We need to combat gender inequality stuck in the system

There is a gender pay gap in every single industry in this country. It’s hard to say we value women’s workforce contribution when we consistently pay women less and don’t promote them.

What a person is expected to do determines what a person is allowed to do. This influences whether we receive advantage or exclusion in the development opportunities at our work.

Equal opportunity for women means women have the same likelihood of promotion as a man. This defines equity. If women have been disadvantaged, and clearly we have, let’s recognise it and correct for it.

Tackle gender segregation

Recent CEDA research highlighted one of the outcomes of this expectation bias: the persistence of gender segregation across and within industries.

As a society it seems we are stuck in the 1960s, with outdated views about which jobs both women and men are most suited to.

And over the last 25 years, construction and manufacturing have become more male-dominated, with childcare, teaching and healthcare more female-dominated.

This matters because everyone should have the opportunity to do the job they are most suited for, and interested in, regardless of their gender. Not to mention who is best qualified and suited to the job.

Male-dominated industries are better paid than those dominated by women, such as education and caring industries. Research shows that when men enter female-dominated industries, wages go up.

This is not just because men may be more assertive when arguing for a pay rise. I think it is due to the ingrained expectation men have of being valued for their work.

Men are advantaged by a cultural expectation of confidence. They step up to a role meeting only 60 per cent of the qualifications required, while a woman more likely believes she must meet all qualifications to even apply.

So unsurprisingly, men are more likely than women to hold managerial positions across all industries, even in female-dominated industries such as healthcare and education.

Many employers take concrete steps to remove bias in recruiting or promotion practices.

Many promote and increase access to flexible work, encouraging it to be taken up by anyone, regardless of gender. Many call out discrimination in the workplace to ensure women are not penalised for using parental leave.

But arguments against taking the next step and correcting for inequity are rife. Advantaged men are often oblivious to their advantage so when active measures are put in place to support women many men complain it is not fair.

This affirmative action, this positive bias for women, is not what is expected. But it is what is needed.

Change expectation of who cares for kids

It is not possible to examine Australia’s gender equity issue without speaking of caring for kids.

Making paid parental leave more gender-equal and accessible to both parents is one way to change behaviour and chip away at expectation bias.

If men have more work experience because they don’t take time out of their careers to mind their children, they will always be better positioned to get the top jobs.

This is the workplace advantage for men of not being expected to be equal as a parent.

Australia has had one of the least generous and most unequal paid parental leave schemes in the OECD. Outcome: 99.5 per cent of the federal government’s parental leave pay is taken by mothers.

WGEA figures show women took 87 per cent of all employer-paid primary carer’s leave in 2022. With the high costs of childcare little wonder many mothers do not return to full-time work.

From July, the federal government’s paid parental leave will expand from 18 to 26 weeks. I would mandate a share of leave for secondary carers (mostly fathers) and ensuring this is paid generously enough to encourage greater take-up by men.

I have been advocating for gender equality for a long time.

Every year I ask myself ‘Are we there yet?’ Sadly, the answer is still a very firm no.

Diane Smith-Gander AO is chair of CEDA, the Committee for Economic Development of Australia.