too, resulting in the equal treatment of both genders. Social expectations and gender specific stereotypes socialise males into roles that promote aggressiveness, power and control from a young age. As a result, many males grow up believing that dominant and aggressive behaviour towards girls and women is part of being a man. This undoubtedly links to the fact that 90% of all assaults and 95% of all domestic violence cases in Australia are committed by men. Also, in Australia alone, 80 to 100 women die each year at the hands of their...
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...Contents Topic 3 Introduction 4 Gender Equality in Workplace 5 Conclusion: 11 References List: 12 Topic Gender equality in the workplace is still a major issue of concern in many countries, including Australia. What is it that makes this such an apparently impossible issue to resolve? Critically examine the implications, of this gender inequality, for efficient and effective work and management practices in companies today. Introduction Gender inequality issue originates from Christian ideology, which advocates traditional thought of “male superiority to female”. In the workplace, gender inequality causes unequal treatment between male and female employees, such as women are typically more difficult to get promotions than male; they do the same work as male but get paid less than men, they even suffer from other issues such as sexual harassment. Sexual harassment exists in most countries including Australia. As long as the society couldn’t reach to gender equality, people’s human rights will be threatened whether people in the workplace, or anywhere else. This essay introduces the histories and background of gender equality, and further examines the gender equality improvement in Australia, as well as the effects of this issue in the workplace. Moreover, there also several suggestions for companies on gender equality promotion and related policies making. Gender Equality in Workplace Grown (2003, p.2) claims that the term ‘Gender Equality’ narrates the measureable...
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...ATTITUDES TOWARDS WOMEN=S ROLES – MONFRIES & SCEVAK 1 Australian Journal of Educational & Developmental Psychology. Vol 1, 2001, pp 1-9 Developmental differences in attitudes towards women=s roles in = Australian Society: Critical periods for Afeminist@ socialisation. @ Melissa M. Monfries & Jill. J. Scevak Faculty of Education, University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia ABSTRACT Gender role attitudes of adolescent girls have not been widely studied, nor have the mechanisms by which attitudes towards women’s roles develop. The present study focussed on adolescent girls’ gender role attitudes. Specifically it focussed on developmental differences in gender role attitudes of adolescent girls (n=642). The results indicated that Year 9 girls had significantly more positive attitudes towards feminism than Year 11 girls. These findings have important implications for girls’ career development. Results suggest that there is a critical period between Years 9 and 11 which accounts for girls’ increased conservatism towards feminism. The integral involvement of socialisation processes is necessarily implicated in this critical period. INTRODUCTION Group identification has been strongly associated with an individual's level of group consciousness (Henderson-King & Stewart, 1994). Tajfel (1978; 1982) specified that the two important components of group identification were the awareness of one's group membership and the evaluative stance towards one's membership in that group...
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...Factors Contributing To Pay Gaps in Australia Name: Institutional Affiliation: Introduction Factors that contribute to the pay gap in Australia and why the difference is more significant in some industry sectors than others. The labor market is composed participants who are basically men and women. The rewards of the labor market are wages. The concept of wages is complex and has to be considered critically by employers. One of the greatest concerns in the labor market has been the disparities in the mean income between men and women. Differences between wages received by participants in the labor market is measured by the gender pay gap. The differences arises due to various aspects that differ from one organization to the next (Cohen 2007). In Australia for example, the wages pay gap is computed on the basis of full-time weekly earnings excluding overtime and salary sacrificed pay. Currently, the wage pay gap in Australia stands at 17.5%. The gap has been fluctuating with small margins but the figure has remained unchanged overtime. Differences in income levels of men and women are, for this reason, an important economic and industrial aspect worth consideration. In order to address the disparities in the pay gaps, it is important to examine the possible reasons as to the existence of remuneration differences between men and women. Why does the difference exist? Well, the answer to such a query is often critical and complex. However, the real explanation is the fact...
