21 research outputs found

    “Just another day in retail”: Understanding and addressing workplace sexual harassment in the Australian retail industry

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    Sexual harassment is a systemic and pervasive feature of the retail industry ecosystem and a persistent part of daily interactions between retail workers, and their managers, peers and customers. It is such a common experience that many retail workers perceive it as “just part of the job”. Sexual harassment causes harm on multiple levels: it affects the wellbeing of individual employees, damages team cohesion, creates economic damage for businesses, and is a drag on the national economy. At June 2023, the retail industry had contributed over $102 million to Australia’s annual gross domestic product (Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, 2023). It employs 9 per cent of all Australians, and is the nation’s third-largest employer of women and the second largest employer of young people (Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS], 2021a, 2022b, 2022e). Not only is retail a major source of employment, but it is also an essential service, providing Australians with the goods they depend upon every day. Retail workers deserve safety, dignity and respect. Addressing sexual harassment in the retail industry is both a pressing workplace safety issue and a nationally significant concern. The changed legislative landscape, including the introduction of an additional “positive duty” on employers to eliminate sexual harassment and related unlawful conduct as far as possible, should add extra impetus and urgency for change

    Designing Gender Equality into the Future of Law: Final Report

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    The legal profession has undergone profound transformation over the past two decades, driven by new technologies and forms of legal service delivery that are upending the traditional organisation of legal work. These changes are disrupting career pathways and requiring lawyers to rethink the skills that will be required for future success. The COVID-19 pandemic spurred further integration of new technologies, and challenged long-held norms in relation to how and where lawyers should work. Collectively, these changes are occurring against a backdrop of persistent gendered inequality. It should be noted that there have been substantial improvements in women's numerical representation in the legal profession. Under current NSWLS leadership, a 20-year trend toward convergence in men's and women's participation in the Australian legal profession has been realised. For example, women now outnumber men in the legal profession in all states and territories across Australia, and in New South Wales, female solicitors have outnumbered male solicitors for a sixth consecutive year. While women remain under-represented in senior leadership roles including as partners, principals, barristers, and judicial members, over one third (35%) of private practice partners/principals in New South Wales are now women. In corporate and government legal roles, there is now an even split between women and men in senior roles. Numerical dominance aside, issues of gendered discrimination, disrespect, and harassment remain stubbornly entrenched in the profession

    Gendered Disrespect and Inequality in Retail Work: A Summary of Findings

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    Retail is Australia’s second largest employing industry (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2022), with approximately 10% of the Australian labour force working in the sector (Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), 2022a). The retail industry is characterised by a young, diverse workforce (Australian Human Rights Commission., 2019; Baird et al., 2018), most of which is employed on part-time or casual contracts (Australian Human Rights Commission., 2019). Fifty-seven percent (57%) of retail workers are women (Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA), 2021), making retail the third most feminised industry in Australia (Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), 2020). Women are also fundamental to the success and profitability of businesses in the industry, as they make up approximately 75% of consumer spending decisions (Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA), 2021) (see Figure 1). Yet, within the retail sector, there is clear evidence of gendered disrespect and inequality. Women are underrepresented in senior leadership roles within retail, holding only 27% of board positions and 17% of chief executive officer roles (Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA), 2021). Women working in retail – who are predominately young, low paid, and insecurely employed (Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), 2020; Australian Human Rights Commission., 2019) – experience disproportionate rates of incivility, abusive behaviour, harassment and violence (Australian Human Rights Commission., 2019; Korczynski & Evans, 2013; Tindell & Padavic, 2022). This report is the second of two reports that interrogate the ways in which women and men working in Australia’s retail industry understand and experience the changing nature of work in retail, and their hopes and fears for the future of the industry. In the first report, Technology and skills in the future of retail work: Summary of findings, we investigated worker experiences and perceptions of intersecting technological transformations occurring in the Australian retail industry and the changing skills sets required for the future of retail work. In this report, we examine retail workers’ experiences and perceptions of gendered disrespect and inequality. The findings summarised here are based on data collected in interviews with 30 senior industry leaders and stakeholders, including representatives from industry associations and unions, senior managers of major retail employers, retail consultants and other industry experts. It also draws upon the findings of a survey (n = 1,160) of Australian retail, fast food, and warehouse workers

    Outcomes of a community-based weight management programme for morbidly obese populations

