Intro
In Australia, gender inequality still exists despite dramatic changes in the labour market in the last 40 years with the amount of women in the labour force almost doubling. In this essay we will be discussing gender equality in terms of income, superannuation and the domestic division of the labour market. This essay will be broken into three sections. Part one will discuss the inequalities in income and superannuation between men and women and why it may be so. Part two will discuss attitudes towards women in the labour market and the challenges for realising gender inequality in Australia, and part three will discuss the domestic division of labour.
Part One
In Australia, women are payed 28.4 percent less than men in their weekly cash …show more content…
The composition of the labour force in Australia has seen significant changes over the last three decades as an increasing number of females have been accepted into the labour market due to changing obstacles and perceptions of the gender. Women’s participation in the labour force in August 2011 is 59%, almost double that of August 1961 (34%). The changing of social attitudes, the availability of safe contraception and planned parenting, as well as suitable child care facilities have all assisted to allow women to further their careers. The development in availability of part-time work has helped too. Among the years 1978 and 1996, participations of females in the labour force grew from 43.7 percent to 53.7 percent, with females being 42.99 percent of the total labour market (department for employment, 1996). On the surface it may look like gender inequality in the workplace has significantly reduced over the last thirty years, however this argument is far too simplistic and fails to take into account the gender spread over varying labour types. Women hold 14.2% of chair positions, 23.6% of directorships, as well as represent 15.4% of CEOs and 27.4% of key management personnel in Agency reporting organisations. …show more content…
The key barrier within Australia to achieving substantive gender based equality is systematic gender based discrimination, defined as practices which have been absorbed into the institutions and structure of Australian society which have a discriminatory effect. Examples of such discrimination have been outlined above such as the gap between women’s and men’s earnings due to inflexible work practices, and systems which condone sex discrimination and sexual harassment.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it appears that Australia is moving forward with closing the gender gap although they still have quite a length to go until we will see perfect gender equality with income, superannuation and the domestic division of labour. Despite the fact the Australia did not set world precedents in accepting women as valuable members of society, addressing the inequalities is the key way in which Australia can move towards having a true gender
In Australia, gender inequality still exists despite dramatic changes in the labour market in the last 40 years with the amount of women in the labour force almost doubling. In this essay we will be discussing gender equality in terms of income, superannuation and the domestic division of the labour market. This essay will be broken into three sections. Part one will discuss the inequalities in income and superannuation between men and women and why it may be so. Part two will discuss attitudes towards women in the labour market and the challenges for realising gender inequality in Australia, and part three will discuss the domestic division of labour.
Part One
In Australia, women are payed 28.4 percent less than men in their weekly cash …show more content…
The composition of the labour force in Australia has seen significant changes over the last three decades as an increasing number of females have been accepted into the labour market due to changing obstacles and perceptions of the gender. Women’s participation in the labour force in August 2011 is 59%, almost double that of August 1961 (34%). The changing of social attitudes, the availability of safe contraception and planned parenting, as well as suitable child care facilities have all assisted to allow women to further their careers. The development in availability of part-time work has helped too. Among the years 1978 and 1996, participations of females in the labour force grew from 43.7 percent to 53.7 percent, with females being 42.99 percent of the total labour market (department for employment, 1996). On the surface it may look like gender inequality in the workplace has significantly reduced over the last thirty years, however this argument is far too simplistic and fails to take into account the gender spread over varying labour types. Women hold 14.2% of chair positions, 23.6% of directorships, as well as represent 15.4% of CEOs and 27.4% of key management personnel in Agency reporting organisations. …show more content…
The key barrier within Australia to achieving substantive gender based equality is systematic gender based discrimination, defined as practices which have been absorbed into the institutions and structure of Australian society which have a discriminatory effect. Examples of such discrimination have been outlined above such as the gap between women’s and men’s earnings due to inflexible work practices, and systems which condone sex discrimination and sexual harassment.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it appears that Australia is moving forward with closing the gender gap although they still have quite a length to go until we will see perfect gender equality with income, superannuation and the domestic division of labour. Despite the fact the Australia did not set world precedents in accepting women as valuable members of society, addressing the inequalities is the key way in which Australia can move towards having a true gender