the gender pay inequality

The objective of the current study is to make recommendations necessary to regulate the current circumstances. It does this by conducting a critical examination of the gender pay disparities in Australia.

gender pay The representation of women in important leadership and decision-making roles is remains low, despite government attempts to reduce gender-based workplace segregation. In Australia, women are underrepresented on corporate boards, in executive positions, and in political posts. On the other hand, the increasing need for women to take care of their family issues is a key contributor of job exits. Further, lower levels of enrolment in STEM related courses accounts for underrepresentation of the female gender in the lucrative scientific and technical careers. Discrimination against women should be fought against as a way of limiting pay injustices at work. Further, the study endorses that there is need for establishment of rules aimed at subsidising childcare and part time work.

Gender Pay Inequality

Gender pay gap is defined as “the difference between women’s and men’s average weekly full-time equivalent earnings, expressed as a percentage of men’s earnings” (O’Callaghan and Jackson 2016, p.30). According to Crowe and Kaim (2016, p.526), the Australian gender gap stands at 18%. Gender pay inequalities are influenced by multiple social, employment and family issues that include stereotyping, and gender segregations. According to North (2016 p.356), the Australian job market has constantly upheld the fact that industries dominated by the female gender attract lower salaries than those driven by their male counterparts. On the other hand, lower numerical figures of women occupying senior leadership positions in key industries in Australia interject the massive workplace inequalities. Emami et al. (2016, p.3630) explain that lack of senior leadership positions and roles that allow for part time working have gone a long way in supporting the unbalanced employment landscape in Australia. The current study aims at undertaking a critical analysis of the gender pay inequalities evident in Australia.

Women make significant contributions to the Australian economy, with their economic roles seeing massive increments in the last half of the 21st century. While about 75% of all Australian women that have attained the prime working age have secured employment opportunities, Ftzsimmons, Callan and Paulsen (2014, p.246) explain that the female gender’s pay rates are still below those of their male counterparts. The disparities in the levels of income between men and women continue to increase over time. According to O’Callaghan and Jackson (2016 p.30), the annual wage gap may exceed $430,000 for a woman working on full time employment basis in a period of 40 years.

The lifetime earning gap for a majority of Australian women working in different industries has increased over time. Emami et al. (2016, p.357) reveal that despite the efforts made by key industrial players and companies in Australia to include females in key positions as a way of fostering workplace equality and diversity, the female gender accounts for the largest number of people employed in the low paying occupations.

An Analysis of the Australian Workforce Environment

The Australian employee makeup stands at 52% men and 48% women (North 2016, p.357). Despite the fact that the female gender is well epitomised almost equally with its male counterparts, there are great disparities in the levels of representation in key decision making positions since women are underrepresented. On the other hand, the per dollar earnings of women is lower than that of men occupying similar job positions and accomplishing the same responsibilities (O’Callaghan and Jackson 2016, p.30).

Possible reasons for Pay Inequalities

Educational Path and Disparities in the Fields of Study

There are multiple reasons to explain why the earnings of women are far below that of their male counterparts. Gould, Kulik and Sardeshmukh (2017, p.3) demystify that the kind of professional courses pursued by women, coupled with the dynamics of their working environments have greatly contributed to the massive disparities in their job profiles and therefore, their levels of earning. Emami et al. (2016, p.3630) reveal that women in Australia tend to look for employment opportunities that suit their operations in normal hours, ample conditions of work, and high levels of safety. In comparison, males lacking college education seek employment opportunities in the fields of driving trucks, firefighting, military and construction which are highly lucrative despite the dangers they expose them to.

On the other hand, females lacking college educational qualifications tend to enter feminine occupations such caretakers, secretaries and cashiers which in comparison to those pursued by their male counterparts, are less payed. According to Crowe and Kaim (2016, p.528), over 900 workplace deaths are experienced by men due to the dangers they are exposed to.

There are great disparities in the kind of courses pursued by females as well as the levels of educational qualifications achieved by the two genders. North (2016, p.359) reveals that Australian women have a cultural obligation to make the choice of studying arts and social sciences. O’Callaghan and Jackson (2016, p.30) explain that women in Australia tend to pursue their areas of interest rather than those aspects of study that will lead them to stable career opportunities and high paying jobs. For instance, Gould, Kulik and Sardeshmukh (2017, p.2) elaborate that over 70% of the doctorate degrees awarded in 2016 were earned by women. On the other hand, females only earned 18% of doctorate degrees in engineering. Based on these statistics, it is evident that the low income levels of women can be attributed to the career courses they pursue.

