Women's Labour Market Participation in Regional Australia
By Susan Halliday, Sex Discrimination Commissioner to the 11th Annual Women on Farms Gathering, Yarra Valley, Vic 1 April 2000
Introduction - Women in Rural and Regional Areas
- Despite the multi-faceted contributions of rural women, a recent university study finds that for many the traditional sexual division of labour on farms continues, and states "housework is women's work and men's work is farming ..."
- The study found that men perform most of the farm work in over 80% of families. About 60% of women undertake some farm work as well as household tasks. The study concluded that while in most families women are solely responsible for managing the household and raising the children, a significant number of women also undertake farming activities and engage in paid work and community activities off the farm.
- A 1998 Department of Primary Industries and Energy (DPIE) report supports these figures, finding that men spend about twice as much time on livestock care as women, and that women spend twice as many hours on business management and bookkeeping compared to men.
- The DPIE report also noted women do most of the housework (almost 15 hours a week compared to 6 hours for men), and most of the childcare (45 hours a week compared to almost 11 hours for men).
- In 1996, 13% of all Australian women lived in rural areas. In addition 3 843 000 people, or almost 9% of the population are involved in the agriculture, forestry and fishing industries. Of this 9%, women make up 3.4%. Of all the people involved in this sector, 32.2% are women.
- It appears that little has changed in terms of "who does what on the farm" since Australia was colonised. Farming is one of the oldest professions, yet there is limited interest, scatty and poor historical records of the role and achievements of rural farming women, yet they have been essential to its success.
- The struggles of farming women in previous eras may seem familiar to contemporary farmers. Elizabeth Macarthur's commentary on her experience of farming is illuminating. She stated
" ...our Gardens produce nothing, all is burnt up, indeed, the Soil must be allow'd to be most wretched and totally unfit for growing any European production ..."
- Despite initial set backs and managing the farm by herself for 13 years (which seems to have escaped the content of school history texts), Elizabeth's farm prospered.
- It appears not a lot has changed for single women wishing to be farmers. Today as in the past they faced additional difficulties overcoming restrictive attitudes and stereotypical assessment about their role and capabilities, as evidenced by Eliza Walsh. By 1821 Eliza Walsh already had a small farm in NSW, and requested a land grant from Governor Macquarie. He refused, saying
"I cannot comply with your request, it being contrary to the Regulations to give Grants of Land to Ladies."
- A male farmer in a comparable situation would have been successful. Walsh persevered however, writing and lobbying politicians, and finally securing land 5 years later.
- The tenacity and determination demonstrated by these historical figures continues today. Change is being led by women, many of whom are denied equal access, yet these women embrace new technologies, develop new enterprises and continue to add value to existing farm activities.
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Bush Talks
Background
- Bush Talks came about after there was an overwhelming response to a paper published in May 1996 on human rights in rural Australia. The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) then decided to look comprehensively at what was happening to human rights in rural, regional and remote Australia.
- A wide range of consultations were held - welfare and advocacy groups, Indigenous people, women's organisations, business leaders, local government councillors, government agencies, parents, families, police, teachers and other individuals.
- to inform country Australians about their human rights and the role of HREOC;
- to provide a forum for country Australians to voice their human rights concerns;
- to identify key human rights issues for rural Australians on which HREOC can do further work and
- to develop practical solutions to human rights problems raised.
- The access of rural Australians to health, education and essential services have consistently been raised throughout Bush Talks.
- Rural Australians more often suffer from serious disease, illness and injury, and die earlier than urban Australians.
- In rural Australia, there has been a decline in health services, accessing services that exist can be time consuming and difficult, there is a shortage of health professionals, and depressed economic circumstances are reportedly resulting in increased family stress, poorer mental health and worsening health status.
- Declining services are exemplified by the lack of health professionals in rural areas. Nationally, residents of the major urban areas have access to one GP for every 830 people, but in country areas access averages out to one GP for every 1 247 people. In addition only one in five specialists reside in rural areas.
Case study - HREOC heard how in Euroa, Victoria, as a consequence of there being no publicly funded beds in hospitals, residents of this town had a choice of either taking out full private health insurance or being prepared to travel long distances for hospital treatment.
