tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/womens-jobs-28733/articlesWomen's jobs – The Conversation2023-08-15T18:56:17Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2116032023-08-15T18:56:17Z2023-08-15T18:56:17ZLabour’s promise of paid parental leave for partners is ‘the right thing to do’ – but NZ could still do better<p>By introducing four weeks of <a href="https://www.labour.org.nz/news-release_paid_parental_leave_partners">paid parental leave for partners</a> if re-elected, the Labour Party would move New Zealand out of an undesirable and <a href="https://www.oecd.org/els/soc/PF2_1_Parental_leave_systems.pdf">tiny club of OECD nations</a>. Only the United States and Israel would then not offer something similar after the birth (or adoption) of a baby.</p>
<p>But that’s not to say New Zealand might become a world leader in paid parental leave. In fact, the promised four weeks would move New Zealand into the <a href="https://www.oecd.org/els/soc/PF2_1_Parental_leave_systems.pdf">middle of the OECD rankings</a> on length of leave available.</p>
<p>Furthermore, the proposed reimbursement rate would pay the leave at below the current minimum wage. This puts New Zealand back towards the bottom third of the OECD when it comes to the average number of weeks a parental partner’s actual income is replaced under such a scheme.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, the prime minister was correct to <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/election-2023-labours-offer-for-new-parents-is-four-weeks-paid-leave-for-partners-on-top-of-paid-parental-leave/">note the policy</a> was the “right thing to do”, and that it will ease the financial burden on families that would otherwise take unpaid leave.</p>
<p>Partner’s leave will also provide crucial support during those early days with a newborn, when extra hands and sleep are in short supply – especially for those families for whom taking unpaid leave would be prohibitively expensive. Whether it is adequate is another question, however.</p>
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<h2>Duration and remuneration matter</h2>
<p>The research evidence suggests a myriad social and economic benefits for families. Reserved leave quotas for fathers have been shown to <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/pam.22030">increase the likelihood</a> of men <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13668803.2017.1346586">taking any parental leave</a> after the birth of a child. (Most research in this area focuses just on new fathers, rather than a wider sample of non-birth parents.)</p>
<p>Importantly, paid paternity leave is also associated with <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/sjoe.12113">better outcomes</a> for the child, such as their cognitive development, both in the short term and later in life. </p>
<p>Such policies have also been shown to improve <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jomf.12507">mothers’ incomes</a> and career trajectories over time, because they can return to work sooner or take on hours they might not have been able to. Overall, families are financially better off in the long term.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/fewer-than-1-of-new-zealand-men-take-paid-parental-leave-would-offering-them-more-to-stay-at-home-help-180777">Fewer than 1% of New Zealand men take paid parental leave – would offering them more to stay at home help?</a>
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<p>However, many of these studies – while extremely rigorous and using statistical methods that can make the case for a causal impact – are using data from countries with much more generous partner and parental leave systems than New Zealand’s, even if Labour gets to introduce its new policy.</p>
<p>Positive effects of partner and paternal leave have been found in countries where the leave duration is longer. Wage reimbursement is also much closer to the parents’ actual work income – up to a certain amount, but typically capped at a rate that is higher than the median wage.</p>
<p>In Norway, for example, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/sjoe.12113">new parents are entitled</a> to nearly one year of paid parental leave, at full wage compensation (capped, but still at a very high amount). Those 49 weeks’ leave can be shared however parents like.</p>
<p>A similar scheme exists in Denmark and Sweden. To encourage non-birth partners to take up parental leave, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0049089X11001153">some countries</a> operate a “bonus” <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0958928712440201">leave scheme</a>: if partners take leave, mothers or the birth parent qualify to take even more.</p>
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<h2>Baby steps</h2>
<p>There may not be the political or public appetite in New Zealand to move closer to the gold standard of the Scandinavian models. But less generous entitlements risk being still too expensive for families to take up. And this threatens the universality of the policy – available to everyone, regardless of income.</p>
<p>The proposed reimbursement rate would mean many New Zealand partners who take up the leave would receive an income below the minimum wage. While this is technically better than unpaid leave, it amounts to an effective pay cut many families will not be able to afford – especially during a cost of living crisis.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/fatherhood-changes-mens-brains-according-to-before-and-after-mri-scans-191999">Fatherhood changes men's brains, according to before-and-after MRI scans</a>
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<p>There may be unintended consequences, too. Families that could always afford to take unpaid parental leave will be disproportionately more likely to take advantage of the new allowance compared to lower- and middle-income families. And a number of families will be omitted in the first place, such as children with sole parents.</p>
<p>None of this is to suggest paid partner leave is not a necessary and important step towards better supporting families during a crucial period in their lives, one that has been shown to be critically important for child development and shaping longer term wellbeing.</p>
<p>If implemented, it would help ensure New Zealand doesn’t continue to fall behind other nations in its commitment to strong families. But the scope and generosity of the policy on offer falls well short of the evidence-backed benefits that appropriately funded partner leave can have for children and their families.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211603/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kate C. Prickett is the Director of the Roy McKenzie Centre for the Study of Families and Children, which has previously received research funding from the Ministry of Social Development and the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.</span></em></p>All the evidence points to paid partner’s leave having many benefits for children and families – but Labour’s promise falls short on time and money.Kate C. Prickett, Director of the Roy McKenzie Centre for the Study of Families and Children, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of WellingtonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1636962021-07-09T11:07:01Z2021-07-09T11:07:01ZRefusal to give MP maternity cover is a missed opportunity for more equitable parliament<p>Parliaments and other legislative bodies are responsible for creating equality legislation – but does this apply to their own members? This is the question that <a href="https://members.parliament.uk/member/4088/contact">British MP Stella Creasy</a> is asking with her personal fight for maternity rights and parental leave.</p>
<p>Creasy is<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-57645974">challenging the decision</a> of the UK’s <a href="https://www.theipsa.org.uk">Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority</a> (IPSA) to not allow her to appoint maternity cover for the duration of her pregnancy. In doing so, she is fighting a battle not just for herself and her colleagues, but for changing gender roles and expectations in the workforce nationwide.</p>
<p>This is an important case on two levels. First, it starts a discussion about the ongoing impact of motherhood, maternity leave and childcare on paid employment and career opportunities. </p>
<p>Second, it helps us understand why representation matters in formal politics. The way political institutions accommodate MPs with caring responsibilities says something about the economic and political priorities of the country. </p>
<p>The formal and informal practices intended to support MPs during periods of maternity leave have been under scrutiny since 2018, when Jo Swinson’s pairing in a key Brexit vote was <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-44867866">broken while she was on maternity leave</a>. </p>
<p>It is difficult to forget the image of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/feb/12/tulip-siddiq-i-needed-a-caesarean-instead-i-was-at-parliament">Tulip Siddiq, 37 weeks pregnant, in the House of Commons for another Brexit vote </a>, having been denied a proxy vote by the same IPSA. Creasy has herself already challenged parliamentary norms when <a href="https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/stella-creasy-labour-party-maternity-leave-cover-346711">she appointed a “locum MP” to cover her maternity leave in 2019</a>. </p>
<p>Progress appeared to be made in the last 18 months when <a href="https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-8359/">Parliament formalised “proxy voting” for members on parental leave</a>, and subsequently approved the <a href="https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/2826/news">Ministerial and Maternal Allowances Bill</a> that updated preexisting legislation from the 1970s. These are significant changes to the working practices of the House of Commons that acknowledge the importance of inclusion and representation within political institutions. </p>
<p>When it comes to political representation, these changes reflect a shift in perception about the role of women – especially those with caring responsibilities – in politics. </p>
<h2>Global challenge</h2>
<p>The cases among the UK’s women MPs remind us of the need to strive for more equitable parliaments.</p>
<p>The Inter-Parliamentary Union, a global organisation of national parliaments, defines <a href="https://www.ipu.org/our-impact/gender-equality/gender-sensitive-parliaments">gender-sensitive parliaments</a> as “institutions that are founded on gender equality, where women and men have an equal right to participate without discrimination or recrimination”. </p>
<p>The organisation adopted a <a href="https://www.ipu.org/resources/publications/reference/2016-07/plan-action-gender-sensitive-parliaments">Plan of Action in 2012</a>, which stipulates that parliamentarians have access to maternity and parental leave. Additionally, the plan calls for flexibility for parliamentarians who are breastfeeding, to encourage reconciliation of work and family life. Sadly, progress in implementing these principles globally remains fairly slow.</p>
<p>Seeing women attending parliamentary sittings <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-45638201">with their children</a> is a powerful image that normalises the participation of mothers in politics. “Multitasking” has symbolic power demonstrating that mothers belong in parliament. However, it also highlights the challenges faced by women parliamentarians the world over. Progress in this area would be more women in politics, but fewer who are forced to multitask. </p>
<p>This is not a challenge faced by <a href="https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2020/03/09/female-parliamentarians-still-face-a-motherhood-penalty-but-the-evidence-globally-suggests-it-can-be-ended/">male MPs with caring responsibilities</a>. Whereas female MPs seem forced to juggle work and family life, including bringing children in parliament, male MPs are afforded the space to focus on their parliamentary duties. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/IDAN/2016/556937/IPOL_IDA(2016)556937_EN.pdf">European Parliament’s 2016 analysis</a> of maternity leave provisions highlights a high level of variability between EU member states. </p>
<p>Many national assemblies lack a detailed framework for maternity and parental leave, though increasingly this is recognised as a “valid reason” for MPs absences. Where provisions are made for maternity leave, the focus is on pay. Few provide the option of a temporary cover for MPs who are absent. In this respect the UK is not unique. </p>
<h2>Institutions over individuals</h2>
<p>National assemblies are struggling to formulate processes that address the gender bias at the heart of parliamentary processes and procedures. By shifting the focus of our analysis on the institution, rather than the individual MPs, we can start to assess how political institutions actively exclude individuals and groups. This matters because it makes the institutions less representative and inclusive. </p>
<p>IPSA’s decision to turn down Creasy’s request for a “locum MP” is a missed opportunity to modernise the world of politics. What matters here should not be the individual choice of MPs to take maternity leave, but the way <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/media-library/sites/news/2016/july/20%20Jul%20Prof%20Sarah%20Childs%20The%20Good%20Parliament%20report.pdf">political institutions facilitate</a> the <a href="https://www.ipu.org/resources/publications/reference/2016-07/plan-action-gender-sensitive-parliaments">inclusion of different</a> groups, including parents with caring responsibilities. </p>
<p>It is Parliament that is responsible to ensure its members are treated equally and have equal opportunities to participate in the life and work of the institution. It is therefore incumbent upon Parliament to assess its practices and change those where necessary. In so doing, representative bodies, such as the House of Commons, will play an important role in modelling the opportunities open to employers by actively opening a space for equality and inclusion.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/163696/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Roberta Guerrina does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Labour MP Stella Creasy’s battle over maternity pay shows the need for gender-sensitive parliaments.Roberta Guerrina, Professor of Politics and Director of the Gender Research Centre, University of Bristol, University of BristolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1440872020-08-07T08:35:40Z2020-08-07T08:35:40ZHow women in academia are feeling the brunt of COVID-19<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/351591/original/file-20200806-18-epd02.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The disproportionate effect of COVID-19 on the productivity of women could see many leave academia.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent public health response of lockdown has brought into sharp relief the constraints faced by women across the board.</p>
<p>We have been keeping a keen eye on the impact it’s having on women in academia – our field of work and research. What we’re observing, and what’s being backed up by research, is that women are facing additional constraints as a result of COVID-19. </p>
<p>These range from the added burdens and responsibilities of working from home, through to the fact that fewer women scientists are being quoted as experts on COVID-19, all the way to far fewer women being part of the cohort producing new knowledge on the pandemic.</p>
<p>None of these constraints are new. Earlier research confirms that women academics <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-01294-9">carry large teaching burdens</a>, with relatively little time for <a href="https://www.thelily.com/women-academics-seem-to-be-submitting-fewer-papers-during-coronavirus-never-seen-anything-like-it-says-one-editor/">research and publication</a> compared to their male colleagues, many of whom do not carry equivalent domestic responsibilities. </p>
<p>Increased pressure on women academics caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is magnifying this fractured landscape of gender parity in academia. The impact is being felt <a href="https://theconversation.com/women-are-getting-less-research-done-than-men-during-this-coronavirus-pandemic-138073">in terms of productivity</a>. This is manifesting itself in terms of public exposure, knowledge generation and who is being called on to provide advice.</p>
