Page 1018 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 19 March 2013
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The gender pay gap is a good indicator of how women continue to be disadvantaged financially in our society. In the ACT we continue to have a relatively low gender pay gap, with men on average earning 12 per cent more than women compared with a national average of 17.4 per cent. In the ACT government, nearly 65 per cent of employees are women, and this number significantly increases in the health and education directorates, where female employees comprise over 76 per cent of the workforce.
If we are to attract and retain women in the ACT public service we need to listen to their views. The Community and Public Service Sector Union’s—the CPSU—annual what women want survey provides useful information on women’s experience in the ACT public service. In 2012 flexibility emerged as the key issue, with the majority of survey respondents placing importance on access to leave and flexible working hours regardless of their caring or other responsibilities.
This ACT government has in place initiatives to support flexible work arrangements. These not only meet the work-life balance needs of employees but also provide opportunities to reorganise and reinvigorate the work environment, improve morale, and develop staff and broader career options. Facilities and conditions to support staff with family responsibilities include access to dedicated carers rooms, nursing mothers rooms and 18 weeks paid maternity leave. Work-life balance includes flexible hours, home-based work and access to grandparental leave and part-time work.
The ACT government is also working on breaking down the gender divide across industries, because by limiting one profession as “men’s work” and another as “women’s work” we exclude half the talent pool. For example, we know women are underrepresented in the building and construction industry and overrepresented in health, education and community services. Attracting more women into building and construction and the trades would open up often well-paid employment opportunities and benefit our whole economy. This is why I am proud to have initiated and launched the ACT government’s women in construction project last year. This project will highlight and promote women working in the construction industry.
The project brings together a female project manager and a female architect and will be an opportunity for tradeswomen and women working in the industry to meet and support one another and to form networks. Located on site at an existing ACT Housing property in Richardson that has recently become vacant, this property has been identified for development as part of our normal renewal of social housing stock. I am informed that the final development application has been submitted for the project, and the closing date for subcontractors to express their interest in tender is Thursday, 28 March, which is next week.
In addition to this project, the ACT Building and Construction Industry Training Fund Authority encourages the entrance of women into the industry through the tradeswomen in building and construction campaign and associated events and activities and financial incentives to employers with female apprentices in non-traditional vocations. The campaign has developed to increase the awareness and participation rates of females in apprenticeships in the building and construction industry.
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