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    Background: Morbid obesity is an ongoing concern worldwide. There is a paucity of research reporting primary care outcomes focussed on complex and morbidly obese populations. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends a specialist, multidisciplinary weight management team for the successful management of such populations. This is the first service evaluation reporting both primary (weight change) and secondary [body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, physical activity levels, fruit and vegetable intake, Rosenberg self-esteem score] outcomes in these patients. Methods: The present study comprised a prospective observational study of a cohort data set for patients (n = 288) attending their 3-month and 6-month (n = 115) assessment appointments at a specialist community weight management programme. Results: Patients had a mean (SD) initial BMI of 45.5 (6.6) kg m–²; 66% were females. Over 80% of patients attending the service lost some weight by 3 months. Average absolute weight loss was 4.11 (4.95) kg at 3 months and 6.30 (8.41) kg at 6 months, equating to 3.28% (3.82%) and 4.90% (6.26%), respectively, demonstrating a statistically significant weight change at both time points (P < 0.001). This meets NICE best practice guidelines for the commissioning of services leading to a minimum of 3% average weight loss, with at least 30% of patients losing at ≥5% of their initial weight. Waist measurement and BMI were reduced significantly at 3 months. Improvements were also seen in physical activity levels, fruit and vegetable consumption, and self-esteem levels (P < 0.001). Conclusions: This service was successful in aiding weight loss in morbidly obese populations. The findings of the present study support the view that weight-loss targets of 3% are realistic

    Alternative mental health clinical placements: Knowledge transfer and benefits for nursing practice outside mental health care settings

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    Aim and objectives To explore whether nursing student’s experiences at Recovery Camp have impacted their current nursing practices. Background Recently, there has been a move toward more holistic models of nursing care, which seek to break down barriers of stigmatisation and embrace the tenets of self‐determination, to acknowledge people with lived experiences of mental illness and their ability to manage their recovery. In that regard, future health professionals such as nursing students, will need to be educated in a manner that recognises the importance of lived experience. In this paper, we propose that Recovery Camp , an alternative clinical placement setting model, enhances clinical practice in multiple domains and is beneficial for both nursing practitioners and people with lived experiences of mental illness, as well as offering an effective non‐traditional alternative to conventional clinical placement opportunities. Methods This study employed a phenomenological research design, involving individual semi‐structured telephone interviews. The Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research (SRQR) checklist was adhered to. Results Three main themes were identified from the analysis: 1) engagement, 2) understanding mental health and 3) holistic care. “I definitely look at people with mental health conditions in a different light”. At Recovery Camp , participants felt that they had greater opportunities for engagement with people with lived experiences, and through this engagement their preconceptions of mental illness began to change. Conclusions Recovery Camp may have facilitated the transfer of knowledge that is more person‐centred among nursing students, consequently impacting their current nursing practices. Relevance to clinical practice Nurses should be equipped with mental health skills regardless of their career trajectory. While Recovery Camp represents a promising approach to facilitate knowledge transfer, further investigation will be required to determine which other factors are instrumental. This approach may have wider implications for nursing education

    Increasing self-efficacy to improve the transition to university: an Australian case study

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    2020 UCU. The first-year university experience is inherently linked to student satisfaction, retention and academic success. A sense of academic preparedness can enhance the first-year transition experience. Subjects designed to assist students to transition to university can improve the transition experience; however, there is very limited evidence of their successful implementation in Australia. An interdisciplinary credit-bearing subject underpinned by the Learning by Doing Approach and the Theory of Self-efficacy, was developed and implemented in an Australian university. Students\u27 baseline (pre-test) and follow-up (post-test) survey responses on their self-perceived levels of knowledge and confidence in academic skills were compared to test for significant differences. Students reported greater knowledge and confidence with regards to the academic skills required for university. The subject\u27s highly scaffolded nature ensured students actively engaged in individual and collaborative activities that allowed them to learn as they constructed knowledge. As students learnt new skills in a supportive learning environment, they incorporated these skills into their learning and utilised them in their other subjects, which increased their confidence and self-efficacy. Similar interdisciplinary credit-bearing transition subjects may be beneficial in other universities to help support students transitioning to university. Longitudinal research is required to determine the effectiveness on academic outcomes and retention

    Non-conventional clinical placements and the experience of the facilitator: a phenomenology study

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    Purpose: The experiences of clinical facilitators working within non-conventional mental health settings have not yet been explored. The purpose of this paper is to explore the experiences of clinical facilitators when facilitating nursing student learning within a non-conventional mental health clinical placement. Design/methodology/approach: This study adopted a qualitative phenomenological approach. The participants in this study were five registered nurses who had facilitated students at a non-conventional mental health clinical placement called Recovery Camp. Individual in-depth interviews were conducted. Findings: The facilitators experiences could be understood through two main themes: facilitator skills and opportunities for student learning. Recovery Camp allowed the facilitators to build on their own nursing and facilitation skills, while examining themselves as a mental health nurse. “Being with” students (immersive engagement) enabled opportunistic and rare learning moments. Originality/value: To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first known study to explore the experiences of clinical facilitators working in a non-conventional mental health placement
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