<h2>Academic output</h2>
<p>An <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/blog/women-science-are-battling-both-covid-19-and-patriarchy">article</a> in the World University Rankings points to the bias towards men experts in media coverage of COVID-19. Written by a group of women scientists, the article points out that women are advising policymakers on the outbreak, designing clinical trials, coordinating field studies and leading data collection and analysis. But, when it comes to media coverage, there is a bias towards men. While epidemiology and medicine are women dominated fields, men get quoted far more often than women about the pandemic. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/africas-research-ecosystem-needs-a-culture-of-mentoring-143030">Africa's research ecosystem needs a culture of mentoring</a>
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<p>A June 2020 article in the correspondence section of a leading medical journal, <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140-6736(20)31412-4.pdf">The Lancet</a>, makes the same point. It points out that women have made up just 24% of COVID-19 experts quoted in the media and 24.3% of national task forces analysed. </p>
<p>Women’s outputs are being affected in other ways too. A <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/07/200709121230.htm">recent article</a> in Science News shows that fewer women were first authors on articles related to COVID-19. This was especially so in the first months of the pandemic. They compared 1,893 articles published in March and April 2020 with those from 2019 in the same journals, and found that first authorship for women declined by 23%. </p>
<p>This they attribute to the <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/07/200709121230.htm">increased demands of family life during the pandemic</a>. </p>
<p>The Guardian newspaper also reported a decrease in women’s academic outputs, with the journal Comparative Politics reporting that submissions by men <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/may/12/womens-research-plummets-during-lockdown-but-articles-from-men-increase">went up by 50% in April</a>.</p>
<p>The Lancet article makes the same point. </p>
<p>Recent <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140-6736(20)31412-4.pdf">data</a> from the US, the UK and Germany suggest women spend more time on pandemic-era childcare and home schooling than men do. This is particularly difficult for single-parent households, most of which are headed by women.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-personal-journey-sheds-light-on-why-there-are-so-few-black-women-in-science-91165">A personal journey sheds light on why there are so few black women in science</a>
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<h2>Domestic constraints</h2>
<p>The article by women scientists in The Lancet makes it clear that none of the challenges are new.</p>
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<p>Challenges women in academia face are well documented in non-pandemic
times. These challenges include male dominated institutional cultures, lack of female mentors, competing family responsibilities due to gendered domestic labour, and implicit and subconscious biases in recruitment, research allocation, outcome of peer review, and number of citations. </p>
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<p>But, they write, COVID-19 has led to unprecedented day care, school and workplace closures exacerbating challenges.</p>
<p>For decades, women in academia and professional practice have striven to achieve work-life balance, juggling professional and <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/13106038_Constraints_facing_the_female_medical_practitioner_in_private_family_practice_in_the_Western_Cape">domestic responsibilities</a>.</p>
<p>Institutional support for women in terms of maternity leave, childcare facilities, lactation rooms, flexible working hours and protected research time varies across institutions in South Africa. It is <a href="https://mg.co.za/article/2019-09-20-00-advancing-gender-equality-in-academia/">lacking in many</a>.</p>
<p>And now women are working from home, where they are also expected to take care of children and elderly parents, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/06/upshot/pandemic-chores-homeschooling-gender.html">do home schooling</a>, clean, cook and <a href="https://theconversation.com/women-are-getting-less-research-done-than-men-during-this-coronavirus-pandemic-138073">shop</a>.</p>
<h2>Addressing the problem</h2>
<p>This disproportionate effect on productivity of women has the potential to bleed women from academia. This will have a negative impact on the diversity that is <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-01294-9">critical for excellence in academia</a> and in civil society.</p>
<p>None of this is factored in to promotion criteria or performance assessments, when women in academia compete directly with their male counterparts. Consequently, women are seriously underrepresented in academic leadership, perpetuating a patriarchal institutional culture in tertiary educational institutions.</p>
<p>Some global funding agencies, among them the European and Developing Country Clinical Trial Partnerships and the National Institutes of Health, have recently started to consider constraints facing women scientists <a href="http://www.edctp.org/web/app/uploads/2019/05/EDCTP2-Work-plan-2019-web-20190527.pdf">in grant applications</a>. This effort needs to be seriously expanded. </p>
<p>This could be done via revisions to existing policies and proactive development of new policies to create optimal gender balance in research. Funders also have a responsibility to explore how institutions that financially benefit enormously from research funding via indirect costs support women scientists in academia.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/women-scientists-lag-in-academic-publishing-and-it-matters-82521">Women scientists lag in academic publishing, and it matters</a>
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<p>Scientific journals are becoming sensitive to gender balance and diversity with respect to authorship. But the requirement for gender equity in terms of participants included in research studies and authorship <a href="https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1513/AnnalsATS.202006-589IP">must be tightened</a>. </p>
<p>Similarly, conference panels and keynote speaker selection are in dire need of appropriate representation of women, especially those from the global South, whose voices are underrepresented in international academic meetings and scientific conferences. Anything less than these efforts will perpetuate pre-COVID-19 levels of gender inequity and lack of diversity. Sadly, academia will be the poorer for it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/144087/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Keymanthri Moodley receives funding from the National Institutes of Health. She is affiliated with the Women's Forum, Stellenbosch University. All views expressed are her own. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amanda Gouws holds a SARChI Chair in Gender Politics, funded by the NRF</span></em></p>Increased pressure on women academics caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is magnifying the fractured landscape of gender parity in academia.Keymanthri Moodley, Director, The Centre for Medical Ethics & Law, Stellenbosch UniversityAmanda Gouws, Professor of Political Science and SARChi Chair in Gender Politics, Stellenbosch UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1209942019-08-06T13:35:56Z2019-08-06T13:35:56ZProviding Nairobi’s mothers with subsidised day-care will benefit everyone<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/286053/original/file-20190729-43114-indtn6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Poor child-care facilities put children at risk of malnutrition, infections and child abuse</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">meunierd/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>One of the major challenges that faces mothers who work is how to ensure their children are properly cared for while they are away. </p>
<p>This is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-019-00793-3">particularly true</a> for women in low-income settings. For instance, in the informal settlements of Kenya’s capital city, Nairobi, many women <a href="http://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke/bitstream/handle/11295/78692/Muendo_Daycare%20Services%20And%20Women%E2%80%99S%20Participation%20In%20Informal%20Employment%20A%20Study%20Of%20Mukuru%20Kwa%20Njenga.pdf?sequence=4&isAllowed=y">resort to</a> using cheap childcare facilities. </p>
<p>These day-care centres usually operate in poorly-lit and poorly-ventilated rooms within people’s homes. They are crowded, have poor hygiene and offer children very little stimulation. Up to 30 children can be crammed into a small space. The centres are mostly run by untrained caregivers and so don’t adhere to quality standards. Because they’re not regulated there aren’t any reliable figures on their actual numbers. </p>
<p>Facilities like this put children at risk of malnutrition, infections, child abuse and delayed development. In Kenya, <a href="https://theirworld.org/voices/tiny-totos-kenya-helping-informal-daycares-in-nairobi-upgrade-services">about</a> 300 000 preschool children – those aged four years and below – in Nairobi’s low-income areas are at risk of poor mental and social development because of the sub-standard childcare environments they are exposed to while their mothers work. </p>
<p>A team from the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) did <a href="http://aphrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/APHRC-PB-Subsidized-Daycare_Final.pdf">a study</a> on whether access to subsidised day-care improved women’s ability to work. The study was conducted in Korogocho, a large informal settlement in Nairobi. </p>
<p>The study found that women who had access to subsidised day-care services were 17% more likely to be employed than those who did not. The women were also able to take up jobs that provided more stability, rather than informal work with little job security, because their children were being properly taken care of. </p>
<h2>Benefits of daycare</h2>
<p>A total of 849 mothers were interviewed about their childcare arrangements, economic activity and child health and well-being. Most (62%) engaged in at least one type of income-generating activity like selling goods (29%), cleaning (18%) and washing clothes (14%).</p>
<p>The study gave 569 of these mothers vouchers for subsidised centre-based child care for one year. Other mothers (280) served as a comparison group and continued to use the day-care services as normal. </p>
<p>48 day-care centres were selected for the study. These centres were considered “formal” because they were registered, well-established and provided care for a fee to 10 or more children at a time. The centres were randomly assigned to three groups: one group received mothers who did not have vouchers, while the other two groups received vouchers from mothers who had been assigned to them. Half of the centres that received mothers with vouchers were also provided with training and materials – like mattresses, potties and toys.</p>
<p>After one year the mothers who received vouchers said that they had more freedom to work, or look for work, because they didn’t have to worry about their children. The children were also healthier. The mothers reported fewer incidences of illness like diarrhoea, fever and coughs.</p>
<p>The mothers also said they were more productive at work, because they were less stressed. This could benefit employers.</p>
<p>These findings add to already rich research from other countries which <a href="https://ssrn.com/abstract=591469">shows that</a> providing day-care facilities in the work place means more women join the labour market and can earn an income. It also <a href="https://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/cd79e230-3ee2-46ae-adc5-e54d3d649f31/01817+WB+Childcare+Report_FinalWeb3.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CVID=lXu9vP-">keeps them</a> employed for longer and improves the children’s welfare.</p>
<h2>Supporting more daycare</h2>
<p>Despite this evidence, <a href="http://aphrc.org/post/8173">little effort</a> has been put into ensuring working women in Kenya, particularly those in poor urban settings, have access to quality childcare. </p>
<p>There’s a need to expand private sector action in providing childcare support for employees and ensure companies adhere to national policies on the same. For instance, Kenya’s <a href="http://kenyalaw.org/kl/fileadmin/pdfdownloads/bills/2017/BreastfeedingMothersBill_2017.pdf">Breastfeeding Mothers Act</a> requires that employers “provide appropriate programs that develop a baby’s cognitive, emotional, social and language abilities”. </p>
<p>There are a few options that the private sector could consider. These <a href="https://www.ksre.k-state.edu/historicpublications/pubs/MF2399.pdf">include</a> services to help employees find good childcare, a voucher or reimbursement system where the employer pays for childcare, subsidised day-care or a model where a number of employers come together and pool resources to set up a childcare centre.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/120994/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>We found that women who had access to subsidised day-care services were 17% more likely to be employed than those who were not.Patricia Kitsao-Wekulo, Associate Research Scientist, African Population and Health Research CenterMargaret Nampijja, Associate Research Scientist, African Population and Health Research CenterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1152822019-05-09T10:37:21Z2019-05-09T10:37:21ZWomen entrepreneurs thrive managing talented teams and balancing many investors<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/272813/original/file-20190506-103068-1pbdg7x.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Women leaders tend to collaborate better than men.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/she-working-till-sundown-mixed-media-457108258">Sergey Nivens/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Only a <a href="https://www.catalyst.org/research/women-ceos-of-the-sp-500/">handful of the top companies</a> in the U.S. are led by a woman. </p>
<p>Efforts to change that and promote more women into positions of leadership have relied primarily on questions of equality. But is there also a business case for putting more women in charge? </p>
<p>Previous research on differences in leadership styles between men and women has suggested the latter <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-world-needs-more-women-ceos-104876">make decisions using more collaborative and relational methods</a>, which enables them to better manage a range of groups and resources. But it wasn’t able to show whether this actually led to better results. </p>
<p>Thanks to a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jsbm.12492">study we co-authored</a> in 2019, we have data that shows women-led businesses, in certain scenarios, do indeed perform better than those run by men. </p>
<h2>The case for female leadership</h2>
<p>Our research, conducted with colleagues Gonzalo Molina-Sieiro and Michael Holmes, focused on entrepreneurs trying to grow their nascent companies quickly.</p>
<p>We began with the results of the <a href="https://www.kauffman.org/microsites/kfs">Kauffman Firm Survey</a>, which tracked 4,928 companies founded in 2004 by conducting annual surveys through 2011. The database includes lots of information critical to understanding what factors influence performance, including revenue, employees and intellectual property. For our purposes, it also includes many details about the main entrepreneur and top managers behind the venture, including education, experience and gender. </p>
<p>Most entrepreneurs run small operations with few employees and little desire to grow much. A small share, however, lead what we call “high-growth ventures,” which <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/research/high-growth-firms-and-cities-in-the-us-an-analysis-of-the-inc-5000/">are often defined</a> as companies that experience annualized employment growth of 20% or more during a three-year period. </p>
