Research,the application of ideas from the literature, problem solving and critical analysis (REPORT)

Predicting the Future of Work: Gender & Diversity

Team Friendship:

Tomi Dragovic

Rebecca (Linh) Hoang

Lena Lam

James Occhietti

Table of Contents

This report will examine gender and diversity issues in the work force. In particular it will be exploring the role and inequalities women face in the work force and how these factors affect their work-life balance compared to men. This report will also explore whether women will have less opportunities in the work force in the future and examine if the decrease in opportunities for women in the work force is due to a result of international collaborations. It is argued through relevant literature that since when women began entering into the work force there has been little progression towards closing the gap difference between females and males in the work force. This includes pay, work conditions and status inequalities as well as general gender discrimination. Hence, it is argued that women still face inequalities in the work force, even in today’s modern society. Therefore, it is predicted that this trend will continue.

Thus, it is recommended that organisations need to research into closing this gap and take action to ensure that this gap is progressively narrowing. Closing this gap can be an advantage for organisations to promote positive public relations and lead the way for other organisations to follow. With communities and the general public increasingly showing their interest and support in closing the gender gap this will put pressures on organisations to take action. Another recommendation on how to close this gender gap is to pursue to implement tougher and more specific work place discrimination laws. This will protect female employees from gender discrimination.

The report was split into sections and allocated to each student. As a group it was agreed that everyone would do a section of the literature review. Therefore, the literature review was split into two topics, gender and inequality in the work force and work-life balance for women. James Occhietti and Tomi Dragovic undertook the topic of gender and inequality and Rebecca Hoang and Lena Lam undertook the topic of work-life balance. The introduction was done by Rebecca Hoang. The rationale was completed by Lena. The literature review was divided accordingly – intro lit rev. Rebecca, lit rev. gender inequality; James & Tomi, lit rev. work-life balance; Lena & Rebecca, lit rev. conclusion; Lena.. The scenario plan was done by James Occhietti. The future of work section was also a group effort where everyone contributed equally. The recommendations was assigned to Tomi, however due to quality of work, Lena completed this section. The conclusion was completed by Lena Furthermore, the formatting and collaboration was also done by Lena Lam. The proof reading was done by Lena Lam and Rebecca Hoang.

Rationale

Gender and diversity was selected as the theme because there are constant issues surrounding this area. The main focus will be on gender inequality and work-life balance addressing these factors in regards to females specifically. The ongoing debate over women’s rights in the workplace issue needs to be discussed in order to help improve the situation. Women have always been inferior compared to men within the workplace and this needs to change in order to improve the future of work. If this continues on, women employees will most likely decrease due to feeling undervalued and it will be harder for them to be employed in the workplace. Discrepancies can be seen as women wages are less than men and as many females are underrepresented in the workforce.

Another issue surrounding this topic is the balance of work-life. Females are entering the work force after maternity leave and do not get the same entitlements as they did before. Working long hours decreases leisure time which includes spending time with family and less time to do domestic chores. Organisations need to understand that women need a work-life balance and this inturns creates a better and happier workplace. In today’s society, women are currently struggling with this issue and a balance needs to be found in order to create equality between women and men.

Literature Review

There has been much controversy over the issue of women being subjected to inequality and discrimination in the workforce. Through current empirical research papers, it is highlighted that in the Australian work force there is still a wide gender inequality gap. Despite gender diversity and equality becoming more prevalent and accepted in the Australian community. These inequalities include factors such as pay, status and career opportunities. Another issue that is commonly raised throughout the journals was the issue of maintaining a work-life balance. It is evident that it is difficult in general for everyone in the work force to maintain a work-life balance. However, it is especially more difficult for women because they are the primary caregivers. Hence, there is a lot more pressure on them. This raises many issues about the consequences of not maintaining a healthy work-life balance. In addition, it is important to address these issues because there is an increase of women in the work force. The future and community are aiming to move towards a fairer and more equal environment. Whether this is possible or not depends on current world issues, environments, attitudes and various cultures.

Despite a marked surge in Australian women’s rights in the workplace taking place in recent years (Australian Government, 2012), it remains incredibly apparent that some form of gender gap still exists, particularly in the way of remuneration for similar work tasks (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2013). In Australia, for instance, despite workplace gender diversity becoming far more apparent (Workplace Gender Equality Agency, 2013), as well as relevant legislation implemented in order to foster and encourage such a trend (Australian Government, 2012), the persistent breach between average female and male income has remained relatively analogous since 1990 – between 15 and 17%, at 16.9% as of 2010 (Australian Government, 2012). When considering that in 20 years (1990-2010), women have been unable to nix such an oppressive disparity, what are the chances that such an issue will be repaired by the year 2040? Despite the Australian government’s persistent efforts to be proactive in dealing with such an issue, implementing the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Act (1999), renaming it the Workplace Gender Equality Act (2012) these issues are still apparent, scholars predicting that such a wage gap will not increase substantially, hopes that they will disappear in the short to mid-term are optimistic at best (Blau & Kahn, 2007).

