Workforce segregation impacting gender pay gap

Australia’s gender pay gap is currently sitting at 22.8 per cent, meaning for each dollar men make, women earn 77¢. While the gap is getting smaller, more needs to be done if we’re to experience true equality.

New research suggests that a major contributor to the gap is gender segregation, which is prevalent in many occupations.

The Fair Work Commission (FWC) analysed various industries, revealing some of the worst affected industries by gender segregation:

• Midwives in hospitals (except psychiatric) (98.9 per cent female)
• Early childhood (pre-primary school) teachers in preschools (97.6 per cent female)
• Dental assistants in dental services (97.5 per cent female)
• Child carers in preschool education (97.2 per cent female)
• Beauty therapists in hairdressing and beauty services (97.2 per cent female)
• Veterinary nurses in veterinary services (96.4 per cent female)
• Child carers in childcare services (96 per cent female)
• Receptionists in general practice medical services (95.9 per cent female)
• Registered nurses in general practice medical services (95.6 per cent female)
• Education aides in primary education (92.9 per cent female)
• Receptionists in hospitals (92.9 per cent female)

“Despite significant government, business and community effort to promote workplace gender equality, Australia’s working women continue to earn less than men,” said the FWC.

“Gendered earnings inequalities arise from a range of factors; however, the segregation of women and men into different occupations and industries is a key driver.”

The report continued: “Many jobs where large numbers of women are concentrated disproportionately feature among the lowest paid, underpinning earnings and wealth gaps that accumulate across the life course.”

Researchers from UNSW’s Social Policy Research Centre analysed the FWC data and found that over 9 per cent of the workforce, or 1.1 million workers, are working in “feminised” jobs.

Lead researcher, Associate Professor Natasha Cortis commented on the findings: “This new list of highly feminised occupations is based on the best available data and points to the occupations and industries where the undervaluation of women’s work is most likely.”

“Our analysis shows that many highly feminised occupations deliver essential education, care and support services. These are overrepresented among lower paid occupations, and all are affected by skill shortages.”

Care and support work dominated the feminised jobs list. This is reportedly due to engrained social values, attitudes that may need to be turned around if we’re to achieve true equality.

“Decades of research shows that the skills used in care and support work are often assumed to be ‘natural’, derived from women’s traditional domestic and caring roles rather than valuable skills worthy of decent pay,” said Professor Cortis.

“This list of highly feminised occupations suggests some priorities to guide further investigation to help the community and policymakers better recognise the value of women’s work.”

Study co-leader Dr Yuvisthi Naidoo agreed: “Women might have made progress toward receiving equal pay in the same settings as men, but this research shows that there are a range of highly feminised work settings [that] also contribute to the gender pay gap.

“By identifying the 13 federal modern awards that cover these highly feminised occupations and industries, the report helps strengthen the evidence for understanding where to direct efforts to address gender segregation and pay equity issues.”

According to Professor Cortis, the FWC has the power to change these engrained perceptions through policy.

“Recent decades have shown that gender segregation and the gender pay gap are very entrenched features of the labour market. We can now expect to see an expanded role for gender equality in the Fair Work Commission’s decision-making processes. This has potential to make a real difference for working women,” concluded Professor Cortis.