<p><a href="http://fortune.com/100-fastest-growing-companies8">These companies</a> are a significant engine of economic activity, <a href="https://www.kauffman.org/what-we-do/resources/entrepreneurship-policy-digest/the-economic-impact-of-high-growth-startups">producing millions of jobs</a> a year in the United States alone and are responsible for <a href="https://smbintelligence.com/why-prime-growth-most-likely-to-create-new-jobs/">a majority of new jobs</a> created in the U.S. over the last several decades. </p>
<p>For our purposes, we defined a high-growth venture as among the top 10% of all entrepreneurial businesses in our sample in terms of employee growth in any given year. While the <a href="https://www.gemconsortium.org/report">majority of these</a> were led by a male entrepreneur, about a quarter were run by a woman. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/273173/original/file-20190507-103057-1dmcmf7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/273173/original/file-20190507-103057-1dmcmf7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/273173/original/file-20190507-103057-1dmcmf7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/273173/original/file-20190507-103057-1dmcmf7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/273173/original/file-20190507-103057-1dmcmf7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/273173/original/file-20190507-103057-1dmcmf7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/273173/original/file-20190507-103057-1dmcmf7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Women leaders tend to collaborate well with their team.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/friends-people-group-teamwork-diversity-557769019?src=u4fE9fJEL419tMwnN87ZOg-1-89">Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Collaborative management styles</h2>
<p>In our research, we started by comparing how female-led companies performed in terms of employee growth versus those helmed by men.</p>
<p>In preliminary analyses we found that, overall, a female-led business was less likely to experience high growth. However, we knew that there was more to the story since other research has indicated the <a href="https://www.peoplematters.in/article/leadership/female-leadership-advantages-challenges-and-opportunities-19161?utm_source=peoplematters&utm_medium=interstitial&utm_campaign=learnings-of-the-day">strengths they bring to organizations</a>.</p>
<p>Given what we know about <a href="https://hbr.org/2007/09/women-and-the-labyrinth-of-leadership">female leaders’ collaborative and relational know-how</a>, we developed a theory that they should be particularly skilled at leveraging the talents of senior executives and managers. For example, <a href="https://hbr.org/2018/11/how-women-manage-the-gendered-norms-of-leadership">many female leaders argue</a> building relationships with employees helps create win-win scenarios where employees feel valued, which also helps them avoid the double bind of appearing too authoritative. </p>
<p>So we examined two markers of human capital and management talent: the number of top managers with a college degree or higher and how many had previous entrepreneurial experience. </p>
<p>The results were clear: Female-led companies with more educated managers were more likely to attain high employment growth than male peers with a management team with similar levels of experience. </p>
<p>Levels of entrepreneurial experience, on the other hand, didn’t make a difference for high growth. </p>
<h2>Investors and capital</h2>
<p>We also looked at two other variables: the number of ownership stakes and financial capital. </p>
<p>An important way companies grow is by raising funds. To do so, they often trade equity in the business for financial support. But giving investors a say on internal decisions like management and strategy can lead to conflict and division. It can also upset the balance of power among top managers. </p>
<p>An interesting finding from our research, however, is that female-led companies were more likely to hire rapidly and grow when there were more top managers or investors who held ownership stakes in the company. <a href="https://femaleentrepreneurs.institute/resolve-any-conflict-tips-pros/">Research has shown</a> that female leaders often excel at managing conflict, which helps explain our results. </p>
<p>As for capital, <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/women-entrepreneurs-arent-getting-funded">much has been written</a> about the <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/women-owned-businesses-face-a-lack-of-funding-and-heres-how-to-change-this-2019-03-08">struggle women entrepreneurs face</a> <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/bizwomen/news/latest-news/2018/11/womens-share-of-venture-capital-remains-flat.html?page=all">obtaining financing</a> for their startups. But when they finally do secure financial capital, how do they fare? </p>
<p>To find out, we looked only at companies in our database that had received financial support from a venture capital firm. Again, we found that companies led by a woman experienced stronger hiring growth than those that had a man in charge. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.bcg.com/it-it/publications/2018/why-women-owned-startups-are-better-bet.aspx">Other research</a> has found that female entrepreneurs do more with less and are able to generate more revenue per funds invested than their male counterparts. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/273175/original/file-20190507-103075-16hxsh8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/273175/original/file-20190507-103075-16hxsh8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/273175/original/file-20190507-103075-16hxsh8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/273175/original/file-20190507-103075-16hxsh8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/273175/original/file-20190507-103075-16hxsh8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/273175/original/file-20190507-103075-16hxsh8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/273175/original/file-20190507-103075-16hxsh8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Better family leave policies would help women move into the workplace.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/mother-kissing-her-little-baby-family-371032121?src=apBn1EcRO7pj9Qg_buUAfg-2-94">Dragon Images/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Utilizing women’s skills and experience</h2>
<p>The point of our study is not to show that female-led companies – high growth or not – perform better than men. </p>
<p>Rather, our research suggests that women do bring valuable and unique skills and experience to the table that can make a significant difference to business success. Yet, given so few companies are run by women, their skills and experiences are not fully utilized. </p>
<p>There are many well-known ways to help fix this, of course, such as implementing <a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/early-childhood/reports/2019/03/28/467488/child-care-crisis-keeping-women-workforce">better family leave policies</a> that are friendly to women staying in their careers, setting up development programs aimed at encouraging female entrepreneurs and finding ways to improve their access to financial capital – to name just a few. </p>
<p>Giving more opportunities to women entrepreneurs isn’t just good for them. It can be good for the entire economy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/115282/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New research suggests women-led startups can experience more rapid employment growth than those run by men in certain scenarios.Richard A. Devine, DePaul UniversitySiri Terjesen, Dean's Distinguished Professor in Entrepreneurship, Florida Atlantic UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/986982018-07-24T20:08:27Z2018-07-24T20:08:27ZWomen are dominating employment growth, but what sort of jobs are we talking about?<p>One of the biggest transformations we have seen in advanced economies is the <a href="https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=LFS_SEXAGE_I_R">increased participation of women in the paid workforce</a>. In recent Australian labour force trends, female participation is growing at <a href="http://bcec.edu.au/publications/bcec-monthly-labour-market-update-may-2018/">nine times the rate of men’s</a>. Women are dominating both full and part-time employment growth in Australia.</p>
<p>Why do changes in participation matter? Participation in the paid workforce – either being in employment or looking for work – is a key indicator of the overall health of any economy. It measures how much labour is being supplied relative to the population that we think should be engaged in the labour force – typically those aged 15-64 years.</p>
<p>Over the past three decades female participation rates in Australia have increased dramatically – from around 40% to <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/6202.0Main%20Features2Jun%202018?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=6202.0&issue=Jun%202018&num=&view=">60%</a> – while male participation rates have fallen from 80% to <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/6202.0Main%20Features2Jun%202018?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=6202.0&issue=Jun%202018&num=&view=">70%</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228725/original/file-20180722-142428-4dtqh2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228725/original/file-20180722-142428-4dtqh2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228725/original/file-20180722-142428-4dtqh2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228725/original/file-20180722-142428-4dtqh2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228725/original/file-20180722-142428-4dtqh2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228725/original/file-20180722-142428-4dtqh2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228725/original/file-20180722-142428-4dtqh2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228725/original/file-20180722-142428-4dtqh2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Labour force participation rate – men and women.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">ABS Cat No.6202.0, Labour Force, Australia</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>What is driving the increase for women? Gains in educational attainment, increased support through child care for women to engage in the paid workforce, and growth in female-dominated service sectors, such as health and education, are all strong contributors to these patterns. </p>
<p>On the other hand, several factors are likely to be contributing to the overall decline in male participation. These include a greater propensity to engage in post-school qualifications rather than go straight into the workforce, slower growth in traditional male-dominated sectors, such as manufacturing and wholesale trade, together with increased retirement support through the aged pension and superannuation.</p>
<p>These patterns are likely to continue. That means male and female labour force participation rates are likely to converge in the next 10-15 years. </p>
<h2>Women have dominated job market growth</h2>
<p>Job creation in the female-dominated health and education service sectors is driving both full-time and part-time employment growth in Australia. </p>
<p><a href="http://bcec.edu.au/assets/BCEC-Future-of-Work-in-Australia-Report.pdf">Analysis of the latest Census data</a> reveal an increase of around 400,000 jobs in each sector. Most of these have gone to women. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228724/original/file-20180722-142435-wdsrvc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228724/original/file-20180722-142435-wdsrvc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228724/original/file-20180722-142435-wdsrvc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=520&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228724/original/file-20180722-142435-wdsrvc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=520&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228724/original/file-20180722-142435-wdsrvc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=520&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228724/original/file-20180722-142435-wdsrvc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=654&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228724/original/file-20180722-142435-wdsrvc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=654&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228724/original/file-20180722-142435-wdsrvc.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=654&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Job losses and gains by sector, men and women, 2006 to 2016.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Reflecting the large growth in the health care and social assistance sector, around 170,000 more carers and aides are employed than there were ten years ago. And 150,000 of these workers are women.</p>
<p>Australia’s ageing and ailing population is no doubt playing a key role in this trend, with aged care and disability workers falling within this occupation category. This category also includes childcare workers.</p>
<p>The number of health professionals has also increased substantially – by around 150,000 workers in the ten years to 2016. Again, the majority of these extra workers are women.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228726/original/file-20180723-142414-ztaj60.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228726/original/file-20180723-142414-ztaj60.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228726/original/file-20180723-142414-ztaj60.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228726/original/file-20180723-142414-ztaj60.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228726/original/file-20180723-142414-ztaj60.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228726/original/file-20180723-142414-ztaj60.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228726/original/file-20180723-142414-ztaj60.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228726/original/file-20180723-142414-ztaj60.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Top ten growth occupations (volume), 2006 to 2016.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author's calculations from Census Tablebuilder</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>However, the way in which men and women engage in the paid labour force is very different. Women continue to dominate caring responsibilities and hence the part-time workforce. They typically use this employment arrangement as a means to balance work and family. </p>
<p>But we are seeing some changes on this front too. The rate of part-time employment is growing faster for men than for women. Male part-time work <a href="http://bcec.edu.au/assets/BCEC-Future-of-Work-in-Australia-Report.pdf">increased almost fourfold from 5% to 18%</a> in the last four decades. </p>
<p>And both men and women are more likely to <a href="http://bcec.edu.au/assets/BCEC-Future-of-Work-in-Australia-Report.pdf">cite a preference for part-time work</a> as the main reason for working part-time than they were ten years ago. </p>
<h2>Where is the labour market headed?</h2>
<p>The strength of the Australian labour market is currently founded in service sectors that are generally dominated by women. </p>
<p>This pattern will continue for the foreseeable future and beyond. Demand for “caring” occupations is unlikely to subside and automation is unlikely to produce any substantive substitute. Mining and construction booms may come and go, but these caring jobs are here to stay. </p>
<p>Many of these jobs are low-paying, however. This means that while we’re creating the jobs that are needed, we may not be assigning the appropriate value. </p>
<p>And while the future of work for the most part appears to be more “female” than “male”, this doesn’t necessarily mean men are unable to access these jobs, nor does it mean women are faring better overall in the labour market than men.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/98698/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rebecca Cassells is Principal Research Fellow at the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre. The Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre is an independent economic and social research organisation located within Curtin Business School at Curtin University. The Centre was established in 2012 with support from Bankwest (a division of Commonwealth Bank of Australia) and Curtin University. The views in this article are those of the authors and do not represent the views of Curtin University and/or Bankwest or any of their affiliates.
