If you haven't already done so, you may wish to read
Part One
of this series.
Part 2 - The situation graduate women face in employment - barriers
and
opportunities
Legislation for women in employment
Balancing work and family is a major hurdle for women in employment.
There
is some human rights legislation in place to help women, but I suspect
that
it is not widely recognised or observed. For instance, in "Links
between
Potholes" Pamela Jefferies, Human Rights Commissioner, states that the
Family Status and Parental Leave Protection Act of 1993 includes the
provision that "if the requirement to work full-time at fixed hours is
to
be applied to all employees then the employers should be able to
demonstrate good reason for the requirement. If they can't they should
reasonably accommodate the needs of their employees, male and females,
who
have family responsibilities, not just for young children, but for
aged
parents or disabled siblings."
Paid parental leave
Career women would be assisted by paid parental leave legislation.
New
Zealand is one of the few industrialised countries in the world that
does
not have any paid maternal or parental leave in its legislation. In
the
present deregulatory climate, however, it is not surprising that a
recent
proposed bill introducing six weeks of parental leave to be financed
by
employers' levies has not progressed beyond a select committee.
Nevertheless one reputable law firm recently announced that it was
going to
offer to its senior female associates paid maternity leave which
included
three months paid leave, contact with the office and key clients, the
option of a computer and fax machine at home and the option to return
to
work part-time after the three months' absence. The scheme is
designed to
combat the high attrition rate among senior women lawyers, many of
whom do
not return to work after having children. A spokesperson said that
the
policy would have little adverse financial effect, as it would save
money
otherwise spent on recruiting new staff. Although commentators
praised the
move, they were quick to point out that the leave could be seen as
truly
beneficial only if it applied to junior staff as well.
Women's educational human capital is low.
A 1996 briefing paper to the incoming government of 1996 stated that
internationally women's educational human capital is lower on average
than
men's. One explanation for this lower level of investment is that
women
spend less time in the labour market because of family
responsibilities.
According to this theory they under-invest in education, relative to
their
ability, because they know they will not see a return on greater
investment.
Similarly, employers may limit women's access to training because they
expect women to leave the job before the investment has been recouped
in
productive gains. Another theory is that women face the same
education
costs as men, but have fewer job opportunities and lower earning
potential.
Both of these factors deter them from undertaking particular careers
or
educational paths.
Girls' choice of subjects is problematical.
Girls continue to choose traditional subjects. This restricts their
employment choices and keeps them concentrated in a narrow range of
occupations at the lower paid end of the labour market. Nonetheless
there
has been some progress.
In 1995 sixth and seventh form girls made up 48% of chemistry
students, 46%
of economics students, 48% of general mathematics students and 33% of
physics students.
Future trends
Overseas studies show that costs and expected returns influence
participation in tertiary study, and that low income groups, mature
students and women will consume less, if the cost of tertiary
education
increases.
In New Zealand tertiary sector fees are still rising, access to
student
allowances has been tightened and there is a rapid build-up of student
debt. Simulations of the loan scheme suggest that women will spend
longer
than men in the flat-spot (where debt is not being reduced), and that
women
are over-represented in the group which will never earn enough to
repay
their debt. If women do not receive an adequate return on their
education
they will have a reduced incentive to undertake that education in the
first
place.
Gender differentials
When the rate of return on higher education in New Zealand is compared
by
gender, it is seen that the earnings differential between women with
and
without higher education is wider than it is for men. This situation
ought
to be an incentive to women to seek higher education. However, when
women
graduates were compared to male over the decade 1981 to 1991, not only
did
they earn less in nominal terms, but the growth in their rate of
return
over the period was lower. In fact, average salaries for male
graduates
are noticeably higher than for female graduates in almost all subject
areas
(law is a notable exception) and the gap has widened over the past
five
years.
If New Zealand follows overseas trends, we may see women's
participation in
tertiary education begin to fall, unless measures are taken to address
wage
differentials or equalise returns in other ways. In fact, over the
three
years from 1994 to 1996 there was a 10% drop in the percentage of
women
graduates continuing full-time study, and nearly a 25% increase in the
number of women graduates taking up employment overseas.
