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Pay inequality continues to be a major issue for Australian workers, but offering flexible work hours could help solve this gap once and for all.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) revealed some concerning data about the 2022–23 financial year.
According to the ABS, “the most common reason women were unable to start a job or work more hours within four weeks was ‘caring for children’, while for men it was ‘long-term sickness or disability’.”
In addition, the most common incentive for women to participate in the labour force was the “ability to work part-time hours”, with a massive 51 per cent of women stating that this was important to them.
A recent expert panel hosted by ELMO software found that women’s participation in the workforce continues to lag behind men.
This is a major concern for businesses, with a recent BlackRock report finding that businesses that have a gender balance achieve greater success than those where inequality persists.
“Companies with the most diverse workforces outperformed their country and industry group peers with the least-diverse workforces in terms of return on assets by 29 per cent per year,” the report stated.
In order to attract more women and achieve greater heights of success, ELMO’s expert panel stated that work-from-home policies and flexible work policies are essential.
“Women have the appreciation for that flexibility or for the work-from-home or the work/life balance,” said WOW Recruitment co-founder Emily McLeod.
“We are seeing companies who can offer that are the ones who are able to attract and retain, not only the broader workforce, but women especially.”
According to Ms McLeod’s findings, 75 per cent of Australians work from home at least one day per week, and the majority work from home two days a week.
“Two-thirds of Australians have the preference to work from home – that’s what came through in the data,” said Ms McLeod.
According to leadership expert Keegan Luiters, it is not enough to have people from diverse backgrounds present, they also must be fully engaged and included.
Mr Luiters said: “The differentiator is the experience that you give people from different backgrounds. If you really want to make the most of a divers team, it’s not enough to say: ‘Oh, you’re here.’ You’ve got to include and engage them; and that is the challenge.”
The panel emphasised that offering work-from-home and flexible work options, having a strong parental leave policy, and having returnship training programs are all vital ways to attract and retain women in companies.
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