</span></em></p>With most new jobs going to women, their workforce participation rate is growing at nine times the rate for men. But, while participation is on track for parity in a decade, pay is another matter.Rebecca Cassells, Associate Professor, Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre, Curtin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/988602018-07-12T20:07:56Z2018-07-12T20:07:56ZA silent career killer – here’s what workplaces can do about menopause<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/226861/original/file-20180710-122250-cepbcb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In one study, only a quarter of respondents felt able to discuss their menopausal symptoms with their manager.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/beautiful-mature-female-manager-wearing-eyeglasses-406004056?src=KbB_G--7rSPjHAKIXIFwtA-2-77">stockfour/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>More and more Australian women are facing a silent career killer. It can increase their dissatisfaction with work, their absenteeism and their intention to quit their jobs. Menopause is one of the last great taboo subjects in the workplace but its impacts are great – and it’s time we talked about it. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.menopause.org.au/hp/information-sheets/185-what-is-menopause">Menopause typically occurs in women around 51 years of age</a>. Prior to this women also pass through a period of peri-menopause where symptoms are apparent. These include fatigue, hot flushes, sleep disruption, irregular and unpredictable bleeding, urinary issues and mood swings. In all, menopausal symptoms generally last from four to eight years.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/chemical-messengers-how-hormones-change-through-menopause-56921">Chemical messengers: how hormones change through menopause</a>
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<p>This directly relates to the workforce in Australia because the <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/4125.0%7ESep%202017%7EMain%20Features%7EEconomic%20Security%7E4">participation of women over 45 years of age is steadily increasing</a>, particularly in the 55-64 age group. Between 1999 and 2012, this group’s workforce participation rate <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4102.0">grew by a staggering 23%</a>.</p>
<p>While workplaces in Australia have slowly incorporated the needs of pregnant and breastfeeding mothers into their cultures, those at the other end of the journey are neither acknowledged nor understood.</p>
<h2>What do we know about menopause and work?</h2>
<p>A <a href="https://womenworkandthemenopause.com/menopause-and-the-workplace">large study</a> of women over 40 working at Australian universities was conducted in 2013-14. It’s one of the few to examine this issue locally.</p>
<p>This research showed that menopause did not necessarily affect job performance. But there was a strong link between the severity of symptoms and reduced engagement and satisfaction with work – as well as a higher intention to quit work. </p>
<p>Unsurprisingly, these reactions can have negative impacts on career aspirations. A 2013 report, <a href="https://www.dca.org.au/research/project/older-women-matter">Older Women Matter: Harnessing the talents of Australia’s older female workforce</a>, examined the issue of attracting and retaining older women in Australian workplaces. While not directly about menopause, this report argued that employers could reap significant benefits by examining their strategies and policies for employees in this demographic.</p>
<p>Studies overseas, particularly in the UK, have more comprehensively explored the link between workplace performance and menopause. It is generally agreed that women are often able to conceal their symptoms and manage their workloads. Yet they often do so at their own personal expense. </p>
<p><a href="http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2899/1/Talbert_Dissertation-Complete.pdf">One study</a> found that only a quarter of respondents felt comfortable enough to discuss their menopausal symptoms with their line managers. Most believed it was a personal and private matter. Other reasons for non-disclosure included the belief that it had no impact on their work, and their manager being male and being embarrassed.</p>
<p>The consensus then is that this important group of employees need support so that menopausal symptoms can be discussed and managed. That in turn means employees can be retained and developed. But how do employers make this happen?</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-menopause-dreaded-derided-and-seldom-discussed-85281">The menopause: dreaded, derided and seldom discussed</a>
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</em>
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<h2>A case study – Nottinghamshire Police</h2>
<p>When Detective Constable Keely Mansell was faced with <a href="https://jeanhailes.org.au/health-a-z/menopause/premature-early-menopause">early onset menopause</a> at the age of 38, she was at a loss about how to manage her symptoms in her male-dominated workplace. She left the UK police force for a short time. After finding a treatment that worked for her, she returned to work and developed Nottinghamshire Police’s <a href="https://www.nottinghamshire.police.uk/document/menopause-managers-guide-pg50">Menopause Managers Guide</a>, which was introduced in 2017. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/226862/original/file-20180710-122259-rcqrm6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/226862/original/file-20180710-122259-rcqrm6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/226862/original/file-20180710-122259-rcqrm6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=558&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226862/original/file-20180710-122259-rcqrm6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=558&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226862/original/file-20180710-122259-rcqrm6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=558&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226862/original/file-20180710-122259-rcqrm6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=701&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226862/original/file-20180710-122259-rcqrm6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=701&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226862/original/file-20180710-122259-rcqrm6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=701&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Breaking the workplace taboo on talking about and managing menopause symptoms will improve employee satisfaction and retention, to the benefit of all.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/smiling-female-aged-company-executive-team-1032686050?src=KbB_G--7rSPjHAKIXIFwtA-1-2">fizkes/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>The aim of the policy is to “create an environment where women feel confident enough to raise issues about their symptoms and ask for adjustments at work”. The guide explains menopause in simple language and includes information about diagnosis and treatment options.</p>
<p>The policy suggests a range of practical steps to support women going through menopause. These including: increased frequency of breaks; access to toilet facilities; adjustment to uniform and workspaces; and flexible working arrangements. </p>
<p>Nottinghamshire Police is not the only UK employer responding to this emerging workplace issue. Other organisations seeking to support and educate staff through menopause policies are <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/case-studies/marks-spencer-recruiting-women-from-different-backgrounds">Marks & Spencer</a>, <a href="https://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/hr/policies/health/menopause">Leicester University</a>, <a href="https://menopauseintheworkplace.co.uk/case-studies/menopause-severn-trent/">Severn Trent Water</a> and energy company <a href="https://www.eonenergy.com/about-eon/media-centre/eon-becomes-britains-first-menopause-friendly-energy-company/">E.ON</a>.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/three-reasons-employers-need-to-recognise-the-menopause-at-work-82543">Three reasons employers need to recognise the menopause at work</a>
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<h2>What can Australian organisations do?</h2>
<p>Careers need not be stilted or threatened by the impact of menopause. Even though there is no “typical” menopause, some easy and inexpensive workplace adjustments can be made to help with symptoms. </p>
<p>Most importantly, an open dialogue needs to be established so employees aren’t placed under further stress by trying to conceal menopause symptoms. This may be done through workplace and managerial training and health promotion programs. </p>
<p>In addition, simple physical changes to the workplace can be made. Examples include providing easy access to fans and/or temperature control for women experiencing hot flushes, and providing adequate toilet and personal spaces for affected women to seek short-term refuge. Flexible working hours and other arrangements can also help with managing symptoms, including fatigue from sleep disruption.</p>
<p>Changes like these assist in meeting the organisation’s occupational health and safety obligations. Just as crucially, they are instrumental in communicating the workplace’s commitment to its employees’ health and well-being. This in turn will improve employee retention and satisfaction, far beyond the time when menopausal symptoms are present. </p>
<p>Indeed, researchers are working to further understand the impacts on the careers and progression of women in Australia with a view to increasing awareness of the ramifications of menopause in the workplace.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/98860/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ruth McPhail does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Workforce participation rates for older women have increased greatly, but most workplaces have yet to realise the benefits of helping them to manage the impacts of menopause.Ruth McPhail, Head of Department of Employment Relations & Human Resources, and Professor, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/798232017-11-29T12:18:11Z2017-11-29T12:18:11ZRosie the Riveters discovered a wartime California dream<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/195735/original/file-20171121-6016-1umzjy8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Women shipfitters working on board the USS Nereus at the U.S. Navy Yard in Mare Island, circa 1943.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/%22Women_shipfitters_worked_on_board_the_USS_NEREUS%2C_and_are_shown_as_they_neared_completion_of_the_floor_in_a_part_of..._-_NARA_-_296892.jpg">Department of Defense</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>For many American families, the Great Depression and Dust Bowl struck like swift punches to the gut. New Deal work relief programs like the <a href="https://livingnewdeal.org/glossary/works-progress-administration-wpa-1935/">Works Progress Administration</a> tossed lifelines into the crushing economic waves, but many young people soon started looking farther west for more stable opportunities.</p>
<p>A powerful vision of the California dream took hold in the late 1930s and early 1940s, featuring steady work, nice housing, sometimes love – all bathed in abundant warm sunshine. </p>
<p>Perhaps most important were the jobs. They attracted people to the Pacific Coast’s new airplane factories and shipyards. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 led to an intensified war effort, and more Americans sought ways to demonstrate patriotism while also taking advantage of new employment opportunities. People from economically downtrodden regions began <a href="http://vm154.lib.berkeley.edu:3002/searchinterview/display?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=&project=Rosie+The+Riveter+World+War+II+American+Home+Front">flooding into California en masse</a> – where <a href="https://www.nps.gov/rori/learn/management/upload/3%20RORI_Chapter2Feb09.pdf">nearly 10 percent of all federal government expenditures</a> during the war were spent.</p>
<p>Following wartime opportunities west, “Rosie the Riveters” found more than just jobs, though, when they reached the Golden State. And at the war’s conclusion, each had to decide whether her own version of the California dream had been temporary or something more durable.</p>
<h2>Moving on to another life</h2>
<p>Moving to find work looms large in the historical memory surrounding the Great Depression, and migration continued in the ensuing years. The Second World War led to the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/rori/learn/historyculture/index.htm">largest mass migration within the United States</a> in the nation’s history.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/195723/original/file-20171121-6044-u7n24h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/195723/original/file-20171121-6044-u7n24h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/195723/original/file-20171121-6044-u7n24h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=916&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/195723/original/file-20171121-6044-u7n24h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=916&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/195723/original/file-20171121-6044-u7n24h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=916&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/195723/original/file-20171121-6044-u7n24h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1151&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/195723/original/file-20171121-6044-u7n24h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1151&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/195723/original/file-20171121-6044-u7n24h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1151&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Posters aimed to recruit women to jobs left vacant by drafted men during the war.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%22Do_The_Job_He_Left_Behind%22_-_NARA_-_513683.jpg">Office of War Information</a></span>
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<p>People in rural parts of the country learned about new jobs in different ways. Word of mouth was crucial, as people often chose to travel with a friend or relatives to new jobs in growing cities along the West Coast. <a href="http://kaiserpermanentehistory.org/latest/the-permanente-richmond-field-hospital-proud-reminder-of-health-cares-role-in-world-war-ii/">Henry Kaiser, whose production company</a> would open seven <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/World-War-II-created-industrial-cultural-2503378.php">major shipyards during the war</a>, sent buses around the country recruiting people with the promise of good housing, health care and steady, well-paying work.</p>