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...Introduction This cross-societal report will discuss the comparisons between the Italian family structure and the Australian family structure in regards to the gender division of household labor, family authority and paid employment and education. This report looks at literature about the two cultures from a Euro/Western point of view and does not touch on the indigenous cultures of their countries. 1. Household labor division 1.1 The Italian household’s, labor division. It is generally deemed that Italians have large families with many children. In Italy when a child is born the mother or woman of the home will re-organise her life to accommodate the new arrival. Palomba and Sabbadini (1994, as cited in Hennon & Wilson, 2008) calculated that the arrival of each child will add an extra hour a day to the responsibilities of the mother. The more children an Italian family has the less time the mother has for her own basic needs. It is customary that the Italian woman reduces her hours of paid work to accommodate the needs of the family and the tasks of running a home. Instead of sharing the workload the Italian family man will increase his work commitments to accommodate the growth of the family and the loss of income (ibid). The young Italian male is raised in an environment where there are real differences in what each gender is expected to do to contribute to the home. The Italian male would not be expected to help out with * caring for the children * household cleaning ...
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...last thirty decades society society’s thoughts on gender have changed significantly on the surface. With the last two feminist waves dating back to the sixties and extending up until the nineties, protests have seen women’s rights, and in accordance, roles in society change dramatically. (Roth, 2004) They fought to distance themselves from the oppressing male ideals that women were only seen as “wives, mothers or maids,” to instead also be seen as “lovers, friends and comrades.” (Roth, 2004:82) In current society, “women generally don’t find themselves having to choose just one role for themselves. A woman can be wife, mother, entrepreneur, professional, career-minded, and any number of other things all at the same time…” (Amos, 2010) The man’s role in society has also changed vastly in the past thirty years from sole-earner to primary-earner in most cases, as well as fathers who are more involved in raising the family and assisting in domestic chores. Even with these shifts traditional gender roles are just below the surface. Ms. Wingo, with whom I chose to compare the change of gender roles, grew up being taught that women had to date and marry a man, and that he would take care of her. That was the role of the woman; find and marry a man who will take care of her financially while she looked after the home and raised the children. There was no allowance for wanting a life of her own, or to allow for a partner of the same gender. It was against social culture at the time for...
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...Socialisation is similar to Social Darwinism. The application of evolutionary laws of natural selection to human societies to 'explain' social processes and behaviours. Spencer coined the term 'survival of the fittest' (often misattributed to Darwin) to describe how Darwin’s ideas about natural selection in nature can be used to explain social processes and behaviours. Socialisation as a term refers to a process that is of critical importance in development of the individual person and in the functioning of groups and societies. (Hunt, P. 3) A major theme is the socialisation process has been the of social structure and value orientations on patterns of child rearing. (P.30.) Agencies of socialisation are where socialisation occurs within, these agencies or social networks aid in the social construction of an individual. The primary socialisation (refers to the socialisation of babies and young children, and mainly occurs within the family) is the family. The family is a child’s first reference group. Families are diverse and their style of parenting reflects cultural, class, ethnic, and religious differences. (Rogoff, P55) Other members of the family’s social network, such as neighbours, also have an influence on behaviour, attitudes and values through their provision of positive and negative representations. It includes all those who are included in the family’s primary social network, such as neighbours, grandparents, close family friends, cousins. (Hunt, P. 33.) ...
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...The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/0142-5455.htm Mentoring for gender equality and organisational change Jennifer de Vries and Claire Webb Organisational and Staff Development Services, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia, and Mentoring for gender equality 573 Joan Eveline Business School, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia Abstract Purpose – There is considerable literature about the impact of mentoring on the mentees but little is known about the effect of the mentoring relationship on the mentor. This paper aims to address that gap. Design/methodology/approach – Interviews with 15 mentors and survey responses from 128 mentees are used to examine a formal mentoring programme. Most emphasis is on the perspective of the mentors, raising questions about how they view outcomes for themselves and their mentees, as well as the effects of mentoring on the workplace culture over time. Questions about the mentoring relationship, including gender differences, are analysed against the background of a decade-long organisational change strategy. Findings – Mentors report significant benefits for themselves and the mentee as well as the organisation itself as a result of their participation. The findings suggest that a long-term mentoring programme for women has the potential to be an effective organisational change intervention. In particular, men involved in that programme increased...