In addition to being victims of a decidedly large disparity in pay (Australian Government, 2012), women also battle numerous other persistent forms of oppression within workplaces (be it intentional or otherwise) (Thomas, 1988), one of such which has gained particular attention is that of the perceived ‘glass ceiling’, which appears particularly apparent in cases pertaining to women (Hymowitz & Schellhardt, 1986), and is considered to be of particular predominance in Australian workforces (Joo Kee, 2006). Such a concept can be considered a substantial contributing factor in the aforementioned gender pay disparity (Arulampalam, Booth, & Bryan, 2006), however, in addition to simply being detrimental to women’s efforts of exoneration from such, it also is considered by many to exert an extreme negative impact upon women’s efforts of career development (Smith, Caputi, & Crittenden, 2012), the result? Women are prone to remain in positions similar to entry-level roles, thus maintaining not only a gap in remuneration, but also decreased responsibilities in workplaces (Cotter, 2001), thus lesser roles being given to women (Wirth, 2001). In addition to this, it appears that women are around 1.8 times less likely to gain promotion, as well as gaining and maintaining a position of authority in their workplaces within their given field (Wright, Baxter, & Birkelund, 1995) Looking to the future, one may look only as far as a country such as Norway. In 2008, the Scandinavian nation enforced mandatory quotas for women on corporate boards at 40% (Dahlerup, 2013). Such a move has been widely applauded by proponents of gender equality as a “bullet to the glass ceiling” of sorts, as well as numerous scholars considering such quotas be used as a model for progression in workplaces elsewhere (Sweigart, 2012).

The balance between work-life is still an ongoing issue that families are experiencing especially for females (Walker, Wang & Redmond 2008). Females generally have difficulties with work-life balance as they are perceived as the main caregiver and hold domestic responsibilities (Burnett, Gatrell, Cooper & Sparrow 2010). Due to the rapid growth of globalisation and market competition, organisations have introduced different types of employments ranging from fixed-term contracts to temporary work (Hofacker & Konig 2013). This creates irregular working hours and therefore leads to overall lengthier working hours (Ezzedeen & Ritchey 2009). The demand from the workforce makes it harder for women to balance between work and family (Bergman & Gardiner 2007). It puts a great amount of pressure on both parents to fulfil parental responsibilities and due to work commitments it is very difficult to fulfil these needs (Toth 2005). The traditional stay-at-home mother is no longer the norm and mothers are now relying on nannies or other family members to help complete domestic responsibilities (Burchielli, Bartram & Thanacoody 2008). Maternity leave is the only benefit that mothers are entitled to at their workplace and generally, this is not enough time to care for newborn (Lewis & Humbert 2010).

The work-life balance cannot be completely achieved, however, organisations should implement new policies to help females balance the work-life mechanism (Wheatley 2012). It is believed that if women need social support to be able to balance these factors, and if there are sufficient amount of support from work it will help them greatly to balance the two (Marcinkus, Whelan-Berry & Gordon 2007).

Depending on the specific industry, country and the culture will determine the extent of strain on an individual’s work life balance. In a particular study, they researched and compared the work life balance between female surgeons in Japan, Hong Kong, USA and China (Kawase et al. 2013). It was found that in Japan women prioritised work as number one compared to the other countries. Therefore, it was easier for them to maintain a work life balance compared to other women from other countries. Similarly, another study in India found that women in the work force in general placed their family life as more important than their work life (Doble & Supriya 2012).

Hence, to be able to understand how to maintain a healthy work life- balance, individual values and priorities have to be considered (Emslie & Hunt 2009). In another case study women who worked in law firms found that it was harder in this particular industry for them to get a pay rise and a promotion. Therefore, women are forced to work harder and longer to be able to climb up the work ladder; hence this puts a strain on their work-life balance and questions their priorities (Walsh 2012). From this we can see that depending on the country, industry and culture can determine what kind of work-life balance in normal and healthy. Even for women who were self-employed they faced similar issues in trying to maintain a healthy work life balance (Annik & Dulk 2012).