<p>Railroad companies, airplane manufacturers and dozens if not hundreds of smaller companies supporting major corporations like Boeing, Douglas and Kaiser all offered similar work opportunities. Eventually the federal government even <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/11/daycare-world-war-rosie-riveter/415650/">helped out with child care</a>. Considered against the economic hardships of the Great Depression, the promises often sounded like sweet music.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/txkMFGP6Xbk?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front Oral History Project, a collaboration of the National Park Service and the Regional Oral History Office of The Bancroft Library of UC Berkeley, collected hundreds of wartime memories.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>During an oral history I recorded in 2013 for the <a href="http://vm154.lib.berkeley.edu:3002/searchinterview/display?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=&project=Rosie+The+Riveter+World+War+II+American+Home+Front">Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front Oral History project</a>, Oklahoman Doris Whitt remembered seeing an advertising poster for jobs, which sparked her interest in moving to California.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“[T]he way I got in with Douglas Aircraft was I went to the post office, and I saw these posters all over the walls. They were asking people to serve in these different projects that were opening up because the war had started.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>For a kid from the Great Plains, the notion of going to California to help build airplanes seemed like moving to another world. Whitt grew up on a farm without a telephone. Even catching a glimpse of an airplane in the sky was unusual. </p>
<p>Whitt applied and was hired for training almost immediately. She became a “<a href="https://www.nps.gov/rori/index.htm">Rosie the Riveter</a>”: one of the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780199329175.013.55">estimated seven million American women</a> who joined the labor force during the war. Even the pay Whitt began earning while training in Oklahoma City was more than she had ever made in her life to that point. When she transferred to the West Coast and arrived in Los Angeles, Whitt felt she was living the California dream.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Oh, it was great. I remember coming through Arizona and seeing all the palm trees, and those were the first I had ever seen. They were way up in the air, and all I could do was look…. Then we got down into Los Angeles, and I was just amazed at the difference…. I just thought, ‘Oh, boy, we’re in Glory Land.’”</p>
</blockquote>
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<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Workers install fixtures and assemblies to a B-17 tail fuselage at the Douglas Aircraft Company plant in Long Beach.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:B17F_-_Woman_workers_at_the_Douglas_Aircraft_Company_plant,_Long_Beach,_Calif.jpg">Alfred T. Palmer, Office of War Information</a></span>
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<p>Whitt began walking to work every day, to a job at an airplane factory disguised as a canning company. She helped assemble P-38 Lighting aircraft by riveting the fuselage together on the day shift. She later moved to Northern California, working as a welder at a shipyard. When I met her more than 70 years later, she still resided in California.</p>
<h2>Did California remain a living dream?</h2>
<p>Ultimately, the wartime version of the California dream proved real for some people. The <a href="https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/wwiibayarea/intro.htm">state boomed in the war years</a>. Wartime jobs in the defense industries paid well, profoundly so for those coming from rural poverty. African-Americans, especially those working in extremely poor conditions like sharecropping farmers in the South, <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/190696/the-warmth-of-other-suns-by-isabel-wilkerson/9780679763888/">moved in large numbers</a> to better their lives.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/195728/original/file-20171121-6044-1ff2dwn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/195728/original/file-20171121-6044-1ff2dwn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/195728/original/file-20171121-6044-1ff2dwn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/195728/original/file-20171121-6044-1ff2dwn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/195728/original/file-20171121-6044-1ff2dwn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/195728/original/file-20171121-6044-1ff2dwn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=581&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/195728/original/file-20171121-6044-1ff2dwn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=581&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/195728/original/file-20171121-6044-1ff2dwn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=581&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Worker at Vega Aircraft Corporation in Burbank checks electrical assemblies.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:World_War_II_woman_aircraft_worker,_Vega_Aircraft_Corporation,_Burbank,_California_1942.jpg">U.S. Office of War Information</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Golden State didn’t always deliver on the promise it offered to those who moved there during World War II, though.</p>
<p>Many migrants found housing hard to find. Around shipyards, <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=0E-GDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA103&lpg=PA103&dq=sleep+in+%22hot+beds%22+world+war+ii&source=bl&ots=b0zNg8ueEB&sig=5JcM2Zw2QZ23W-2ULzzbdEQEhlI&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwivhKWjqtDXAhWI5oMKHYFeBNgQ6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q=hot%20beds&f=false">some people even shared “hot beds.”</a> Workers slept in shifts: When one roommate returned home, another would head in to work, leaving behind a still-warm bed. Unauthorized, or <a href="https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/catalog/54gmn3pt9780252020940.html">“wildcat,” strikes</a> happened across California in spite of wartime rules intended to prevent such labor actions, suggestive of ongoing labor unrest bubbling over in a new wave of strikes happening after the war.</p>
<p>While many women moving to California stayed in relationships, some marriages came to an end as the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/593087">divorce rate spiked</a>. Whitt and her husband separated not long after her move to California.</p>
<p>And despite wartime factories’ outstanding productivity with women working in traditionally male jobs, <a href="https://www.historians.org/about-aha-and-membership/aha-history-and-archives/gi-roundtable-series/pamphlets/do-you-want-your-wife-to-work-after-the-war">women were mostly pushed out of their jobs</a> at war’s end.</p>
<p>Some Rosies returned to their home states. But many others did stay in California, transitioning from wartime work in defense industries to other occupations. After all, the state still offered <a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book.php?isbn=9780520084704">more progressive social conditions</a> and a wider range of opportunities for women than could be found in many other parts of the country during the post-war era.</p>
<p>Doris Whitt stayed in California and found a job at a meatpacking company, working there for 14 years. She moved to a small town near the ocean where she lived for decades. The California dream never completely disappeared for people like Whitt, but nothing is quite as magical as those few moments when one first discovers it. In her oral history, she remembered seeing San Francisco for the first time:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Oh, it was fantastic. Fantastic. I’d never seen anything like it in my life. It was just like going to a whole new country, you know? And the ocean… Oh it was just fantastic.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The California dream continued to evolve in the postwar era, with each passing generation and each new group of migrants making it into something new.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/79823/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Samuel Redman received funding from the National Park Service to assist in the creation of the oral histories noted in this article. </span></em></p>Thousands of American women moved west to take advantage of wartime employment opportunities during WWII. For some, this version of the California dream was temporary; for others, it lasted a lifetime.Samuel Redman, Assistant Professor of History, UMass AmherstLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/828212017-08-23T19:26:51Z2017-08-23T19:26:51ZMeet the woman who can lay claim to being Australia’s first female judge<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/183107/original/file-20170823-13303-585etc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Judge May Lahey (left) with actor Jean Harlow in 1932.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://cdsun.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/cornell?a=p&p=home&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------">The Cornell Daily Sun (digitally coloured image)</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>This has been a good year for women and the law. Back in January, Susan Kiefel was sworn in as the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-30/susan-kiefel-sworn-in-as-first-female-high-court-chief-justice/8222868">first female Chief Justice</a> of the High Court of Australia. This month, <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/next-chief-justice-named-with-appeals-judge-to-succeed-marilyn-warren-in-top-job-20170808-gxrs7p.html">Anne Ferguson was named the new Chief Justice</a> of the Supreme Court of Victoria. There are female Chief Justices in Queensland and the ACT. Although sexism still pervades the legal profession, the tide of history is turning for women in the judiciary.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.australianbiography.gov.au/subjects/mitchell/">Dame Roma Mitchell</a> has longed claimed the title of Australia’s first female judge. Christened by her biographers as “Roma the First”, Mitchell is remembered for her long list of pioneering achievements: Australia’s first female Queen’s Counsel, first female university Chancellor, first female state governor — and first female judge. Her appointment to the Supreme Court of South Australia in 1965 has gone down in history as the moment when a woman finally penetrated the male bastion of the judiciary.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/183095/original/file-20170823-13316-1kn4374.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/183095/original/file-20170823-13316-1kn4374.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/183095/original/file-20170823-13316-1kn4374.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=625&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183095/original/file-20170823-13316-1kn4374.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=625&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183095/original/file-20170823-13316-1kn4374.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=625&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183095/original/file-20170823-13316-1kn4374.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=785&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183095/original/file-20170823-13316-1kn4374.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=785&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183095/original/file-20170823-13316-1kn4374.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=785&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Statue of Dame Roma Mitchell in South Australia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/brewbooks/449951576">brewbooks/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But what about May Darlington Lahey, a Queenslander who became a judge in California way back in 1928? Although her legal career took place overseas, Lahey can lay claim to being Australia’s first woman judge. </p>
<p>Yet as so often happens to expatriate Australians, Lahey’s name has slipped from the historical record. Her disappearance is typical of the tendency to forget the many Australians - especially women - who found success overseas. Without their stories, our history is too easily skewed towards male activity and achievement.</p>
<h2>Boy’s club</h2>
<p>Lahey was born in Canungra, south-east Queensland, in 1889, the daughter of sawmill operator James Lahey and his wife Amelia. She attended Brisbane Grammar School, and matriculated in 1906. According to family legend, Lahey was a feisty young woman with the gift of the gab, and an uncle living in California suggested she put her debating skills to work in the courtroom.</p>
<p>Regardless of the truth of this tale, by 1910 Lahey had relocated to Los Angeles, and there enrolled at the University of Southern California Law School. She was soon a top student. In 1913, Lahey “beat all the boys in her year,” and even scorned one mark of 100%. After graduating in 1914, Lahey was admitted to the Californian bar, and began specialising in probate. This made her the first female Queenslander to practise law.</p>
<p>The legal world Lahey entered remained a confirmed boy’s club. Although women had studied and practised law in the US since the 1870s, they still represented only a tiny minority of the profession — <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=izzUtQc5H5wC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false">less than 2% in 1920</a>. The few women who managed to carve out legal careers suffered significant hostility and discrimination. Lahey “almost starved” as a fledgling attorney because men proved reluctant to pay for her services. </p>
<p>She later recalled that: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>When I got a male client he would always suggest he was doing me a great favor to give his business to a woman and therefore a reduction in fee of about 50% would be appropriate.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>But this bad situation was still better than Australia, where not a single woman had worked in the law until Flos Greig was admitted to the Victorian bar in 1905. Women were not even entitled to practise law in New South Wales until 1918. Lahey’s home state of Queensland only acquired its first woman lawyer in 1926.</p>
<h2>Life overseas</h2>
<p>Lahey recognised that greater opportunities were available in the US, and adopted American citizenship in 1916. As her legal career developed, she became prominent in women’s organisations such as the League of Women Voters and the Women Lawyers Club, and was also an active Republican who campaigned for Herbert Hoover in his 1928 presidential campaign. She was renowned for her vivacious personality, Australian accent and talent for public speaking.</p>
<p>In December 1928 Lahey became the second female judge appointed to the Los Angeles Municipal Court. This was only seven years after Mary O’Toole became the United States’ first woman municipal judge — and 37 years before Roma Mitchell’s South Australian appointment. By all reports, Lahey was a popular choice. “This is the first appointment I’ve made while I’ve been in office, of which I’ve heard no objection by anyone!” California Governor C. C. Young announced during her investiture. In a 1933 profile of the Australian-born judge, the Los Angeles Times noted that Lahey had “helped considerably to allay masculine disapproval of women lawyers.”</p>
