Equal remuneration under the Fair Work Act 2009

The Commission’s Pay Equity Unit commissioned this research report to: assist parties to equal remuneration proceedings under Part 2-7 to engage in productive discussion and work towards greater consensus in relation to the proceedings; and inform potential parties about the matters they might be required to address and the type of evidence they might be required to bring as part of an equal remuneration proceeding. The report responds to those objectives in the following structure: setting the global scene, by describing the international labour standards on equal remuneration, providing international data on the GPG and summarising key elements of the approaches taken in selected overseas jurisdictions analysing the treatment of equal remuneration under the Fair Work Act; outlining the SACS case and explaining the various decisions given by the Fair Work Commission and its predecessors  reviewing available literature on how the GPG might be explained and assessed; and drawing on the research undertaken for the above purposes, outlining approaches which might usefully guide the conduct of future proceedings under Part 2-7 of the Fair Work Act The report also includes three appendices. The first two detail the development of equal remuneration regulation at the federal level (Appendix A) and under the State industrial systems (Appendix B). The third, Appendix C, provides an overview of the approaches taken in the European Union and ten selected countries—Belgium, Canada, Ireland, Finland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States. The report is the product of independent research by the authors, and the views it contains are those of the authors, not of the staff or Members of the Fair Work Commission

STEREOTYPES IN MANAGING DIVERSITY IN THE CONTEXT OF SEX

The article presents the definition of gender stereotype and discusses the mechanisms of its impact. The focus has been on gender, due to the need to promote equal opportunities for women and men and to empower women in the labor market. As part of the study, the author identifies selected stereotypes, both positive and negative, functioning in diversity management, focusing on gender, and then interprets them. The basis for the deliberations is a review of scientific literature, with particular emphasis on the results of several international empirical studies. Based on the interpretation of stereotypical views, guidelines for managers managing diversity were formulated.The article presents the definition of gender stereotype and discusses the mechanisms of its impact. The focus has been on gender, due to the need to promote equal opportunities for women and men and to empower women in the labor market. As part of the study, the author identifies selected stereotypes, both positive and negative, functioning in diversity management, focusing on gender, and then interprets them. The basis for the deliberations is a review of scientific literature, with particular emphasis on the results of several international empirical studies. Based on the interpretation of stereotypical views, guidelines for managers managing diversity were formulated

Women's unequal access in dual labour market: an integrative view of gender inequality in contemporary urban China

China has been experiencing a fast pace of development since late 1970s. Among the key transformations, industrialization, urbanization, and modernization created huge changes in occupational distributions and in women’s participation in the paid labour market. However, women still experience unequal treatment. This study is conducted to find the reasons why women hold a lower status in labour markets in the context of China’s fast development. Dual Labour Market Theory is used to examine gendered divisions in urban China, revealing that women are more likely to be in positions in the secondary sector with weaker status than those in the primary sector. This study has three objectives: (1) to determine the extent to which distributions across primary and secondary sectors characterize the labour market for contemporary urban workers in China; (2) if a dual labour market applies, to examine how it relates to gender inequality in contemporary urban China, and provide evidence of the major factors that affect gender inequality in the Chinese dual labour market; and (3) to identify the major factors that contribute to women’s limited access to positions associated with the primary labour market. Quantitative methods are applied to fulfill objectives (1) and (2). Data from the China General Social Surveys of 2003 and 2005 are used. The results show that women are under-represented in the primary sector, and that gender inequality is more prevalent in the secondary sector than that in the primary sector. Qualitative methods are applied to address objective (3). Through interviews and an examination of existing laws and policies, I find that cultural and institutional factors affect women’s status in the dual labour markets. Cultural factors include traditional ideology and strong gender stereotype. Institutional factors include government public policies and local gender norms and practices in employment and managerial process. In the end, I suggest that government should amend policy to improve prospects for women’s equal rights, intensify supervision of gender-related policy implementation, encourage academic research into gender equality, and build effective social welfare systems to relieve women from household works and subordinate position in both family and paid-labour market

Gender inequalities in manufacturing : a case study of food-processing and the textiles and garment industries in Ghana

Gender inequality is deeply entrenched in society. This continues to restrict women's opportunities in life and has also been widely seen as an obstacle to economic development. Wage employment is seen as important mechanism for empowering women, and also conferring benefits on the family and society as a whole. This thesis examines patterns of inequality in the food-processing and the textiles and garment industries in Ghana, the structural factors that are responsible for producing gender inequality and their impacts on the socio-economic advancement of women. Within the cross-sectoral case study, a comparative gender and social relation analysis was undertaken to explore the factors that determined the allocation of economic resources and nature of power relations within the labour market and the household.The study of occupational segregation, access to training, career advancement opportunities, decision-making authority and responsibilities, earnings and domestic responsibilities led to the conclusion that, comparatively, the majority of women do not have equal opportunities in the "feminised" food processing and textiles industries in relation to men. With some inter-sectoral variations, the disparity between men and women is also widened as a result of the influence of the size of firm. The processes are complex because they are intertwined with wider socio-demographic, cultural, economic, and legal elements. However, within this complex set of factors, employers' preference and taste for discrimination is arguments concerned with the issue most central to gender inequality in these industries. These preferences are based on the economic rationality of profit maximisation and production efficiency, which is in turn intertwined with the cultural stereotypes concerning men and women's abilities and their attitudes to work. Recommendations to address the structural inequalities which exist between men and women in these industries and in Ghanaian society as a whole are set out