Introduction
Gender pay equity calculates the average wage of women earnings by determining the percentage of females pay in relation to male earnings. Whether a man is paid hourly, earns after a week, full time employment, or any other sort of employment, gender pay equity states that a woman should get an equal rate as that of the male worker.
Gender wage discrimination is a condition that displays the differences between the divisions of wage offers being contrary from the allocations of values of the marginal product between the males and the female workforce. In Australian continent, the situation of wage allocation and employment level among the two genders varies a lot. This paper examines three major reasons for the current gender pay inequality in Australian work force for the last two decades.
Discussion
An equal remuneration for the work force should be given for equal or comparable value. Research indicates that there are various constructs that explain the gender pay disparities in Australia and that these disparities must no be the main factors that lead to multimarket disequilibrium.
The Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Western Australia and the leading business organization in the state reported that by 2008, gender pay gap stood at 37% when measured against the average wages that one earns on ordinary times. This displays the various characteristics on the female laborers in Western Australia (Chamber of commerce and industry 2008).
Several efforts have been made to establish the reason for the pay disparities. This has even contributed to Western Australia, New South Wales and Queensland pursuing several reviews on pay equity. All these efforts have yielded to almost the same conclusion and propositions.
Reasons for Gender pay inequalities in Australia
Part time employment is a major contribution of the increased gender pay inequalities in Australia
Over the last bi-decades, the percentage of women employed at part times in Australia grew at a rate of 3.7 per cent for every year. In general, this increment of females in part time works contributed in the making of more than half of the total women who were employed in Western Australia in this particular time. Today, history has repeated itself with most female workers choosing to work at part time. Making an approximately 73% of the work force.
Recent research indicates that in 2007 most workforces in part time across WA (Western Australia) included women (News limited. 2008). When the average weekly wages of Australia men and women is measured, the results indicate that women continue to earn less because of the particularly working on given hours. This is a clear indicator that the significant number of women in part time employments contributes to the state’s gender pay disparity (Chamber of commerce and industry 2008).
According to this research, most women workers opt for this kind of employment compared to full time because it enables them to attain a balance between work and their family chores. This is as a result of most women having remained the source individuals with the assignment of caring for their families.
More so, the high earnings from the expanded Australian economy at this in these two last decades gave most families the ability to economically and financially sustain their families with either one parent working for few hours or totally abandoning employment (URCOT 2005). Secondly, Australian female workers opt for part time employment because of underemployment.
“Underemployment has three distinct related meanings. In one sense, it refers to a situation in which someone with excellent job qualifications is working in a position which requires lesser qualifications. In the second sense, underemployment means working part time when one would prefer to be working full time. Thirdly, underemployment is a form of overstaffing in which employees are not being fully utilized” (Smith 2003 1).
From the definition of underemployment, it can be concluded that some of these workers are forced by circumstances and situations that surround their natural feminine life.
Secondly, the type and nature of work contributes to the increased gender pay disparity among females and male in Australia
A general look at the kind of work that most women undertake world wide in most industries shows that females are more likely to be employed in industries that offer services as compared to their male counterparts.
More often, these industries have a low pay rate than manufacturing and building or construction sectors. High numbers of male employees dominate managerial and high- ranking positions compared to female workers. Most men also easily secure employments in mining, construction and financial companies. These positions command high compensations as compared to what females get in the service industries.
Statistics indicate that in 2007, the service industry, one of the largest industries in Western Australia, accommodated more than 88 per cent of the overall female workforce in the state. Some of the sectors in the industry include communications, insurance and finance, business and commercial property, wholesale trade, transport services, restaurants, cultural, and other services.
Among this group is the retail trade. In 2007, Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Western Australia found out that, that the industry employed over 17.2 par cent female work force in the state (Robinson, Deborah. 2010). These figures were quite high as compared to only 11.4 of male employees in the same industry.
By 2007, there was a rise in the number of females by 21,825 in relation to a decade before then, whereby the figure stood at 63,650 for female workers in the retail trade. When evaluated, the weekly standard wage income for women were lowest compared to men’s wages in the industry. A keen look at statistics of the amount of money that women earned in the year 2007 in various service industries shows that what men were earning within or without the industry greatly varied from the females’ wages (Catalyst Australia. 2008).
The minimal number of women in managerial roles in Australia is minimal
This is another factor greatly contributes to the widened disparity level between male and female remuneration in Australia. As compared to the last 10 years, the number of women in managerial positions or roles has increased although with a very minimal percentage.
In 2007, the CCI (Chamber of Commerce and Industry) established that the figure of women heading managerial positions had increased with only 7000 within a period of ten years. As a result, it can be summed up that male dominate most managerial positions in Australia (Australian Government 2007 1-6).
In Western Australia, most administrative and managerial responsibilities among female workers fall within 5.2 per cent of the national workforce (Federation election platform 2010).