Case study - HREOC was also told:
"Some rural hospitals, which do not have extended care facilities, view themselves as acute institutions only, providing 'acute' care to medical and surgical and maternity cases and do not tolerate well the care of the disabled and frail aged who often need to be in their care for extended periods of time while they await the availability of full time care in an appropriate nursing home." HREOC was also told that, "these people waiting for nursing homes are 'bedblockers' and we have to get them out". In addition, a person waiting for a nursing home place wants to remain near family and friends - and is waiting for someone else to die so that a place is freed up.
Case Study - HREOC was also told about a similar situation in Corryong in Victoria, a town of 1 500 and a town on which another 1 500 in the region depend. A former nurse at the hospital wrote
"Heaven help anyone who has a heart attack, major accident or haemorrhage from now on, because with the downgrade of the hospital services our one and only ambulance with its one and only driver will have to get that person to hospital in Albury or Wodonga 125 kms away [it takes 90 minutes at least]. How can he drive and care for a seriously ill patient?"
Education
- Early childhood and primary school services in rural communities were reported as deficient during Bush Talks. Schools were seen to be neither adequately equipped to perform effectively, nor positioned to attract high calibre teachers.
- While rural schools generally have lower student-teacher ratios than urban schools, rural schools faced other difficulties in providing education, including lack of specialised staffing, limited choice of classes and curriculum options, fewer computer facilities and limited resources for library, sports and other activities.
- Other rural communities had no schools at all. Children being forced to attend school in neighbouring communities was seen to waste time and energy, as well as discourage educational aspirations.
- This situation worsened at secondary school level. Many rural schools do not offer classes beyond Year 10, again forcing students to travel extensive distances to schools in other towns or to go to boarding school.
Case study - one parent told HREOC:
"Distance education is available to Year 12 but subject choices are very limited and there is no interaction between students. Children need social contact and social education beyond the formal education curricula. They also need sport, music and social activity. Because of the difficulties children in remote areas have only 52% retention to Year 12, with boys less than 50%. It is heartbreaking for parents not to have enough money to ensure the proper education of their children."
Other issues
- Currently it is estimated that there are 600 plus communities in the bush without access to a financial institution, according to Dr Wendy Craik from the National Farmers' Federation. When a bank closes, it costs the community an estimated $350 per person per month as people transfer their shopping to their banking town. From 1993 to 1998, 481 non-metropolitan bank branches shut, with the loss of about 10 000 jobs.
- The closure of service centres such as banks and post offices, limited access to telecommunications, poor services for people with disabilities and aged care issues, poor access to public transport, and limited services for children and young people were also raised as particular concerns facing rural communities.
- HREOC has and will continue to undertake several projects, focusing on areas of health, education, essential services, children and young people and disability services as a result of Bush Talks.
- HREOC has recently released Emerging Themes, the first in a series of reports arising from the National Inquiry into Rural and Remote Education. The inquiry examined issues of the availability, accessibility and quality of the provision of education for children in rural and remote Australia.
- Other future projects include further inquiries, publications, seminars and networking. HREOC is particularly interested in detailing positive initiatives that already exist in rural areas. Each project will be undertaken in partnership with country people, whether through rural service organisations, representative bodies or with rural leaders.
Women's Labour Market Participation in Regional Australia
- Although there has been much research on women and their work since the 1970s, studies generally have focused on a picture at a national level. The lack of analysis of women in regional labour markets is overwhelming, yet the different employment and training opportunities between capital and non-capital cities, towns and rural areas is considerable.
- A new report entitled Women's Labour Market Participation in Regional Australia was commissioned by HREOC and was written by Dr Glenda Strachan and Dr John Burgess from the Employment Studies Centre of the University of Newcastle. This report is the first in a planned three part research project.
- Women's Labour Market Participation in Regional Australia contains information and data on women and employment in different rural and remote regions, including a case study of women's labour market participation in the Hunter region. Recommendations for future research are also included.
- As evidenced by Bush Talks, this report reveals significant concern over changes in rural communities due to widespread withdrawal of services. There is little doubt that the removal of government and banking services from Australian towns has a major impact on employment opportunities - particularly in relation to women's employment which remains concentrated in the service sector.
- Women's Labour Market Participation in Regional Australia quotes a recent Victorian report which noted that
"service closures and cutbacks have caused widespread job losses. Public service retrenchments in health, education, local government, community services and transport have been extensive."