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...The Diversity & Inclusion Study A Survey of Companies of Australia and New Zealand July 2013 Contents Introduction������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������3 Executive summary������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������4 Demographics����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������6 Structure of Diversity & Inclusion�������������������������������������������������������������������7 Compensation 2013�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������13 Experience of a Diversity Manager���������������������������������������������������������������� 14 Diversity and Inclusion in Organisation Today��������������������������������������������� 16 Outlook������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������21 About the Survey Partners�����������������������������������������������������������������������������25 2 Introduction In April 2013, Korn/Ferry and Futurestep, in association with Diversity Council Australia (DCA), conducted a study of Diversity Managers and Human Resource leaders. The survey, the first of its kind conducted in Australia and New Zealand, aims to provide insight into the profile of the diversity function within organisations; on the professionals leading diversity within business...
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...Explain the linkages between the business case and moral case for diversity in organisations. Support your key arguments by sourcing ‘diversity statements disseminated/ publicised by Australian organisations to justify their claims for managing diversity. Diversity itself remains an unclear concept. It is contextually specific and linked to demographic and socio-political features of the population and the workforce. Diversity is a selective concept in that some, but not all physical characteristics are incorporated into Managing Diversity programs (Moore 1999). Diversity also has invisible and hidden aspects that include culture and attitudes (Moore 1999). Managing Diversity programs in general mimic or reflect legislative programs that prohibit discrimination and encourage Equal Employment Opportunities within the workplace, and hence many Managing Diversity programs support such groups as women, ethnic minorities, older workers and people with a disability. There is a tension between diversity as a factor that generates forms of exclusion and inferior material outcomes in the labour market, and diversity as a factor that can be harnessed towards improving organisational performance. While diversity is embedded in worker difference and notions of equality and justice, the broader equity goals linked to Managing Diversity are not necessarily the terms by which Managing Diversity programs are assessed within the organisation. The Moral case has often been expressed in terms...
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...INTRODUCTION This paper focuses on 3 current trends occurring in the Australian labour market, analysing their causes and effects. The chosen trends are structural unemployment, gender pay gap and skill shortage. The main causes of the first trend are increase demand for services and technological change, which have led us into a new era where highly skilled labour force is needed to operate more complex machineries and computer systems. The rapid technological change has caused structural unemployment, with workers willing to work but cannot because of their lack of required skills. The second trend, gender pay gap, illustrates how wide the pay gap between males and females is until today. The main causes of this current direction are the persisting stereotype of the male brad-winner, the feminisation of some particular industry and more importantly non-union collective agreement. The results of this general direction limit the potentials of the Australian national income and create a culture of discrimination. The third and last trend, skill shortage, is generated by cut in investment in skill development, difficulties in retaining the employees and variation of demand for labour. These phenomenons foster inefficiency and impossibility to produce at full employment of resources. TREND 1: STRUCTURAL UNEMPLOYMENT One of the major trends that can be noticed in the Australian labour market is the steady presence of structural unemployment. Most of the definitions...
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...conduct by a person who stands in a position of power in relation to him or her”. [O’Callaghan v Loder (no 2) [1983] 3 NSW LR 89 at 92] The Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) makes sexual harassment unlawful. Sexual harassment continues to be a gender issue where one third of the women have experienced some kind of harassment from the age of 15 compared to one in ten men. (AHRC 2008 National Survey finidings) Nearly one in five complaints received by the Australian Human Rights Commission under theSex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) relate to sexual harassment. The vast majority of these take place in the workplace.2 (Australian Human Rights Commission, 'Annual Report 2006-2007') A telephone poll commissioned by the Commission in 2003 found that over 28 per cent of women had experienced sexual harassment in the workplace, compared to seven per cent of men. Less than one third of interviewees from the Commission's telephone survey who experienced sexual harassment in the workplace made a formal report or complaint about the sexual harassment. (Australian Human Rights Commission, '20 Years On: The Challenges Continue, Sexual Harassment in the Australian Workplace' (2004)) One of the many findings of the 2008 listening tour is that in Australia 22% of women and 5% of men aged 18-64 have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace in their lifetime, compared to 28% of women and 7% of men in 2003. A...
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