A lack of work life balance can be an issue for women as well as for men(Misra, Lundquist & Templer 2010). In particular this can put strains on relationships and family life (Hoffnung & Williams 2012). An unbalanced work-life can also lead the individual to develop health and well-being problems. Therefore, some organisations have implemented policies that are friendlier towards women and can have an influence in being able to maintain a healthy work-life balance (Warren, Fox & Pascall 2009).

In summary, females are still experiencing discrimination in the workplace and nothing has been done to discourage this sort of behaviour. In particular the remuneration, benefits as well as job statuses that cause major discrepancies in gender inequality. Also, the notion of work-life balance for females is hard to maintain as the high demand in workplaces does not allow them to spend quality family time as well as completing domestic chores in the household. These issues need to be addressed and worked upon to ensure the gap between gender inequality and diversity are progressively narrowing.

Scenario Plan

In determining what the future holds for Australians in workplaces, homes and schools, a number of factors, primarily observation and extrapolation of current trends have led to what appears to be a somewhat dystopian future. In regards to society and culture, Australia’s notoriously aging population may have some effect on how society is managed, as well as the allocation of resources allotted to, for example, aged care or health departments. In the same society and culture vein is the tightening of border control – it appears fewer asylum seekers are going to be accepted into Australia and, as such, our ethnic diversity may not witness a change as it has seen recently ever again. It appears that, again following recent trends, the concept of ‘family time’ may become more and more of a rarity – as hours vastly increase and women forego the opportunity to become mothers at an early age (if at all) in order to pursue their own professional interests.

In addition to such, new mothers may be unwilling or unable to put their careers on hold indefinitely after giving birth, thus leading to a much higher representation of new mothers in the workforce, as well as a decrease in unpaid maternity leave taken by new mothers. It is no secret that as the blue collar sector continues its deterioration in Australia; more and more students are looking to tertiary education in order to lay the foundations for their prospective careers. Unfortunately for these students, such a marked increase in individuals searching for diplomas, as well as undergraduate and postgraduate education will ultimately lead to a fiercely competitive job market, with the number of fully qualified and suitable applicants set to skyrocket. Contrasting the increase universities and TAFE organisations are set to experience is the lowering of vocational training – primarily, trades. Many trades have taken a huge hit in Australia, already leading to many apprentices being laid off – one can only assume such a trend is to continue. Workplaces of tomorrow will follow trends of today, particularly pertaining to workplace loyalty.

Australians have become far less loyal to their workplace and such a trend must be expected to continue, with management holding such an expectation. As a result, many jobs, particularly managerial or other high-paying positions may be based on contracts and contract extensions. In addition, a high value will be placed on the “streamlining” and outsourcing of workplace processes in an effort to cut double handling and fiscal costs and improve efficiency. Australia’s environmental awareness will go both ways in future, we are heavily reliant on the mining sector in order to generate GDP, and when such resources begin to dwindle, regulations on mining may be relaxed somewhat in an attempt to keep large mining companies bringing their money offshore. To counter this, there will obviously be continued and newer research into alternative energy sources.

In terms of science and technology, there won’t be any staggering new developments – medical and technological research will continue as it has done so far, with some breakthrough medical discoveries to surely come about once in a while, however such developments will be incremental, as they are today. It is already somewhat evident that in Australia the Liberal Party – noted as the country’s “conservative” party, has slowly developed a more and more centre right stance, rather than, for example, the hard right-wing stance of America’s Republican Party. If Australia’s economy doesn’t make a full and complete recovery from the deficit and debt brought upon by the GFC, left wing parties (Labor) will also need to rethink their stance towards the high-spending Keynesian approach they take. It is already evident that China has become an economic superpower in the world, and it looks as if low-wage, high population nations such as India are quickly following suit. Some small effects from the GFC will be felt moving forward, however governments will be on their toes, seeking to ward off any signs of stagnation or depression within the economy.

Future of work

In determining what the future holds for Australians in workplaces, homes and schools, a number of factors, primarily observation and extrapolation of current trends have led to what appears to be a somewhat dystopian future. In regards to society and culture, Australia’s notoriously aging population may have some effect on how society is managed, as well as the allocation of resources allotted to, for example, aged care or health departments. In the same society and culture vein is the tightening of border control – it appears fewer asylum seekers are going to be accepted into Australia and, as such, our ethnic diversity may not witness a change as it has seen recently ever again. It appears that, again following recent trends, the concept of ‘family time’ may become more and more of a rarity – as hours vastly increase and women forego the opportunity to become mothers at an early age (if at all) in order to pursue their own professional interests. In addition to such, new mothers may be unwilling or unable to put their careers on hold indefinitely after giving birth, thus leading to a much higher representation of new mothers in the workforce, as well as a decrease in unpaid maternity leave taken by new mothers.

