Gender Segregation In Australia

In 2003 the case of Goodwin v. UK was referred to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). LIBERTY intervened in this case relating to Christine Goodwin who faced sexual harassment at work during and following her gender re-assignment. She alleged that following ‘transition’ she kept the same National Insurance Number meaning her employer had ben able to discover that she previously worked for them under another name and gender.

The labor market is very segregated. It is mentioned that women and men of the same racial-ethnic group rarely having the same jobs, as well as women of different racial-ethnic groups. This supports the interconnection between class, race, and gender. Men are seen as the superior gender, and are more likely to receive a job position. Women are often deemed incapable of preforming work that is classified as a ‘man’s job’ and pushed into typical jobs involving infant care and domestic work.

However, it is widely acknowledged that pay inequality has persisted for decades in Australia, as is evidenced by the gender pay gap (Australian Human Rights Commission, n.d.). Over the past three decades the gender pay gap in Australia has fluctuated between 15% and 18%, equating to women earning only 84c for every dollar that a man earns (Pocock et al, 2013:605; Pocock et al, 2013:605; Australian Human Rights Commission, 2014:22). In other words, in order for women to earn the same salary as a man, they would need to work an additional 64 days annually (Australian Human Rights Commission, 2014:32). Furthermore, between 2006 and 2010 Australia fell from 15th to 23rd on the Global Gender Gap, and then again to 24th in 2013 (Noble & Pease, 2011:31; Australian Human Rights Commission, 2014:22). These decreases were the result of the persisting gender pay gap, as in 2010 Australia ranked a low 59th for wage equality (Noble & Pease,

The workplace discrimination against women is one aspect that Australian legal systems have achieved the responsiveness for society and individuals. The legal system provides women with a formal and enforceable means of redress to correct discrimination. The legal systems have implemented many laws to diminish women workplace discrimination. There are three main laws that the legal system have achieved justice for society and individuals, the laws are Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (CWTH), Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW) Equal Opportunity laws and The Affirmative action plan Act 1989 (CWLTH). Assessing Positives and negatives to the responsiveness of the legal system that Australian parliament have made or passed.

Equal opportunity, equal pay and more equal sharing of family responsibilities are all necessary to close a gap which results in too many women struggling to put enough aside to fund a comfortable retirement.

Occupational segregation is seen almost everywhere. It refers to the fact that men and women are concentrated in different types of jobs, based on prevailing understandings of what is appropriate ‘male’ and ‘female’ work. Occupational segregations have both vertical and horizontal components. Vertical segregation refers to the tendency for women to be concentrated in jobs with little authority and hardly any room for advancement, while men occupy more powerful and influential positions. Horizontal segregation refers to the tendency for both men and women to occupy different categories of job. The reasons for the persistence of occupational segregation are rooted in a complex interplay between societal and personal gender stereotypes, discrimination by power-holders against out-groups, habits and social inertia-and the repeated impact of all these on individuals’ choices and behaviours. Though increasing number of women now work full time outside the home, a large number are concentrated in part-time employment. Men, by and large, do not assume prime responsibility for the rearing of children. However, it is also seen that women have started bagging some important positions in jobs. Several processes have affected these trends. One significant factor is that more women are moving into higher paying professional positions than was the earlier case. Young women with good qualifications are now as likely as their male counterpart to land into lucrative jobs. The improved

There has been a major development in women’s equal rights since the Equality Act 2010 was introduced that includes gender equality as one of the strands which states people under this act cannot discriminate or harass and victimise another individual( Ref). The gender pay gap between men and women has been on debate for many years. This essay will examine whether or not in this modern day society their still remain gender inequalities through the use of relevant theories this essay is determined to establish whether these inequalities still exist in employment by exploring social, biological and cultural explanations and differences between men and women. Why women are more likely to be discriminated and oppressed and how I can use this awareness to challenge and address gender inequalities in employment.

