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Gender Segregation in the Workplace and Its Impact on Women's Economic Equality

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Gender Segregation in the Workplace and Its Impact on Women's Economic Equality The Senate Finance and Public Administration References Committee Gender segregation in the workplace and its impact on women's economic equality June 2017 © Commonwealth of Australia 2017 ISBN 978-1-76010-568-6 Senate Finance and Public Administration Committee Secretariat: Ms Lyn Beverley (Secretary) Mr Tasman Larnach (Principal Research Officer) Ms Joy McCann (Senior Research Officer) Ms Margaret Cahill (Research Officer) Ms Nicole Baxter (Administrative Officer) The Senate PO Box 6100 Parliament House Canberra ACT 2600 Ph: 02 6277 3530 Fax: 02 6277 5809 E-mail: [email protected] Internet: www.aph.gov.au/senate_fpa This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia License. The details of this licence are available on the Creative Commons website: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/au/. Printed by the Senate Printing Unit, Parliament House, Canberra. ii Membership of the Committee Members Senator Jenny McAllister (Chair) ALP, NSW Senator James Paterson (Deputy Chair) LP, VIC Senator Kimberley Kitching ALP, VIC Senator Bridget McKenzie NAT, VIC Senator Lisa Singh ALP, TAS Senator Lee Rhiannon AG, NSW Participating Senators Senator Skye Kakoschke-Moore NXT, SA Senator Sue Lines ALP, WA Senator Claire Moore ALP, QLD iii Table of contents Membership of the Committee ........................................................................ iii Abbreviations ..................................................................................................... ix List of Recommendations .................................................................................. xi Executive Summary .......................................................................................... xv Chapter 1.............................................................................................................. 1 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 1 Referral ................................................................................................................... 1 Conduct of the inquiry ............................................................................................ 1 Scope of the inquiry ................................................................................................ 2 Acknowledgement .................................................................................................. 2 Chapter 2.............................................................................................................. 3 Nature and extent of gender segregation in Australia .................................... 3 Definition of gender segregation ............................................................................ 4 Horizontal segregation in Australia ........................................................................ 4 Vertical segregation in Australia ............................................................................ 7 Measuring gender segregation ................................................................................ 9 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 12 Chapter 3............................................................................................................ 13 Factors driving workplace gender segregation in Australia ........................ 13 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 13 Structural and systemic factors ............................................................................. 14 Social norms and stereotypes ............................................................................... 23 Chapter 4............................................................................................................ 33 Economic consequences of gender segregation for women .......................... 33 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 33 Male industries are better paid than female industries ......................................... 33 Gender segregation and the pay gap in Australia ................................................. 38 Equal remuneration and the Fair Work Commission ........................................... 43 Chapter 5............................................................................................................ 49 Approaches to addressing gender segregation and equal remuneration in comparable jurisdictions .................................................................................. 49 Introduction .......................................................................................................... 49 Gender stereotypes and career choices ................................................................. 49 Women's employment .......................................................................................... 50 Equal remuneration in international jurisdictions ................................................ 51 Chapter 6............................................................................................................ 57 Conclusions and recommendations ................................................................. 57 National policy framework for Pay Equity .......................................................... 58 Reforms to Fair Work Act 2009 ........................................................................... 59 Reforms to Fair Work Commission ..................................................................... 60 Career exploration and guidance .......................................................................... 61 Gender data reporting ........................................................................................... 61 Government senators' dissenting and additional comments ........................ 63 Increasing women's workforce participation ........................................................ 64 Meeting the science and technology challenge .................................................... 65 Women in leadership ............................................................................................ 66 Response to majority report recommendations .................................................... 66 Appendix 1 ......................................................................................................... 71 Submissions and additional information received by the committee .......... 71 Submissions .......................................................................................................... 71 Tabled Documents ................................................................................................ 72 Additional Information ......................................................................................... 72 Answers to Questions taken on Notice ................................................................. 72 Appendix 2 ......................................................................................................... 73 Public hearings .................................................................................................. 73 Appendix 3 ......................................................................................................... 77 Summary of Australian models and initiatives .............................................. 77 Australian Public Service ..................................................................................... 77 Industry-led initiatives .......................................................................................... 78 Abbreviations ACCI Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry ACTU Australian Council of Trade Unions AFEI Australian Federation of Employers and Industries AHRC Australian Human Rights Commission AICD Australian Institute of Company Directors Ai Group Australian Industry Group AMWU Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union ANMF Australian Nursing & Midwifery Federation APS Australian Public Service APSC Australian Public Service Commission ASU Australian Services Union BCEC BankWest Curtin Economics Centre, Curtin University CEO Chief Executive Officer CPSU Community and Public Sector Union DCA Diversity Council Australia DET Department of Education and Training DoE Department of Employment eS4W economic Security4Women EU European Union GOS Graduate Outcomes Survey HILDA Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia ILO International Labour Organisation IMF International Monetary Fund ix KMP Key Management Personnel NCOSS NSW Council of Social Service NCVER National Centre for Vocational Education Research NFAW National Foundation for Australian Women NTEU National Tertiary Education Union OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development PA Professionals Australia PFA Police Federation of Australia PISA Programme for International Student Assessment PM&C Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet PPL Paid Parental Leave SDA Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association STEM Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics TWC Tasmanian Women's Council UK United Kingdom VET Vocational education and training VWT Victorian Women's Trust VTHC Victorian Trades Hall Council WGEA Workplace Gender Equality Agency W+FPR Work + Family Policy Roundtable x List of Recommendations Recommendation 1 6.13 The committee recommends that the
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