Are employers reinforcing damaging gender norms?

Workplace culture and gender norms have been intertwined for years, and organisations, through their policies, reinforce it.

A new national study of more than 6,200 Australian working parents and carers sought to understand their experiences balancing work and the differences in experiences between genders within the workplace.

Key findings from the report are as follows:

• A quarter (26 per cent) of working parents and carers were worried about their reputation at work if they used flexible working arrangements offered by their employer.
• Workplace cultures are still geared towards supporting men as the primary income earner and women as the primary caregiver, with access towards paid parental leave and flexible working still favouring women over men.
• Two-thirds of working parents who think their parental leave was too short indicate financial reasons for not taking longer.
• Fifty-six per cent of respondents indicated that they agree it is more acceptable for women to use family-friendly options than men (64 per cent in 2019).

In terms of the reputation finding, it is an interesting anecdote that has rarely been explored throughout the hybrid/flexible working arrangement debate. With employees themselves fearing for their own reputation among peers if they accept flexible working arrangements from their employer, it can set a negative precedent going forward.

The survey results also highlight the effects of gender norms that often underpin family-friendly policies and widespread workplace attitudes. Workplace cultures are still often geared towards supporting men as the primary income earner, and women in the confined box of being the primary caregiver.

This overarching status quo is reinforced by the data as nearly half (48 per cent) of men were found to take less than one month of parental leave for their last child, while on the other side, nearly all women (91 per cent) take longer than four months in total.

The main reasoning behind this, according to the survey, for men taking too short a paid parental leave period was that they were not eligible for longer based on their employer’s policy, at 51 per cent. Thus, the responsibility for this status quo remaining somewhat falls on the employer in this context.

Parents At Work chief executive Emma Walsh said the results reveal more needs to be done to support working parents and carers in achieving work/life balance: “In trying to strike the balancing act and rise to the pressures and commitments working families face, it is evident that this is not being noticed enough by workplaces.

“The findings reveal there is still a significant skew towards women bearing the majority of the caring load and household duties, nearly double that of men, despite working similar hours to them. Women are still seen as the traditional caregiver over men, evident in the unequal parental leave policies for men and women.

“The results suggest workplace cultures are geared towards supporting men as the primary income earner and women as the primary caregiver to the disadvantage of both men and women.”

These norms that can be reinforced by the employer are becoming outdated, and for parent workers, it’s crucial that they are reviewed and eventually updated. Paid parental leave benefits for employees can create better employee engagement and retention.

If you’re looking to entice employees to stay, and seemingly disband of those traditional gender norms, increasing that paid parental leave can prove to be a worthwhile venture. As a business, if you’re looking to entice young adults, this can prove to be a worthwhile venture. Nrol director Jesse Shah said the best businesses are already exploring this.

“Certain age groups think of certain things. So, if you’re looking at the age group that is now looking at family planning, paternity policies are a big question. When you look at your top-tier law firms, they’re giving 26 weeks, which is incredible,” Shah said.

Breaking down the disadvantages that both groups have in the workplace is a big deal for employees. Organisations will see that repayment through productivity, engagement, and retention; it comes to down to whether they are willing to commit to it or not.