<p>On occasion, her courtroom played host to Hollywood stars. After film executive Paul Bern committed suicide in 1932, his actress wife Jean Harlow appeared in court to assert her claim to his estate. Lahey appointed Harlow the executor of Bern’s will. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/183091/original/file-20170823-13316-v86y8r.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/183091/original/file-20170823-13316-v86y8r.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/183091/original/file-20170823-13316-v86y8r.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183091/original/file-20170823-13316-v86y8r.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183091/original/file-20170823-13316-v86y8r.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183091/original/file-20170823-13316-v86y8r.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=639&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183091/original/file-20170823-13316-v86y8r.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=639&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183091/original/file-20170823-13316-v86y8r.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=639&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Judge May Lahey (left) with actor Jean Harlow in 1932.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://cdsun.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/cornell?a=p&p=home&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN------">The Cornell Daily Sun</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>After 15 years on the bench, Lahey was unanimously elected the court’s first female Presiding Judge. She remained at the court until retirement in 1965. She never married, had no children, and died in Los Angeles in 1984. Her story has been almost forgotten in Australia, recorded only in a self-published history of the Lahey family.</p>
<h2>Forgetting the expat experience</h2>
<p>This forgetting is typical of the expat experience. The many Australians who won success abroad are little celebrated at home. Novelist <a href="http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/stead-christina-ellen-15545">Christina Stead</a>, composer <a href="http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/glanville-hicks-peggy-winsome-12545">Peggy Glanville-Hicks</a> and playwright <a href="http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/elliott-sumner-locke-14903">Sumner Locke Eliot</a> were each marginalised within their lifetimes and are still groping for full recognition today. Thousands more have fallen through the cracks altogether. Such elisions distort our historical memory, leading us to sideline large swathes of Australian achievement and overlook that Australia has long been entangled with the wider world.</p>
<p>Our ignorance of expatriate Australians such as Lahey also keeps women out of the national story. Ambitious and unconventional women faced a hostile culture within Australia, and many found more congenial environments abroad. Men could more easily exercise their talents within Australia, and their stories have come to dominate a history that is largely confined to the nation’s borders. When we forget overseas Australians, we forget a significant portion of our female achievers, and preserve the fiction that Australia’s past is little more than a boy’s own tale of bushrangers, Anzacs and cricketers.</p>
<p>Maybe the time has come to rewrite our expatriates into the Australian past. Roma Mitchell has given her name to a high school, a scholarship, and both a statue and building on Adelaide’s North Terrace. This is all to the good, as Mitchell was a trailblazer who well merits our remembrance. But perhaps Lahey — arguably our first woman judge — also deserves some commemoration as well.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/82821/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Yves Rees does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Dame Roma Mitchell is remembered as Australia’s first female judge. But Queenslander May Lahey beat her to the punch when she became a judge in Los Angeles in 1928. Her lack of recognition is symptomatic of how Australia remembers expats, particularly women.Yves Rees, David Myers Research Fellow, La Trobe UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/742022017-03-08T14:57:17Z2017-03-08T14:57:17ZPlanet 50:50 is not quite light years away – but there’s still a mountain to climb<p><a href="http://www.unwomen.org/en/get-involved/step-it-up/about">International Women’s Day</a> is here and with it the aspiration for workplace equality by 2030 – highlighted by its accompanying slogan of “Planet 50:50”. But the harsh realities of many workplaces might lead a lot of working women to feel like that hope is pure science fiction.</p>
<p>After all, it took nearly 50 years for the African-American women scientists who helped NASA land astronauts on the moon to get <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-39003904">public recognition</a> with the release of film Hidden Figures. And who would have thought that five new <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/03/01/lego-takes-small-step-right-direction-womankind-nasa-figurines/">Lego figures</a> championing that very achievement would have so much significance in representing the visibility of female achievements in the workplace?</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"836592763860832260"}"></div></p>
<p>As I work as a mountain professional, I am actually living on Planet 85:15. This is the current men to women ratio of qualified outdoor climbing and mountaineering instructors in the UK – a figure that has remained relatively unchanged for 25 years. </p>
<p>A recent study by the Institute for Outdoor Learning highlighted a disparity between men and women when it comes to agreeing who is actually responsible for gender equity in the outdoor working environment. The report states: “Fewer women ‘see’ themselves in leadership positions – the pathways to positions with greater responsibilities are often less obvious for women and supportive networks may be absent. Many women lower their expectations of what they can achieve.”</p>
<p>This is not dissimilar to other professions and a <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/39186461">report</a> published on women in sport highlights how the number of women getting top jobs at UK sporting bodies does not meet new governmental guidelines. It is no surprise then that the gender parity agenda in outdoor leadership and organisations has failed to fully launch.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159819/original/image-20170307-14939-qry22a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159819/original/image-20170307-14939-qry22a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159819/original/image-20170307-14939-qry22a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159819/original/image-20170307-14939-qry22a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159819/original/image-20170307-14939-qry22a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159819/original/image-20170307-14939-qry22a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159819/original/image-20170307-14939-qry22a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A rock climber hangs off a cliff.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/success">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But if we want to recognise women achieving key leadership roles, then we need look no further than the recent appointment of Cressida Dick. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/feb/22/cressida-dick-appointed-first-female-met-police-commissioner">As the news coverage stated</a>, she is “the first female Met Police Commisioner”. Yet, use of the term “first female” is problematic – paralleling debates in climbing – with the use of the term “first female ascent”. Many women in climbing don’t want to be recognised as the “first woman” to complete a climbing route already achieved by a man. </p>
<p>It could be argued this is a real movement towards Planet 50:50 whereby women equally take part in a physical activity that challenges perceptions about women’s bodies, such as strength and power. However, if we lived on Planet 50:50 then the headlines would simply state the new Met Police commissioner was Cressida Dick. The associated label of being a female is irrelevant. But we know in the unequal world of gender the fact a woman has achieved this role is a significant move towards greater equality. </p>
<p>We also need to determine how we actively address unconscious biases in the workplace. For example, I recently added my job title as a university lecturer to my Facebook page – only to find a picture of a white, middle-aged bearded man automatically representing me in my job on my main profile. It was an image the social network believed represented the job. I was irritated but not be surprised as I also live on Planet 78:22 – academia. This figure represents the ratio of men to women professors in UK higher education. </p>
<p>I raised it with Facebook and was pleased to see some months later the picture had become an empty classroom. But if the job of a professor is still associated with white men, should the image instead include a woman to purposefully challenge unconscious gender assumptions? Or does that buy into gender biases in itself? </p>
<p>And if a female professor is pictured will she then get criticism and comments about what she looks likes and the clothes she wears – as opposed to commentary on her academic achievements? Maybe it’s just more straightforward not to ask these questions and stay with what we know. But an empty classroom offers a different starting point and it’s redefining the starting points that offers foundations for addressing inequity in leadership and the workplace.</p>
<p>So how do we work towards Planet 50:50? Well, one thing we don’t do is ignore men when it comes to research. I undertook a <a href="https://www.ljmu.ac.uk/about-us/news/this-girl-can">study</a> for a national campaign to encourage women to do more sport. It might have been assumed that research on men was not on the agenda – but it was. Although such an approach could be criticised, including men’s perspectives can be helpful as it provides a barometer of where things stand, gives a message that men have a role (one maybe different to what they think) and offers insight into developing strategies for achieving gender parity.</p>
<h2>Mentors</h2>
<p>So what can employers do to improve the gender balance in leadership? Mentoring could be a step in the right direction. Along with campaigns like “This Girl Can”, organisations need to develop gender inclusive leadership practices for male mentors. I am glad to say a national outdoor organisation is currently involved in a project on this to work to help acheive this.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"835096953574678529"}"></div></p>
<p>And if I told you that Planet 94:6 was the reality for women at the highest level of mountaineering leadership in the UK then you might fully appreciate the real mountain of gender inequality that still lies ahead.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/74202/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kaye Richards has received funding from Sport England and is affiliated with The British Mountaineering Council and The Institute for Outdoor Learning. </span></em></p>Planet 50:50 is a worthy aspiration this International Women’s Day – but there is still a mountain to climb and employers need to help.Kaye Richards, Senior Lecturer in Outdoor Education / Chartered Psychologist, Liverpool John Moores UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/728122017-02-19T08:10:16Z2017-02-19T08:10:16ZAfrica must bust the myth that girls aren’t good at maths and science<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/156358/original/image-20170210-23358-1dsft65.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">It's often self-doubt and gender stereotyping that holds girls back from pursuing science careers.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/Corinne Dufka</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Children’s ideas about what their gender means for their intellectual capacity are formed before they have <a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/355/6323/389.full">even turned six</a>. One idea that’s particularly pervasive and dangerous is that, <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0270467616655951">only boys</a> are good at maths and science.</p>
<p>Popular media only exacerbates the problem. Research <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0093650210384988">has shown</a> that girls hardly ever see adult women doing jobs that involve science, technology, engineering and maths on television programmes. Children’s programmes also rarely feature women doing anything scientific.</p>
<p>These early stereotypes may lead to young girls developing a “fear” of these subjects throughout their schooling. This ultimately limits their career aspirations. They become afraid to enter into fields that are based on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Statistics compiled by UNESCO reveal that, globally, women make up <a href="http://uis.unesco.org/sites/default/files/documents/fs34-women-in-science-2015-en.pdf">less than 30%</a> of the people working in STEM careers. The situation is worse in some countries in <a href="http://www.uis.unesco.org/_LAYOUTS/UNESCO/women-in-science/index.html#!lang=EN">sub-Saharan Africa</a>. </p>
<p>In South Africa, where I live and work, the problem is worsened by the country’s apartheid history. Today, black women are still <a href="http://waset.org/publications/10124/the-experiences-of-south-african-high-school-girls-in-a-fab-lab-environment">struggling</a> to access scientific careers at all. Those who do may fall victim to the “leaky pipeline” syndrome: they start degrees in science, but don’t continue to postgraduate level or go on to work in STEM fields. There are many reasons for this, including gender bias. </p>
<p>It’s a complex problem. So, how can it be tackled? For starters, there should be a concerted effort to raise girls in a way that encourages them to ignore stereotypical norms. The country’s basic education system also needs massive improvement when it comes to teaching maths and science so that they become attractive subject choices for more pupils. </p>
<p>But it will also require funding for bursaries, improved science communication and, linked to this, boosting scientists’ visibility so that young people – and especially girls – realise that they, too, could become scientists. Interventions with just this aim have been successful <a href="http://blogs.nature.com/ofschemesandmemes/2011/01/31/women-in-science-where-are-we-now">elsewhere in the world</a>, and there’s no reason they can’t work in Africa too.</p>
<h2>History and the present</h2>
<p>There have been some positive steps towards getting more young people, particularly women, involved in studying STEM subjects. </p>