The representation of women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in Australia still remains low. According to Norton et al. (2014, p.341), STEM is a broad field of professionalism that has been associated with high income levels in Australia. However, Charlesworth and Macdonald (2014, p.422) clarify that the population of young women pursuing these courses has been on a steady increase in the last five years.

Charlesworth and Macdonald (2015, p.367) explain that even in STEM, the female gender is more likely to earn less than their male counterparts in less lucrative career fields .While selection of a major in a field of study is greatly based on one’s personal choice, the research carried out by Kiatpongson and Norton (2014, p.3) reveals that most women are steered to pursue certain fields and discouraged from undertaking others.

On the other hand, Bailey et al. (2016, p.648) elucidate that young girls in Australia uphold the perceptions of slow learners in mathematics and science; an aspect that demeans them the opportunity of entering into STEM-related careers. Further, Winchester and Browning (2015, p.271) explicate that the fact that the number of women working in higher paying careers that are traditionally looked at as being male dominated reduces the population of mentors for girls. As a result, the chances of females pursuing careers in STEM related professions are also reduced.

Family Demands

Compared to men, there is a higher likelihood for females to interrupt their career life to take care of their families. Kiatpongsan and Norton (2014, p.58) explain that the Australian job market has seen a constant increase in the number of women reducing their working hours to take care of their children. In other instances, O’Callaghan and Jackson (2016, p.30) explain that some ladies are forced to leave their careers for similar reasons. According to North (2016 p.357), such lapses does not only limit their income levels but also goes a long way in contributing to their tenure and career experiences which are considered by Emami et al. (2016 p.3630) as key contributors to scheduled pay increments.

Fitzsimmons, Callan and Paulsen (2014, p.247) explain that between 2012 and 2017, 23% of mothers were out of their careers while about 17% were employed on part time basis in Australia. In comparison, only 1% of Australian fathers had exited the workforce with 2% being employed as part time workers. On the other hand, Emami et al. (2016 p.3630) explain that among the parents having young children, fathers are more likely to secure job opportunities than their female counterparts. Other critical issues like family conflicts facing women in the event of striking a balance between their career demands and family needs are cited by Gould, Kulik and Sardeshmukh (2017, p.3), as key contributors to the pay inequalities in the Australian job market.

According to Crowe and Kaim (2016, p.529), mothers are faced with the burden of meeting their domestic needs. Emami et al. (2016, p.3630) report that about 40% of employed mothers take a lot of time off to care for their family members with 27% making the decision of exiting their jobs. Other critical issues like shortages in affordable high quality childcare opportunities coupled with lack of paid family leave exposes many employed mothers to greater chances of exiting the labour force for some time to allow them raise their children. North (2016 p.359) reveal that such deviations go a long way in affecting the levels of earnings for females.

Fitzsimmons, Callan and Paulsen (2014, p.251) explain that family issues go a long way in affecting the low income mothers in comparison to their high income counterparts based on the fact that their chances of staying at home to take care of children is relatively high. According to Gould, Kulik and Sardehmukh (2017, p.4), withdrawal from the labour force, even on a temporary basis leads to significant negative impacts on the side of the person’s levels of earning and career potentials. For instance, if a mother whose monthly earning is $45,000 makes the decision of staying at home for one year, she may lose over $540,000 cumulative pay (North 2016 p.361). On the other hand, such an employee may also miss the periodic cost-of –life attunements, contributions to social security and other crucial retirement benefits. In comparison, a father taking similar career tends to benefit from all these contributions.

Underrepresentation in Leadership Positions

The number of women occupying key leadership positions in Australia and the world still remains low in comparison to their male counterparts despite the fact that they account for more than 50% of the country’s population (Galea et al. 2015, p.378). On the other hand, Mueller, Ouimet and Simintzi (2017, p.2) explain that the trend remains constant even in public and private institutions. A critical analysis of the parliamentary, political and vice-regal positions of leadership reveals that men still dominate despite the massive improvements in the levels of female representation.

According to Williamson and Biard (2014, p.156), women accounted for 46.7% of the Australian presiding officers in 2014 in parliament. However, the representation dropped to 26.7% with the Northern Territory, NSW, Tasmania, and ACT jurisdictions being presided over by a female officer. In the same period, only one woman occupied the position of head of government as the opposition leader out of the 18 allocated positions. Out of the seven vice-regal titles in Victoria, Tasmania and Western Australia with Linda Dessau being the first woman to be appointed in the position of Governor.