Women remain at an economic disadvantage compared to men due to the fact that some occupations still pay women less than their male counterparts. This unequal pay reinforces the thinking that it is okay for men to make more than women just because of their gender. This is an obstacle within the workplace which prevents a woman from advancing her career and allows for higher positions to continue consisting almost entirely of men. Present day in the labour market, “Canadian women earn 23% less than men regardless of their age, education or occupation” (Struman, 2015). Even though women have been quite successful in seeking employment and many possess a decent education, women continue to face a difference in pay because of their gender. In order to be seen as equals women need to be earning the same amount as their male coworkers because they possess the necessary skills needed to complete the job. Differences in pay should be based on an individual’s qualifications and job experience not their gender. The difference in pay prevents women from achieving success and reinforces the point that women remain at an economic disadvantage. Gender based pay is problematic and “[t]he Canadian gender pay gap is the fifth largest among the 34 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries… [and] the pay gap is particularly pronounced for single mothers, racialized women, First Nations women, and women with disabilities” (Struman, 2015). Gender

Educators will face many elements of same sex relationships, intersex and transgender aspects of gender diversity throughout their careers through both students and their families or the community. Taylor (2007) speaks about same sex relationships, homophobia and their effect on Australian society, she says that homophobia appears to be due to assertions of cultural incompatibility rather than a biological superiority (p. 210), she continues to explain that the gay and lesbian cultural beliefs, lifestyles and values are seen as a threat to Australian society and are the primary reason for exclusion (p. 210). It is important for teachers to understand the challenges same sex families may face and support students in same sex, transgender or bisexual families and relationships. Transgender children and

In Australia over the last 20 years, it is documented that a person’s income and wages, differs based on one’s gender, known as the gender pay gap (The Conversation, 2017; Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA), 2017c). This paper will discuss what a gender pay gap is, various economic explanations for this gap, summarise sociological responses, and identify possible policy recommendations and their implications.

While the world has unanimously advanced and is more accepting of change, the workplace continues to be a place of discrimination, prejudice and inequality. Discrimination is broadly defined to ‘distinguish unfavourably’, isolate; and is context based (Pagura, 2012). Abrahams (1991) described the workplace as an ‘inhospitable place’ where gender disparity and wage gaps persist (Stamarski & Son Hing, 2015). Among other states and countries, the Australian government actively implements and passes laws to protect and maintain equal employment rights. While the objective of these laws is ‘to eliminate discrimination,’ the regulatory mechanisms in the legislation are largely ineffective at achieving this ultimate goal (Smith, 2008). However,

Western women have traditionally been perceived as the inferior sex, or the domestic partner, subjected wholly to the private sphere, and stripped of legal rights and standing. Meanwhile, men are depicted as the breadwinner, the strong, masculine and dominant partner, who belongs primarily to the public sphere. These historic gender norms have been deeply imbedded within Australia’s social foundation, and although society has gradually shifted away from these roles, evidence suggests that this gender inequality still riddles the modern day workplace. Liberal feminist groups have embraced this issue, and have classified it as being a true barrier to achieving the ultimate gender equality goal. Consequently, these liberal feminists along

Gender roles play a huge part in society. Gender plays a role in shaping an individuals identify and beliefs. It also helps identify what is masculine and what is feminine. Certain tasks, duties, and jobs are classified by gender. However, gender appropriate behavior should not be enforced in our society for numerous reasons and can be seen on an individual level and be demonstrated by social learning theory and sex segregation.

We know that in general men and woman exercise different roles in the workplace, as for males, they focus a lot on achievement, self-reliance and motivation and woman focus on nurturance and responsibility(Cullen 2011, p.50-51). Australia and New Zealand scored higher than Indonesia on masculinity and in general this means that in Australia and New Zealand most of the jobs are defined by gender and although there is not a vast difference in scoring Indonesia’s scoring is lower at 46 in comparison to Australia at the top at 61 and New Zealand at 58. The main difference is that men tend to choose longer term jobs in comparison to women, the men also accept expatriate jobs much more easily when compared to women as women have to care and nurture their families.(Cullen 2011,p 51-52)

According to the data published by Australian Bureau of Statistics in May 2015, the full time average earnings of women is $284.20 or 17.9% less than the full time average earnings for men, this figure is calculated on the full time employees’ average weekly ordinary time earnings. The gender pay gap has hovered between 15% and 19% over the past two decades. The gender pay gap is the different between average weekly full time equivalent earnings of male and female, expressed as a percentage of earnings of male. The Workplace Gender Equality Agency highlights that the gender pay gap is resulting from a combination of factors, including the female graduates start on a lower wages then male graduates, even they are in the same industries and workplace and this is maintained throughout their careers, women are under presented in leadership and senior management position, women’s traditional caring role combined with lack of flexible work options that force them into casual an non-career part time jobs, men receive bigger attraction and performance bonuses than women and male dominated work has historically been better paid