A report named “Looking at the 2010 Australian Centre for Leadership for women” shows that Women sitting on boards and in management or executive positions in Australia are insignificantly small as compared to men in the same levels and positions. The body represents only a percentage of 12 being executive leaders and much fewer in the board of directors.
The research also indicates that more than 40 per cent of companies in the country have female Chief Executive Officers or even having a woman in board of directors. When the number of women in the managerial positions is minimal as compared to that of men, the end result is that, the female workers will receive normal low pay for their low positions in the services industry (Needham 2009).
There are also other arguments that attempt to say that lower wages among female workforce in Australia mainly occur among the women-dominated sectors likes family support centre, rehabilitation centre, refugee camps, and in the migrant regions. However, these sectors should also be brought to pay the female workers similar pays as it happens in similar male- dominated sectors.
From the above explanations it can be deduced that there exist major imbalances in Australian workforce’s pay that is highly dictated by ones gender. However, studies indicate that there is a great link between the reward that an employee receives and the function that the workers play or the person’s responsibility.
Employees’ reward is supposed to play three major roles. Firstly the compensation must be given to the right person for the right roles, tasks and responsibilities. With observation of this, the person’s contribution is later recognizes and rewarded accordingly.
After receiving the remuneration, the employee should feel satisfied and rightfully rewarded for having impacted on the production output. Reward is also a form of incentive on workers. The reward must motivate the workers in order to continue putting their efforts for optimum realization of the organizations goals. It is therefore, clear that Australian female workers are not sufficiently rewarded when compared to the men working for the same value.
This has further widened gender inequality cycle in the continent. It is therefore clear that Australian female employees may display certain behaviors that do not conform to the organizational behaviors expected. Hence most of them are either sucked or deliberately fail to look for permanent employment due to the dissatisfying reward.
It is also clear that these workers may have varying attitudes towards the employment they are in or the job place. This is what employment satisfaction studies indicate (Shields 2007, 35-39). Arguments have been made that when marginal product of labor for the employees is enhanced, the employees’ value in turn improves hence an increase in wages for the workers because the employers will be satisfied with the workers input.
Over the past years women have been on the forefront trying to fight social, institutional and cultural disparities so as to achieve equivalent opportunities at work place. However recent statistics indicate that the number of labor force in Australia has significantly changed in the last few decades. Females have managed to gain acceptance in the labor force and in turn a sufficiently equal pay (Human rights and equal opportunity commission 2008 1-6).
Looking at these details, it took the state a decade to create these few positions, so the question that emerges is whether Australian Government is doing enough in creating equal opportunities for the women to make effective decisions on their own and undertake leadership roles. Gender equality is a very pressing issue in almost all Australian’s initiatives and programs. This is because it is the centre of growth and stability of the governance (Sharma 1997 6-23).
Today, Australia has adopted the policy that allow both men and women, and among boys and girls to equally develop and progress in various ways including the wage rate for all earners. Gender equality program in Australia emphasizes on reducing poverty, and equally empowering women in the employment sector. The policy also aims at improving the economic status of female workers to gain access to financial and services that accompany the business world.
Women enterprises and reduction of time burdens that make women chose part time jobs are also among the concerted efforts to boost the wage rate of female employees in the continent (Australia Government 2007, 1-15). Importantly, organizations that do not conduct gender pay audits should revisit the case. Gender pay audits tools that gauge pay inequalities in an organization.
They also determine the specific duties, units of business and the departments within which one is operating. This is a tool that most organizations in the continent fail to utilize. Equal pay includes pay, allowances payments that accompany merits, bonuses, performance payments and also superannuation,
Conclusion
For any nation, government or state that wishes to progress economically and socially, embracing gender equality, policies that advocate for equity in compensation and rewarding of employees must be adopted. This is an essential and sound practice for the nation’s growth and development. This calls for concerted efforts from among all individuals and industries in the state to see that the female workforce is rewarded and compensated according for their value in production (Australia Government 2007, 5).
Reference List
Australian Government. 2007. “Gender equality in Australia’s aid program, why and how and why gender equality is essential for development: 1-15.
Catalyst Australia. 2008. “Australian women: getting equality?”. Web.
Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 2008. “The house of representatives standing committee employment and work relations.” Pay equity. Web.
Federation election platform 2010. “The Australian centre for leadership for women”. Web.
Human rights and equal opportunity commission. 2008. “Gender equality: what matters to Australian women and men.” Web.
Needham, Kirsty. 2009. “Women urged to sue to fix pay gap”. Web.
News limited. 2008. “Governments can close gender pay gap”. Web.
Robinson, Deborah. 2010. “Gender pay gap costs Australia $93 billion each year”. Web.
Sharma. 1997.”Gender inequality in Austarlia.” Web.
Shield. 2007. Mannaging employee performance and reward: concepts, practices, strategies. Cambridge: Cambridge University press.
Smithe, S. E. 2003. “What is underemployment?”. Web.
URCOT. 2005. Pay Equity: “How to address the gender pay gap”. Web.