<p>In recent years, South Africa has unveiled a number of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes to encourage women to enrol for STEM subjects. For example, <a href="http://www.nrf.ac.za/sites/default/files/documents/NRF%20Strategy%20Implementation.pdf">black women</a> held the largest share of National Research Foundation (NRF) bursary support in 2016 overall. In the areas of engineering and computer sciences, NRF funding was increased more for women though men still get the lion’s share of funding in these important subjects. The funders are trying, but because of the leaky pipeline, among other factors, there aren’t always women to take up these opportunities. </p>
<p>So while money is important, it’s not enough. Retention levels <a href="https://blogs.sjsu.edu/sciencepolicy/files/2014/07/thumb-pipeline_sci-155jw4q.jpg">are low</a>. </p>
<p>Almost <a href="https://en.unesco.org/node/252168">equal numbers</a> of males to females are entering undergraduate science based degrees. At the postgraduate levels, though, the number of men is <a href="https://en.unesco.org/node/252168">higher</a> in many science based degrees, suggesting that their female peers have left the system.</p>
<p>This isn’t a uniquely South African problem, but what drives it is different – the fact that apartheid, for the most part, kept black people out of universities. </p>
<p>As elsewhere, patriarchy is a common global factor in holding girls (and especially black girls) back. In many cultures, women are expected to be subservient to “show respect” for men and the idea that a “woman’s place is in the kitchen” persists. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/156964/original/image-20170215-27402-13hhik8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/156964/original/image-20170215-27402-13hhik8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/156964/original/image-20170215-27402-13hhik8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=578&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/156964/original/image-20170215-27402-13hhik8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=578&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/156964/original/image-20170215-27402-13hhik8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=578&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/156964/original/image-20170215-27402-13hhik8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=727&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/156964/original/image-20170215-27402-13hhik8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=727&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/156964/original/image-20170215-27402-13hhik8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=727&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Gender imbalances in STEM subjects and careers are a global phenomenon.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">UNESCO Science Report, Towards 2030</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There’s another issue at play: young people in Africa very rarely know any scientists. They don’t see scientists at work, learn about local scientists in school or, often, understand what it is that scientists do. The role of scientists is still a mystery to many even though there have been a <a href="http://fondationloreal.com/categories/for-women-in-science/lang/en">number</a> of great <a href="http://africanwomeninmath.org/">initiatives</a>, both global and regional, to improve science communication and engagement.</p>
<p>To fix this problem more science communication and public engagement of society in science is needed. </p>
<h2>Possible solutions</h2>
<p>All media, whether it’s print, radio, television or social platforms, should be geared towards breaking stereotypes linked to science and technology. With clever campaigns, girls will realise that they can become scientists and work in technology and innovation environments – and thrive.</p>
<p>The lack of role models is often a resounding theme for young women entering STEM careers. STEM-based content, whether it’s on TV fiction series or contained in non-fictional journalistic articles, is urgently needed. This can be developed to reach all South Africans, ideally through the SA Broadcasting Corporation’s radio and TV channels because these have incredible reach and represent all 11 of the country’s official languages.</p>
<p>Mentorship is another possible approach. Research has shown just how <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/2372732214549471">valuable</a> it is for women in STEM to work with mentors. <a href="http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/7797859/?reload=true">Doing so</a> increases their access to role models, helps them to acquire and refine career development skills, allows them to set goals more effectively and provides a supportive network. All of this wards off women’s feelings of being isolated and under represented in their STEM fields. </p>
<p>A word of caution, though: individuals shouldn’t feel forced into mentorship. It must be a matter of personal choice. If universities offer mandatory mentorship programmes, these might do more harm than good by suggesting that women need more help than men to succeed.</p>
<p>Finally, society needs more messages that counter stereotypes. Schools, for instance, could teach pupils about the <a href="http://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/writing-women-back-into-science-history/">important contributions</a> made by women scientists, especially those <a href="http://ayibamagazine.com/five-african-female-scientists-you-should-definitely-know-about/">in Africa</a>, in all fields. This would improve the visibility of women in STEM – a good way to start untangling age-old stereotypes so that Africa’s future women in science don’t remain forever hidden.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/72812/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nox Makunga receives funding from the National Research Foundation (NRF), Stellenbosch University's Division of Research Development and the Technology Innovation Agency. </span></em></p>Society, parents, schools and popular media all perpetuate the myth that girls don’t have the brains or ability to be scientists. Of course, that simply isn’t true.Nox Makunga, Associate Professor: Medicinal plant biotechnology, Stellenbosch UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/699082017-01-20T10:59:17Z2017-01-20T10:59:17ZWhy it’s so hard for women to break into the C-suite<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/153549/original/image-20170120-5234-1belde4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">It always seems just out of reach.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Glass ceiling via www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>With the first U.S. presidential election featuring a major party female nominee in the rear-view mirror and her male rival about to take the presidential oath, now is a good time to examine the progress women have made toward gender equality.</p>
<p>First, the good news: While Clinton lost the election, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/elections/results/president">she still won the popular vote</a> – by almost three million votes, in fact. About 66 million Americans affirmed that a woman is fit to lead one of the <a href="http://www.mapsofworld.com/world-top-ten/world-top-ten-powerful-countries-map.html">world’s most powerful nations</a>. </p>
<p>In addition, women now account for 51 percent of <a href="https://www.dol.gov/wb/factsheets/qs-womenwork2010.htm">management, professional and other high-wage occupations in the U.S.</a>, and research shows they <a href="http://jom.sagepub.com/content/38/2/719.short">perform slightly better than men</a> at work. Some analysts argue that once women’s career choices, such as taking time off or opting for flexible hours, are considered, the male-female <a href="http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/harvard-prof.-takes-down-gender-wage-gap-myth/article/2580405">pay gap disappears</a>.</p>
<p>Does this mean the glass ceiling has been broken?</p>
<p>Well, not so fast. Now the bad news. </p>
<p><a href="http://fortune.com/2016/06/06/women-ceos-fortune-500-2016/">Fewer than 5 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs are women</a>, while Donald Trump has nominated just <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/donald-trump-s-cabinet-picks-so-far-n690296">three women</a> to join his 15-member Cabinet. In addition, women who seek power are still met with <a href="http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2015/01/14/women-and-leadership/">skepticism</a> – or worse – by many. </p>
<p>Clinton’s gender, for example, was seen as a barrier to her candidacy. When interviewed by <a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/features/hidden-sexism/">PBS Newshour</a> during the campaign, a 20-year-old clerk said, “With a man, you look for leadership and guidance. With a woman, you look for companionship and nurturing. A motherly role.”</p>
<p>Clearly, there’s more work to be done, as evidenced by the fact that hundreds of thousands of Americans plan to attend the <a href="https://www.womensmarch.com">Women’s March on Washington</a> to advocate for the equitable treatment of women.</p>
<p>Our own recent research shows just how complicated perceptions of men and women can be. Using data from nearly 50,000 managers, we asked the question of whether organizations punish women who do not conform to expectations that they be nurturing, kind and communal. The results reveal one way that persistent gender stereotypes continue to hold back the careers of women.</p>
<h2>Derailment risk</h2>
<p>In our study, titled “<a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/peps.12184/full">Dropped on the Way to the Top: Gender and Managerial Derailment</a>” and published in Personnel Psychology, we wanted to learn how gender biases affect managerial assessments. </p>
<p>To better understand this, we obtained ratings from managers’ bosses on their job performance. But we also looked at another type of rating: assessments of how likely it was that the managers would “derail” in the future.</p>
<p>In business, derailing means that someone has hit his or her ceiling in the organization but was expected to go higher. Picture someone who started on the executive fast track but stalls out as a middle manager and “doesn’t have what it takes” to get the next promotion.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/4165289.pdf">Decades of research show</a> that a key cause of derailment is problems with interpersonal relationships, so we also examined ratings of the managers’ interpersonal behaviors, provided by their coworkers, to determine how relationship skills influenced bosses’ perceptions of the managers’ future potential. </p>
<p>Our data showed that men’s and women’s performance ratings were equal and that women, as a group, were slightly more effective in their interpersonal behaviors than men. But when a female manager wasn’t so good with people, she was 17 percent more likely than a male manager with the same level of people skills to be evaluated as a derailment risk. </p>
<p>In other words, bosses viewed ineffective interpersonal behavior as a bigger problem for women than for men – big enough that it disproportionately limited their odds of getting ahead.</p>
<h2>Jason and Jennifer</h2>
<p>To see if gender was truly the cause of these effects, we conducted an experiment.</p>
<p>We created a managerial feedback report for a fictional manager named Jason, a generally effective midlevel manager who met his business goals but also had some difficulty getting along with others at work and needed to get better at building a team. We duplicated that report, keeping all the details exactly the same except the gender of the manager, now named Jennifer. </p>
<p>We gave these reports to real managers, who were randomly assigned to read and evaluate either Jennifer’s or Jason’s report. Our findings confirmed the original results: Jennifer and Jason were rated equally on their job performance, but Jennifer was rated as a significantly higher risk for derailment. </p>
<p>To better understand the consequences of derailment risk for managers, we conducted another experiment. We asked managers what they would do if Jennifer or Jason were their subordinate. Results showed that when a boss thinks a manager might derail, critical resources are withdrawn. </p>
<p>Bosses were less likely to coach or support managers at risk of derailing. Even worse, though, they were less willing to provide sponsorship – to use their influence to help the manager advance. This is especially harmful for women because they remain underrepresented in the C-suite, making a <a href="https://hbr.org/2010/09/why-men-still-get-more-promotions-than-women">powerful sponsor even more important</a> as they make their way up the career ladder.</p>
<p>This hits women with a “double whammy”: They’re more likely than men to be perceived as derailment risks, and they’re hit harder than men by the consequences of these perceptions. </p>
<h2>Gender stereotypes</h2>
<p>Why are poor people skills such a killer for female managers? </p>
<p>It is because <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191308512000093">expectations for effective interpersonal behaviors differ for men and women</a>, based on stereotypes in our society about how women should behave. Women have historically taken on nurturing and care-giving roles, including working in service professions and raising children. This division of labor leads to stereotypes that women are more kind and nurturing than men. When they morph into prescriptions of how women should behave, they become particularly problematic.</p>
<p>People often see work conflicts between men <a href="http://amp.aom.org/content/27/1/52.short">as normal</a>. When a female manager has conflict, though, the same people may worry that she has trouble getting along with others. And when bosses rely on “gut feelings” to make judgments about whether or not an employee might detail in the future, they are left vulnerable to these biases.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/153547/original/image-20170120-5251-1g5mkvy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/153547/original/image-20170120-5251-1g5mkvy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153547/original/image-20170120-5251-1g5mkvy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153547/original/image-20170120-5251-1g5mkvy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153547/original/image-20170120-5251-1g5mkvy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153547/original/image-20170120-5251-1g5mkvy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153547/original/image-20170120-5251-1g5mkvy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">One step forward, two steps back: President Obama’s final term in office boasted eight women out of 23 Cabinet or Cabinet-level positions. That may be more than Trump has nominated but still far short of women’s share of the population.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How to battle our biases</h2>
<p>The reason stereotypes are so insidious and challenging to address is that <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/199805/where-bias-begins-the-truth-about-stereotypes">they operate subconsciously</a>. Chances are good that few, if any, of the bosses in our studies were overtly sexist – indeed, most would likely be shocked and dismayed to learn that their decisions were biased. </p>
