Australian women are making an impressive impact in the labour force. They face a unique and frustrating gauntlet of barriers that worsens their work and home lives. Women in Australia are feeding on these advantages to produce outstanding outcomes, including high rates of part-time work and higher male educational attainment. Even with this progress, they continue to enjoy a longer life expectancy at the expense of unpaid caregiving labor. This article highlights the significant societal implications and pressing needs for reform.
In Australia, women work part-time in mind-bogglingly high proportion. Yet they account for an astonishing 70 percent of all part-time work in the nation. Despite their educational advantages and longevity—Australian women outlive men—they face persistent wage gaps and a disproportionate share of household responsibilities. They do 70 percent of all housework. This incredible burden—and expectation—has caused “volcanic levels of resentment” among women.
The school day in Australia would still end at 3 PM under this proposal. This timeline doesn’t align with the typical work day of many parents, either. This misalignment increases the need for mental health care among children. Unfortunately, each year, one out of seven school children comes to class unprepared to learn because they don’t have enough food. These kids suffer an average wait time of 99 days. Instead, they’re just sitting there and waiting for a trained mental health professional to be available.
The Economic Landscape for Women
The federally funded economic landscape for Australian women has changed since then but it is still a contradictory place. Today, women outnumber men in education, with more degrees and advanced degrees farther up the educational pipeline. They are not just good at getting their children to educational attainment. When they enter the labor market, they tend to make less than men. This wage gap continues even as women help propel the economy forward through both paid and unpaid work.
For the past few decades, all of this has been compounded by a dramatic change in family structure. By the 1970s, just 40 percent of households had both parents working. These days, that number has jumped to 73 percent. In short, school hours have not changed since 1880 even though society has undergone a profound revolution. Yet, they still fail to adapt to the reality of today’s dual-income families.
“Let A Thousand Flowers Bloom”
This clause foreshadows a need for creative, varied approaches, which could include nontraditional economic reform. In particular, its provisions would help tackle the distinct challenges women encounter in the workforce. Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers must be especially excited as he prepares for his National Economic Reform Roundtable in two weeks. He encourages participants to arrive prepared with budget-neutral suggestions that focus on the public interest more than on special interests.
The Burden of Unpaid Labor
We know that the burden of this expansive and vital unpaid labor falls overwhelmingly on women in Australia. Women continue to shoulder the burden of 70 percent of domestic labor. When forced to perform as employees, mothers, and housekeepers, the result is extreme physiological stress for them. Such responsibilities can create what many have described as a “headache-inducing and unnecessary complication that gets in the way of getting sh*t done.”
This disparity has dire consequences for women’s mental health and overall quality of life. The unrealistic expectations of succeeding in all aspects of work and home life creates a crippling fatigue and dissatisfaction. Women are instinctively aware of the expectations society places on us to manage home matters. This loss of benefits can dissuade them from taking full-time employment or moving up the career ladder.
The Need for Policy Reform
As work on the next economic reform begins, it is imperative that we confront the structural barriers that are driving these pressures. This is because school hours rarely mesh with working hours. This policy misalignment is one of many examples in which arcane 20th century policies fail to reflect the realities of today’s families and workplaces.
It’s time for state and local policymakers to make flexible work a priority. In the process, they must rethink school schedules to better accommodate the needs of working parents. We need to confront the issue of inequitable wages directly. Reaching parity in promotion rates is an important step in evening the playing field for women.