It is no secret that as the blue collar sector continues its deterioration in Australia; more and more students are looking to tertiary education in order to lay the foundations for their prospective careers. Unfortunately for these students, such a marked increase in individuals searching for diplomas, as well as undergraduate and postgraduate education will ultimately lead to a fiercely competitive job market, with the number of fully qualified and suitable applicants set to skyrocket. Contrasting the increase universities and TAFE organisations are set to experience is the lowering of vocational training – primarily, trades. Many trades have taken a huge hit in Australia, already leading to many apprentices being laid off – one can only assume such a trend is to continue.

Workplaces of tomorrow will follow trends of today, particularly pertaining to workplace loyalty. As a result, many jobs, particularly managerial or other high-paying positions may be based on contracts and contract extensions. In addition, a high value will be placed on the “streamlining” and outsourcing of workplace processes in an effort to cut double handling and fiscal costs and improve efficiency. Australia’s environmental awareness will go both ways in future, we are heavily reliant on the mining sector in order to generate GDP, and when such resources begin to dwindle, regulations on mining may be relaxed somewhat in an attempt to keep large mining companies bringing their money offshore.

To counter this, there will obviously be continued and newer research into alternative energy sources. It is already somewhat evident that in Australia the Liberal Party – noted as the country’s “conservative” party, has slowly developed a more centre right stance, rather than, for example, the hard right-wing stance of America’s Republican Party. If Australia’s economy doesn’t make a full and complete recovery from the deficit and debt brought upon by the GFC, left wing parties (Labor) will also need to rethink their stance towards the high-spending Keynesian approach they take. It is already evident that China has become an economic superpower in the world, and it looks as if low-wage, high population nations such as India are quickly following suit.

There have been many key findings surrounding the issue of work-life balance that has arisen from the literature review. It has been suggested that there is little or no work life balance especially for females (Burnett, Gatrell, Cooper & Sparrow 2010). In addition, it is very difficult to maintain and find work-life balance due to high demand from work and irregular hours (Ezzedeen & Ritchey 2009). Women are facing the issue of maternal leave and not receiving the same job title when they have come back from leave (Lewis & Humbert 2010). It seems that in the future, women will have fewer opportunities because in today’s society, women are still experiencing this kind of problem and it doesn’t seem like it’s improving (Blau & Kahn, 2007). In regards to maintaining a work-life balance, females are finding it difficult to do so due to work commitments as well as family commitments (Walker, Wang & Redmond 2008). These two factors can easily interfere with each other creating the imbalance of work-life.

The decision to label the future of work as ‘dystopian’ is due to fact that there have not been any changes to them now and they have been in the work force for decades. There is minimal evidence suggesting that things will improve for them in the future. Hence, it can only be assumed and concluded that there will be minimal or close to no improvement for women in the workforce. Through research and past studies it is clear that the amount of family time spent with children and other family members has decreased (Burchielli, Bartram & Thanacoody 2008). Ultimately, mothers are turning towards nannies and family members to help out within the household (Burchielli, Bartram & Thanacoody 2008). It is predicted from this situation that there can be an increase in arising issues such as financial burdens and relationship strains. With women as the primary caregivers of children and households it is difficult for women to be able to be successful in the workforce and maintain a healthy home life. Furthermore, it is harder for women to constantly take time off work to do motherly or wifely duties because it the work force this can be frowned up (Wirth, 2001). Women who take time off can be labelled as inferior and unreliable in the workplace (Wirth, 2001). Thus, males are more dominate and receive better remunerations due to this fact that they do not take off as much time as women; hence, they are seen as more reliable (Wirth, 2001).

Furthermore, it is harder for women to re-enter the workforce if they take time off work. If they return back to the workplace they usually lose their status and are instead placed in a job position lower than what they were before they took maternity leave or personal family leave (Burchielli, Bartram & Thanacoody 2008).In the future, it seems like there will be no or minimal improvement in this area, as there will be higher representation of new mothers in the workforce. Hence, it is difficult for the situation to improve. In addition, due to the high competiveness within the workplace it puts further strain and stress for women to decrease family time to be able to climb the work ladder (Wirth, 2001). Not having a healthy work-life balance can have many negative effects on the woman, herself and others around her including partners, children, other family members and friends. Spending more time at work can put strains on relationships, hence, this can cause mental and health strains on the individual. This can lead to relationship or household breakdowns, low self-esteem and depression (Burchielli, Bartram & Thanacoody 2008). Thus, for women to sacrifice this balance can lead to many negative unwanted consequences.

