[Australia] Morrison government failing women by inaction on gender inequality at work

Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) president Michele O’Neil said Australian women are still being failed, with falls in employment and standards yet to be addressed, The Guardian reports.

The ACTU is ramping up its gender campaign after last week’s unemployment figures showed that women continued to be disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic’s economic impact, in comparison with men.

90,000 women lost their jobs between May and August compared to only 25,000 men. In New South Wales alone, nearly two-thirds of all jobs lost since lockdown began in June had been held by women.

Women were shown to be more likely to drop out of the labour force altogether - meaning they would no longer be counted in employment statistics - with 4.1 per cent of women in NSW no longer looking for work, compared to 2.8 per cent of men.

The latest figures are reportedly the continuation of a trend identified in the 2020 ABS gender indicators report, which found women aged 20-74 were almost three times as likely as men to be working part-time.

Ms O’Neil said women remaining in the workforce had also been let down, with the Australian government “missing the opportunity” to legislate more protections based on recommendations from the sex discrimination commissioner, Kate Jenkins’ Respect@Work report.

“The Morrison government is overseeing a faltering recovery which is entrenching insecurity and gender inequality in the Australian workforce,” Ms O’Neil said.

“Women are more likely to be losing work than men, and are also more likely to have fallen out of the workforce entirely during the lockdown period. The amount of time women spend caring has increased as has family and domestic violence.

“Action is urgently needed from the Morrison government to address insecure work - which disproportionately affects women - as well as sexual harassment and violence in the workplace.”

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg cited the recovery made by the labour market and the economy after the last major lockdowns, which included women returning to the workforce as evidence that both will see a bounceback once Australia reopens.

The ACTU is hoping to force the government into taking further action on the Respect@Work report, with a key focus on making the recommendation which sought to create “substantive equality between women and men” a concrete objective of legislation.

“The recovery from this pandemic should be an opportunity to reshape the Australian workforce to provide more secure work, safer workplaces and equal rights for working women,” Ms O’Neil said.

“The Morrison government has categorically failed to take this opportunity.”

Source: The Guardian

(Links via original reporting) 

Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) president Michele O’Neil said Australian women are still being failed, with falls in employment and standards yet to be addressed, The Guardian reports.

The ACTU is ramping up its gender campaign after last week’s unemployment figures showed that women continued to be disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic’s economic impact, in comparison with men.

90,000 women lost their jobs between May and August compared to only 25,000 men. In New South Wales alone, nearly two-thirds of all jobs lost since lockdown began in June had been held by women.

Women were shown to be more likely to drop out of the labour force altogether - meaning they would no longer be counted in employment statistics - with 4.1 per cent of women in NSW no longer looking for work, compared to 2.8 per cent of men.

The latest figures are reportedly the continuation of a trend identified in the 2020 ABS gender indicators report, which found women aged 20-74 were almost three times as likely as men to be working part-time.

Ms O’Neil said women remaining in the workforce had also been let down, with the Australian government “missing the opportunity” to legislate more protections based on recommendations from the sex discrimination commissioner, Kate Jenkins’ Respect@Work report.

“The Morrison government is overseeing a faltering recovery which is entrenching insecurity and gender inequality in the Australian workforce,” Ms O’Neil said.

“Women are more likely to be losing work than men, and are also more likely to have fallen out of the workforce entirely during the lockdown period. The amount of time women spend caring has increased as has family and domestic violence.

“Action is urgently needed from the Morrison government to address insecure work - which disproportionately affects women - as well as sexual harassment and violence in the workplace.”

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg cited the recovery made by the labour market and the economy after the last major lockdowns, which included women returning to the workforce as evidence that both will see a bounceback once Australia reopens.

The ACTU is hoping to force the government into taking further action on the Respect@Work report, with a key focus on making the recommendation which sought to create “substantive equality between women and men” a concrete objective of legislation.

“The recovery from this pandemic should be an opportunity to reshape the Australian workforce to provide more secure work, safer workplaces and equal rights for working women,” Ms O’Neil said.

“The Morrison government has categorically failed to take this opportunity.”

Source: The Guardian

(Links via original reporting)