State is expected to provide landmark recommendations to further women's careers
New South Wales has announced that it will carry out a landmark Women's Economic Opportunities Review to make more workplaces balanced in terms of genders.
The review will be conducted by the government and supported by an Expert Reference Panel. Sam Mostyn AO, president of Chief Executive Women, will chair the panel. She will be joined by:
- Maha Abdo OAM, CEO Muslim Women Association;
- Blair Comley PSM, Partner EY Port Jackson Partners;
- Jillian Kilby, CEO, and Founder of The Infrastructure Collaborative and The Exchange;
- Leslie Loble, Co-Chair of the Council on Early Childhood Development; and
- Daisy Turnbull, writer, and teacher.
According to NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet, the review will focus on how women can be supported when entering, re-entering, and staying in the workforce. It will also identify "opportunities to reduce salary and superannuation discrepancy and improve access to and affordability of childcare."
"The time has come to level the playing field, making sure more women have more choice and opportunities when it comes to their careers," Perrottet said in a statement.
"This review will help find ways to increase women's leadership opportunities and enable flexibility for working parents."
Minister for Education and Early Learning Sarah Mitchell added that the review will also come up with recommendations to make childcare more accessible and affordable.
"The review will provide key insights into the childcare needs of working parents, which will contribute to the broader early learning reform work that I am undertaking, designed to create greater educational outcomes for our littlest learners."
Treasurer Matt Kean, citing the 2021-22 NSW Intergenerational Report, said the economy would be eight per cent larger by 2060-61 if women’s participation is equal with men.
"Women are underrepresented in our trades, our offices, and our boardrooms, and for the State to be more productive we need everyone who wants to work to be able to do so," Kean said.
The review is part of the government's commitment to make industries more even in genders, and support female entrepreneurs to run their own businesses, and increase workplace flexibility.
"If we increase the number of women in the workforce, we will improve their economic security and wellbeing across a lifetime, bringing enormous social and economic benefits to everyone in NSW," said Women Minister Bronnie Taylor.
Read more: ‘Double jeopardy’ prevents culturally diverse women from top leadership roles
How will this affect workplaces?
The pandemic has shifted workplaces hard by sending employees home to prevent further spread of COVID-19. Women, in particular, were hit harder by remote work as this means they have to juggle between their jobs and responsibilities to their family.
This left women in workplaces feeling less entitled to work opportunities as they also had to spend time with family responsibilities.
"While confident, ambitious and proud, Australian women have been socially conditioned, over time, to feel less entitled to opportunity," Prue Cox, director at LinkedIn Australia, told HRD.
The review is expected to address such issues in workplaces for women, among other problems, and make recommendations on how employers could make offices become more gender equal.