In order to improve this situation and maintain a work-life balance, workplaces need to implement policies and regulations that allow mothers or women wanting to maintain a healthy family life balance to earn the same title as they did prior to their maternity leave and also a compromise of flexible hours is required to increase family time. Employers can benefit greatly from ensuring that their employee maintains a healthy work-life balance. Benefits can include decrease of sabotage, increase of quality of work and increase of a more positive work environment (Burchielli, Bartram & Thanacoody 2008).

Recommendations

It is important for all organisations to do thorough research to help find a solution to resolve the gender inequality that occurs within the workplace. If organisations are able to narrow or close this gap, this will be beneficial for their company as well as improving their morale and policies to the public eye. It will give the organisation a better reputation by promoting positive public relations and it will also influence other companies to join force to help abolish the gender inequality in the workplace.

It is recommended that the government should implement tougher laws in order to protect women in the workforce. If harsher laws were put into place, it will ensure that women will be able to obtain the same rights as men in the workforce. This allows organisations to help protect women from discrimination and entitling them to a better work environment. It will also improve job security for women as they won’t feel threatened to lose their job when they return from maternity leave and this can therefore lead to a happier workplace environment and inturns increases productivity.

In addition to this, laws should also be implemented to assist women in obtaining the same salaries as men do. There are evident to support the facts that males earn more than females when it comes to workplace wages (Australian Government, 2012). In order to reduce this gap between the two genders, it is important for organisations to promote equality in the workplace and ensuring that females are entitled to the same wages as males when it comes to doing the same work and having the same job titles, there should not be any discrepancies in their wages.

Another recommendation to help narrow gender inequality in the workplace is to promote vacant positions to both females and males. Although some jobs are male dominant and prefer males to fill in the job, organisations need to give equal chances to women to be able to apply for these positions and not to discriminate them because they assume females can’t handle these types of jobs. Organisations need to understand that females can be as capable as males when working in these kinds of jobs. So therefore, to improve this, organisations need to take chances and employee females and if they cannot correctly perform the job then organisations can decide whether to keep them or let them go.

Organisations should take into consideration the role of women and their responsibilities in the household. Not only do women find it difficult to maintain work-life balance but they are feeling a great amount of pressure from work. These pressures are due to long hours at work and working overtime to provide for the family and the decrease of time spent at home. In particular, organisations should implement flexible hours whereby mothers can have more leisure time to spend with the family and complete domestic chores. Mothers are constantly turning to day cares, nannies and family members to help with household chores and looking after the kids (Burchielli, Bartram & Thanacoody 2008).

Organisations should also implement better benefits for new mothers in the workplace to assist them in maintaining work-life balance. For instance, new mothers should have extended paid leave to assist them in the household. It is important for mothers to be able to spend as much time as possible with the newborn. It could also be possible for organisations to allow new mothers to work at home, therefore this ensures that they are still able to get their work done as well as caring for the child.

If policies and regulations were implement to help women maintain a healthier and better work-life balance, it will reduce the problems they experience when it comes to an unbalanced work-life. This will then assists narrowing the gap of work-life balance and improve the future of work.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the issue of gender inequality and work-life balance is ongoing and improvements to help close this gap are not progressing. The ‘dystopian’ future will most likely reduce women’s opportunities in the workforce and provide less employment postions for them as well. In addition, the work-life balance will have no balance at all, and the amount of time spent at home will most likely decrease.

The great amount of problems that arises in regards to gender inequality in the workplace will not help improve the future of work and it will create a greater gap between the two genders. Therefore it is important for organisations to address these issues now with the recommendations of improving workplace policies to protect women from being an outsider as well as ensuring they receive the same wages as males. Organisations should take all these recommendations into consideration in order to improve the future of work. If workplaces do not deal with these situations now, it will either go two ways, it will either drastically increase the gap between gender inequality or it will just stay the same and not improve at all.

It has also been concluded that the idea of work-life balance is still an issue that needs to be improved. Recommendations to improve this situations included providing new mothers with better benefits such as longer paid leave as well as given the flexibility of working from home as well as retaining their job status when returning from work. This will help women with maintaining their work-life balance.

All-in-all, it is very important that workplaces promote gender equality to deal with this situation now in order to improve the future of work. As well as this, organisations should provide flexibility for female workers in order for them to maintain work-life balance and thus improving the future of work.

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