Occupational segregation
In 1991 women made up 41% of the labour force, a big increase over the
previous twenty years. Yet there remained a market occupational
segregation of the sexes across nearly every industry and occupation.
Women generally held positions attracting lower status and pay and
were
well represented as teachers, nurses and clerical workers. However
they
were under-represented as managers and supervisors, even though women
have
been attributed with qualities required of modern leaders - intuition,
empathy, creativity, support of others and 'big picture thinking'.
The table below shows few women at the senior management, consultant
or
partnership level in the 1990s:
Percentage of Women in Selected Occupations in New Zealand:
| Accountancy (1996) |
22 |
| Engineering (1996) |
4 |
| Law (1996) |
27 |
| Medicine (1993) |
25 |
In 1993 only 13% of specialists in the medical profession were
women.
In 1996 only 11% of partners in the ten largest national law firms
were
women.
Women in chartered accountancy firms are infrequently found in senior
management or partnership.
Very few women are appointed to boards of New Zealand Public
Companies.
In 1996 women made up approximately 10% of members of the New Zealand
Institute of Directors.
Women in senior positions
An Equal Employment Opportunities (EEO) article says that women's
under-representation in 'senior' positions is not due to their lack of
either ambition or the qualities required in modern leaders. Despite
the
significant advances made by women in the 1990s workforce, human
resource
professionals and senior managers can still be heard lamenting the
small
numbers of senior women on their staff. For many years they have been
employing equal numbers of women and men but still few women are in
management positions. Many decision makers are keen to see more women
in
senior management and think this will occur over time. Others, not
prepared to leave their human resource planning to chance, look to EEO
for
help in such areas as work/family practices and women's career
advancement
training.
"Family Friendly Workplaces"
Trudie Naughton, Executive Director of the Equal Employment
Opportunities
Trust in "Employment Today", February 1997, claims that
amazing moves are afoot in many companies
to tap into both family and workplace needs
and
fulfilment. Family friendly policies including flexible hours,
working
from home, compressed work weeks, creation of a work environment with
space
for breast feeding, child care allowance, Tangihanga leave, and paid parental leave
are
occasionally being introduced. Also, employers are realising that men
as
well as women are trying to balance family responsibilities with their
paid
work. This scenario sounds utopian for women, who have to exert
pressure
and diplomacy to make it happen in the twenty first century.
"Beyond the Double Bind: Women and Leadership"
Kathleen Hall Jamieson (Oxford University Press 1995) argued that the
catch
22 situation which often blocks women from success can be overcome.
There
are many ways that women can beat the double bind that they cannot
conceive
children and ideas at the same time. She finds grounds for optimism
in
areas ranging from slow improvements in women's earnings to newly
effective
legal remedies. Viewed in broad perspective, progress has been clear
in
areas of employment rights, reproductive rights, rights to credit or
protection from sexual harassment and gender stereotyping.
Barriers still
Yes, there are still some barriers, including glass ceilings, for
women in
New Zealand, but they are getting weaker and women are slowly breaking
them
down. However, as technology forces more redundancies, and women get
more
of the top jobs, will there be a backlash? Men are husbands, brothers
and
fathers. Our society needs well adjusted men who are able to accept
the
fact that their wives may earn more than they do and that for more
women to
have top jobs more men will have to take women's jobs, in the
workforce and
at home!
Summary
Opportunities abound for well qualified women with higher degrees in
the
right areas, but there is a rough road ahead and careful choices to be
made, if women are going to be able to enjoy professional and academic
careers and a family as well. I myself yearned for a full time
academic
career, but spent forty years juggling four children, a husband,
household
chores and University positions on the periphery, without the required
Ph.D., in the male domains of Mathematics, Statistics and Economics.
Now I
see my successful daughters struggling to manage full time career jobs
and
their families.
My last word is that women should be discriminatory, choose careers if
possible where there is a humane route or where they can have
flexibility
and exert influence. My two graduate daughters in the computing
industry
seem to have a lot of advantages at their level in a fairly
gender-equal
arena. My rural doctor daughter never had it easy, but not with the
marketisation of the health industry she is struggling for survival as
rural hospital services decline.
Roles and goals are changing. Opportunities abound.
