People keep asking me does gender matter in politics? If this week’s news about the gender pay gap in managerial jobs is anything to go by, not as much as it does in management.
I’ve always believed that there is no more basic principle of fairness than equal pay for equal work. Yet it was no surprise to anyone that Macquarie University research highlighted in this week’s The Age found female managers are an average of $13,500 a year worse off than their male counterparts.
The research took into account that women managers work in lower-paid sectors such as health and community services and clock up slightly less hours than male managers. Even accounting for these factors, the work of a woman manager comes at a $13,500 discount.
The conclusion - the cause of the gap is discrimination.
If it’s good enough for female parliamentarians to be paid at the same rate as their male colleagues, then why not the same for everybody else?
Just what is it going to take for Australians to make the cultural shift necessary to get women paid the same as men for the same work?
Things are very different to 30 years ago, when I interviewed Rex Pilbeam the then Mayor of Rockhampton, whose policy was to sack any woman on his staff who got pregnant.
Last month I was sworn into my new portfolio by our first female Governor-General Quentin Bryce. Thirty years ago she was telling me about the need for anti-discrimination laws in Queensland.
This year another generation of Queenslanders anointed Anna Bligh as the first elected woman premier.
Access to education is now universal. We have long-standing anti-discrimination laws, and big workplaces have equity and diversity plans.
Technology has made our jobs more flexible than ever. Most office based workers no longer have to grind out the hours under the same roof as their colleagues. We’re all accessible 24/7 whether we want to be or not, and can work pretty much anywhere we like. Social networking means we’re always connected with our friends and colleagues.
This should make balancing work and family easier.
The burden of parental care is still borne predominantly by women (although men have lifted their game) but it should be less of a barrier to employment.
Thanks to the Rudd Government we will soon have a universal paid parental leave scheme to support parents through the early days of their child’s life.
Yet our managerial culture isn’t quite managing change.
Professional women I speak to say managers often aren’t as supportive as their HR departments claim to be when it comes to accommodating parental responsibilities.
I get the impression that some managers see family friendly work conditions as privileges to be tightly policed rather than a means to cultivate and retain skilled staff.
I’ve lost count of the number of professional women I know who’ve moved on after being unable to negotiate part-time work or work at a skill level commensurate to their abilities on return from maternity leave.
Many managers talk the talk, but run the other way when it comes to walking the walk.
One company headed in the right direction is Ikea.
Last week it signed up to a new enterprise agreement that includes 26 weeks of paid parental leave after two years service. The leave will be available to full-time and part-time employees.
Ikea’s national HR manager Peter List spoke of his company’s strong commitment to helping employees return to work after caring for children.
“Co-workers offer us so much more when they come back with a family. We want to support and encourage that if at all possible,” he said.
Plenty of small businesses get it too.
One of my local constituents in Bennelong is a solicitor who runs a mid-sized suburban legal practice.
He’s told me he’s thrilled that he’ll soon be able to take advantage of the Rudd Government’s own paid parental leave scheme.
“It means the women who work for me will feel a bit more relaxed about having time and income to care for their new-borns but will then return to work. It’s a win-win,” he told me.
Good will and common sense go a long way when it comes to negotiating flexible arrangements for working parents.”
Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick – a former partner in the law firm Blake Dawson - tells a great story about how four women in her department became pregnant (herself included) within a month of each other.
They redesigned their jobs to cover the workloads and took a more flexible approach to childcare.
When I hear stories like these, I really wonder how managers can still be dragging the chain.
The Federal Government is moving ahead.
Last month the Minister for the Status of Women, Tanya Plibersek, announced a review of the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace and Agency (EOWA) to investigate what’s working and where we may need a new approach.
Tanya will be releasing an Issues Paper shortly to kick off consultation – it’s your chance to have your say.
We have come a fair way in 30 years.
A female Governor-General now gives Royal Assent to enact all Commonwealth legislation.
I met the current Mayor of Rockhampton last week in a kitchen. No one was bare foot or pregnant!
Isn’t it about time we resolve the gender pay issue once and for all?
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