- The report identifies that many job losses have been concentrated in single communities such as the Latrobe Valley where the restructuring of the electricity industry saw 16 000 people out of work. The research also revealed that communities feared local unemployment would increase when the policy of compulsory competitive tendering in local government took full effect.
- The report stated that the loss of jobs in regional Victoria was keenly felt:
"Employment in the public service, banks or utilities used to offer workers and young people a career path. They provided on-the-job training, and had inbuilt programs to develop workers' technical and interpersonal skills. The loss of the types of jobs that offered Victorians a solid working future is a great one."
- Lack of work and future employment prospects were cited as the main reasons why people left country Victoria. For example, in the town of Dunmunkle, a rural farming community in the Wimmera north of Horsham, young people were seen to have one of two choices: go to Melbourne or a large regional centre, or be unemployed. Precedent showed that once they left, few returned. Dunmunkle is suffering a severe population decline and this community is at a loss as to what it can do to turn the situation around.
Report Findings
- To date the national policy focus towards women in the Australian labour market has been based on the premise that policies such as equal employment opportunity and equal pay will apply fairly to all women regardless of location. This assumption is simplistic and unwarranted - policies need to address the significant differences that exist across the labour market and in particular the relatively limited employment opportunities available to women in certain non-metropolitan areas.
- Job opportunities in rural areas are often constrained by the specific nature of the region. Overall, occupational segregation limits women's employment choices, which are concentrated in service industries. There is no doubt that women's choices of employment remains constrained to those of men.
- While there has been a great deal of analysis of the separate labour markets for women and men, little recognition has been given to gender differences within the labour markets of disparate geographical locations.
- The widest range of opportunities for education, training and employment exists in large cities and the statistics used in Women's Labour Market Participation in Regional Australia indicate the profound difference in employment opportunities between city and non-metropolitan areas.
- In general as the size of the location diminishes, so too do the labour market options.
- National average labour force data conceals large differences between regions. There are some notable differences between women by location, for example:
- the part-time employment ratio: from 50% in Tas to 4.8% in ACT;
- the unemployment rate: from 10.7% in Tas to 4.8% in NT & ACT;
- the proportion of the unemployed seeking part-time employment: from 39.6% in WA to 25.6% in NT;
- the labour force participation rate: from 65.1% in the ACT to 47.9% in Tas, and
- average full-time weekly earnings: from $699 in ACT to $560 in WA.
- lower employment to population ratios;
- lower labour force participation rates;
- higher part-time employment ratios;
- higher unemployment rates;
- a higher proportion of the unemployed looking for part-time work;
- lower average personal income;
- similar patterns of gender occupation and industrial segregation, and most importantly,
- that the influence of the local region is critical in determining women's labour market opportunities.
- there is clear occupational segregation. The majority of clerks and sales & service workers and para-professionals and professionals are women;
- women predominate in the lower levels of organisations;
- the percentage of women managers is not equivalent to the percentage of women employees in 21 organisations;
- part-time and casual employment was more likely to be utilised by employers in female-dominated industries;
- women were the overwhelming majority of all permanent part-time employees, and
- women were the majority of casual employees except in the manufacturing and transport sectors.
Conclusion
- The Women's Labour Market Participation in Regional Australia report confirms profound differences in employment opportunities between city and non-metropolitan areas and as expected as the size of the location diminishes, so too do the labour market options.
- The geographical area of the operational labour market for women is smaller than that available to men. Australia is characterised by regions centred on towns which form separate labour markets because the distances between towns are too far for daily travel. There is some evidence that women are constrained in terms of job opportunities or may not be prepared to travel as far as men for work due to family and child care responsibilities. Social attitudes and access to appropriate transport appear to contribute to this outcome.
- National average labour force data conceals the large differences between regions. Analysis of ABS data shows that female employment to population ratios are at least 10% below those for males. However, the labour force participation rate for women outside of capital cities is up to 10% below that for capital cities and is applicable across all age groups.
- Within non-metropolitan regions there can be significant differences in the distribution of employment opportunities available for women. The Hunter region analysis found considerable variation in employment opportunities within this large region which is effectively made up of a number of separate labour markets.
- Overall it is clear that the influence of the local region is critical in determining women's labour market opportunities and participation.