<p>Even decision-makers who are committed to treating women fairly may not be able to <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/kathycaprino/2015/08/25/gender-bias-is-real-womens-perceived-competency-drops-significantly-when-judged-as-being-forceful/#adda3363b451">stop their brains from raising a red flag</a> when they see a woman engaging in behavior that violates societal beliefs that women should be nice and nurturing.</p>
<p>So what can be done to stop bias and discrimination toward women? </p>
<p>Research shows that one of the most important steps people can take is <a href="http://www.apa.org/monitor/2011/10/biased-brain.aspx">increasing awareness</a> about how implicit biases can influence their thinking. Colleagues can talk, coach and engage each other in conversation. When organizational leaders observe high-potential managers struggling, they can step up to help, rather than “dropping” them – something that will benefit managers regardless of their gender. </p>
<p>The fight to help women achieve high-level leadership positions must continue until powerful women are so commonplace that stereotypes begin to change. But as long as men and women fill different social roles – at home and at work – we may never be able to fully eliminate gender stereotypes from our minds. </p>
<p>Perhaps a silver lining in the cloud of sexism that arose during the recent presidential election is that Americans are now talking openly about gender bias. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/09/us-election-result-misogyny-america-panel-woman">Author Kate Harding</a> wrote, “My country hates women, which is bad enough, and it pretends it doesn’t, which is worse.” </p>
<p>Our research doesn’t go that far, but it does suggest that we hold men and women to different standards of behavior. To make progress, we must acknowledge the prevalence and insidious nature of gender stereotypes and admit that they affect our attitudes and behavior, even when we don’t want them to.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/69908/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>While Clinton’s popular vote win shows progress toward gender equality, her rival’s nomination of just three women to his Cabinet is a reminder of how much work still needs to be done to overcome bias in management.Joyce E. Bono, Full Professor, University of FloridaElisabeth Gilbert, Ph.D. Student in Management, University of FloridaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/612182016-06-27T06:04:32Z2016-06-27T06:04:32ZElection FactCheck: Have 300,000 new jobs been created in the last calendar year and were almost two-thirds held by women?<blockquote>
<p>In the last calendar year, 300,000 new jobs were created; almost two-thirds of these were women. – Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, <a href="https://www.liberal.org.au/latest-news/2016/06/10/stronger-new-economy-secure-our-future">speaking</a> to the Menzies Research Centre, June 10, 2016.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>As part of his pitch to voters about “jobs and growth”, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said that 300,000 new jobs had been created in the last calendar year, with women holding almost two-thirds of them.</p>
<p>Is he right?</p>
<h2>Checking the source</h2>
<p>The Conversation asked the PM’s spokesman for sources to support his statement, but did not receive an on-the-record response before deadline. </p>
<p>Nevertheless, it is possible to check his statement against data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/6202.0May%202016?OpenDocument">Labour Force Survey</a>.</p>
<h2>Were 300,000 new jobs created in the last calendar year?</h2>
<p>Yes. ABS trend <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/6202.0May%202016?OpenDocument">Labour Force Statistics</a> show an increase of 298,000 in the total number of persons employed between December 2014 and December 2015, as shown in the chart below:</p>
<p><strong>Figure 1: Change in the number of people employed (year to date)</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/127669/original/image-20160622-19764-f6loj3.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/127669/original/image-20160622-19764-f6loj3.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127669/original/image-20160622-19764-f6loj3.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127669/original/image-20160622-19764-f6loj3.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127669/original/image-20160622-19764-f6loj3.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127669/original/image-20160622-19764-f6loj3.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127669/original/image-20160622-19764-f6loj3.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The job numbers from between December 2014 and December 2015 also show the greatest year to date improvement in employment numbers since the start of Turnbull’s tenure as prime minister (Turnbull became PM in September 2015). </p>
<p>Looking at the trend figures from the ABS Labour Force statistics released in June 2016, we see an increase of around 217,000 in the total number of people employed over the year to May 2016. </p>
<p>It is true that more jobs are being created, but the rate of growth has been on a steady decline since the start of the year, as the chart above shows. And importantly, the composition of employment is also changing, with a definite shift from full-time to part-time jobs. </p>
<h2>Are almost two-thirds of the jobs created held by women?</h2>
<p>Turnbull’s statement that almost two-thirds of jobs created were held by women is correct. </p>
<p>Out of the additional 298,000 people employed during the 2015 calendar year, 61% were women, close to the two-thirds claimed by Turnbull. </p>
<p>Further, the biggest growth in employment over the year to December 2015 was among women working full-time - a net increase of 111,300, as this chart shows: </p>
<p><strong>Figure 2: Change in the number of people employed full and part-time</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/127670/original/image-20160622-19786-12nyown.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/127670/original/image-20160622-19786-12nyown.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=306&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127670/original/image-20160622-19786-12nyown.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=306&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127670/original/image-20160622-19786-12nyown.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=306&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127670/original/image-20160622-19786-12nyown.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127670/original/image-20160622-19786-12nyown.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127670/original/image-20160622-19786-12nyown.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>However, if we again take the ABS Labour Force Statistics released in June and look at employment growth in the year to May 2016, we see a different picture. </p>
<p>As before, nearly two-thirds of the employment growth across this period has been due to increases in the number of women working both full-time and part-time. But it is no longer full-time work that has seen the greatest increase for women. </p>
<p>Part-time employment now plays a greater role, with a net increase of 74,800 in the number of women working part-time. This compares with growth of 66,000 in the number of women in full-time employment.</p>
<p>The changes in full-time and part-time employment are even more marked for men. There have been an additional 81,600 men employed part-time over the year to May 2016. At the same time, the number of men employed full-time has decreased by 5,400.</p>
<p>Overall, most of the growth in employment over the last 12 months to May 2016 has been driven by growth in part-time jobs for both men and women. In fact, we have seen a fall in the number of men employed full-time in every month since the start of the year. And for women the growth in full-time jobs has disappeared, as this chart shows:</p>
<p><strong>Figure 3: Monthly change in number of full and part-time employees, men and women</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/127671/original/image-20160622-19764-1w94a9o.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/127671/original/image-20160622-19764-1w94a9o.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/127671/original/image-20160622-19764-1w94a9o.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=214&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127671/original/image-20160622-19764-1w94a9o.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=214&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127671/original/image-20160622-19764-1w94a9o.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=214&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127671/original/image-20160622-19764-1w94a9o.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=269&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127671/original/image-20160622-19764-1w94a9o.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=269&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/127671/original/image-20160622-19764-1w94a9o.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=269&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What’s really happening in the Australian labour market?</h2>
<p>Over the election period, both the Labor and Liberal parties have put forward conflicting views of what’s currently happening in the Australian labour market.</p>
<p>The commitment to “jobs and growth” has been one of the most prominent pillars of the Coalition’s election campaign to date. </p>
<p>Turnbull has zeroed in on the figure of 300,000, but that figure represents employment growth that occurred in 2015 – and obscures the slower rate of employment growth we’ve seen since the start of 2016.</p>
<p>Labor has also been selective in their numbers in putting forward a worse-case scenario picture of the Australian labour market, claiming <a href="https://theconversation.com/election-factcheck-have-50-000-full-time-jobs-been-lost-this-year-and-are-over-a-million-people-underemployed-60709">a large fall in full-time jobs since the start of the year</a>. </p>
<p>The real story is more complex and somewhere in between what the two parties are putting forward. Here’s what the numbers show:</p>
<ul>
<li>The number of people employed over the 2015 calendar year rose by about 300,000.</li>
<li>The rate of employment growth has eased off considerably since the start of 2016.</li>
<li>Nearly three-quarters of recent employment growth stems from part-time jobs.</li>
<li>The underemployment rate is the <a href="https://theconversation.com/election-factcheck-have-50-000-full-time-jobs-been-lost-this-year-and-are-over-a-million-people-underemployed-60709">highest it has been in the last 20 years</a>. </li>
<li>People are working fewer hours overall since the start of the current year.</li>
<li>The decline in aggregate monthly hours has been greater for women than for men over the last three months. </li>
</ul>
<p>Taken together, all of these signals point to a labour market that is weakening.</p>
<h2>Verdict</h2>
<p>Turnbull’s statement that “In the last calendar year, 300,000 new jobs were created; almost two-thirds of these were women” is correct – but he’s selectively chosen a time frame that shows strong employment growth. </p>
<p>He did not use the most recent ABS Labour Force statistics available at the time of his speech (which would have shown a less impressive rate of employment growth).</p>
<p>It is also true that nearly two-thirds of the 300,000 jobs created went to women, and most of these were full-time. </p>
<p>However, while this is true in relation to 2015, May 2016 ABS labour market statistics show that more of the growth in employment now stems from part-time work. <strong>– Rebecca Cassells and Alan Duncan</strong></p>
<hr>
<h2>Review</h2>
<p>This is a sound analysis of Prime Minister Turnbull’s claims about the nature of recent employment growth. The authors rightly point out the differences of interpretation that are possible depending on precisely which time periods are considered. During this election campaign, both major political parties have made radically different claims about the state of the labour market by selectively comparing different data series and time periods. There are dangers in reading too much into any narrow time period; a full understanding requires a longer-term view.</p>
<p>The authors could have noted that any increase in employment is only meaningful when expressed relative to other changes. If 300,000 new jobs are created, but 600,000 additional people want to work, then the labour market is not performing well. What matters is the rate of jobs growth relative to population and labour force growth. </p>
<p>A key indicator is the employment-to-population ratio, which measures the proportion of the population in employment at any time. The Labour Force Survey data show that the overall employment-to-population ratio has fallen on a trend basis for four of the past five calendar years (2011-2014). It rose steadily through 2015, but fell again in the first five months of 2016. </p>
<p>Even in 2015, the full-time share of employment continued to fall. This has mostly affected men, who hold the majority of full-time jobs. As of May 2016, the male trend employment-to-population ratio (66.6%) remains well below its recent peak in early 2008 (69.9%) and also well below its long-term average since 1980 (68.5%). <strong>– Joshua Healy</strong></p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rebecca Cassells is Principal Research Fellow at the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre. The Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre is an independent economic and social research organisation located within Curtin Business School at Curtin University. The Centre was established in 2012 with support from Bankwest (a division of Commonwealth Bank of Australia) and Curtin University. The views in this article are those of the authors and do not represent the views of Curtin University and/or Bankwest or any of their affiliates.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alan Duncan is the Director of the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre. The Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre is an independent economic and social research organisation located within Curtin Business School at Curtin University. The Centre was established in 2012 with support from Bankwest (a division of Commonwealth Bank of Australia) and Curtin University. The views in this article are those of the authors and do not represent the views of Curtin University and/or Bankwest or any of their affiliates.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joshua Healy is a researcher at the Centre for Workplace Leadership, which receives funding from the Australian Government Department of Employment.</span></em></p>Was Malcolm Turnbull right to say that 300,000 new jobs created in the last calendar year, with almost two-thirds held by women?Rebecca Cassells, Associate Professor, Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre, Curtin UniversityAlan Duncan, Director, Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre and Bankwest Research Chair in Economic Policy, Curtin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.