Despite the fact that women account for over 48% of the Australian private sector employees, their representation in the executive positions still remains low. According to Conroy et al. (2014, p.18), women accounted for 9.7% of the executive hey management personnel (KMP) of the best 200 organisations listed in the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). On the other hand, the directorship of the ASX 200 only comprises of 12% females. According to Norton et al. (2014, p.344), the number of women occupying directorship positions has seen a great increment despite the low figures.

Further, Charlesworth and Macdonald (2015, p.371) explain that it will take about 40 years to ensure that both men and women reach the desired levels of parity even in instances where the rate at which females are allowed to enter into corporate leadership positions is meant to double. According to Winchester and Browning (2015, p.276), the representation of women in the corporate boards of larger organisations is much higher than in small and medium sized firms. In fact, Bailey et al. (2016 p.649) explain that females occupy only one in three positions for small sized firms and about one in five ranks in mid-sized companies.

Multiple issues have been cited to explain the massive underrepresentation of women and nonexistence of gender parity in corporate boards. For instance, Galea et al. (2015 p.381) explain that most firms do not put into consideration the issue of diversity when filling their corporate positions. However, North (2016 p.359) cites occasional bias in considering females as a way of retaining the desired levels of boardroom comfort as the key contributing factor to gender segregations. On the other hand, the fact that the conventional leadership pathway for females in different areas still retains a minimal position also accounts for the increasing levels of complexity in representation.

Lack of Equal Pay for Equal Work Winchester among Women

Mueller, Ouimet and Simintzi (2017, p.2) explain that in many professions, women’s remuneration still remains low despite the fact that they accomplish roles that are similar to those of their male counterparts occupying similar positions. A survey conducted by Emami et al. (2016 p.3630) revealed that the pay of female nurses is about 90% that of their male counterparts with that of financial managers being 67% of the males. Such statistics demystify that there are higher levels of gender discrimination even in the workplaces.

Recommendations

There is no doubt that women working on part time basis underutilise their potentials. A larger population of Australian women spends most of their career lives working on part time basis. In particular, lone parents and mothers tend to undertake part time jobs o balance between family and career. As a result, most of these employees spend less than 30 hours on a weekly basis in their jobs. There is need for establishment of flexible policies that provide incentives to allow women to work for many hours as a way of increasing productivity through reduction of the highly evident wage gap.

Australian policy makers need to come up with strict regulations aimed at strengthening the need for affordable child care. Most of the women are faced with the challenge of finding high quality child care services offered at cheaper rates. Child care costs in Australia have been on a steady increase over the last five years. Such conditions force women to take part time jobs or exit their places of work to take care of their children. Therefore, reforms must be put forth to subsidise childcare as a way of instilling reductions in the net costs incurred in this endeavour.

Social and labour policies need to be tightened to ensure that gender stereotyping among females is combated. Based on the analysis made, gender stereotypes account for the greatest hindrances in women’s success. While Australia has made the necessary efforts required to minimise stereotyping of women, there is need for institutionalisation of more elaborate public awareness campaigns and transparency among intersectional players to curb sex-segregation among women. On the other hand, violence against women in public and private sectors needs to be put in place as a way of ensuring that women are given fair access to justice in their places of work.

Conclusion

Australia is ranked by OECD as a mid-range economy in terms of gender pay inequality. Young women in Australia have undertaken massive improvements in their efforts to pursue education. However, they are less likely to be engaged in key leadership positions and high ranking opportunities in the job market. In comparison to their male counterparts, the females still earn less for equal amounts of work done in their industries and places of employment.

A number of factors have contributed the massive pay deviations witnessed in Australia and other parts of the world. One of the key contributing factors is the increasing likelihood of women to exit their careers as a way of finding ample time to cater for their family demands as well as discrimination at the places of work. On the other hand, segregation by gender has been cited as a factor contributing to the increasing wage gap. While an Australian female is more likely to attain the grades needed to pursue university education, their likelihood of studying and working in the well-paying STEM fields is highly diminished based on the fact that they tend to pursue low paying careers. Further issues of gendered discrimination in the career fields have greatly contributed to low levels of income among women. On the other hand, women in this economy tend to dominate in the service industry which pays lower than other industries like those of technical origin. However, implementation of the recommendations made by this paper will go a long way in ensuring that reductions in gender pay gap are institutionalised.

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