Time to bring women into male-dominated industries
Sex Discrimination
Launch of Women in male-dominated industries: A toolkit of strategies
Good morning and welcome to the launch of Women in male-dominated industries: A toolkit of strategies.
I am very proud that this toolkit is being launched on the traditional lands of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation and I would like to take this opportunity to pay my respects to their elders, past and present.
Today we are not just launching a toolkit - we are launching an online platform to facilitate an interactive dialogue about how to increase women’s representation in male-dominated industries - a complex problem that has been the subject of much discussion over the years.
For many years, women have not been associated with, or considered for, jobs in male-dominated industries, resulting in us having highly occupationally segregated workforces in some sectors.
It is a complex problem that has been the subject of much discussion and some very useful reports over the years including my predecessor Pru Goward’s NSW Annual Report on the Status of Women 2012 which looked particularly at strategies to encourage more women to take up trades.
It is assumed, for example, that ‘women are most suited to work involving caring and nurturing, and so, women’s work’ is found in areas like health care and education; not in roles that are operational, technical or in the trades.
On the whole, in 2013 we have not fully harnessed the invaluable contribution women can make - particularly in industries such as mining, construction and utilities. These industries represent a thriving part of Australia’s economy, and as they continue to grow, both men and women can make an increasing contribution to their expansion and success.
This is why the toolkit we are launching today is so important. It provides an opportunity for employers, employees, government, community, and unions to understand that women are critical to the sustainability of these industries. The toolkit allows smart organisations to share strategies on how best to attract, recruit, retain and develop the skills of women in traditionally male-dominated fields.
Today we are very pleased to have with us the Hon Julie Collins MP, Minister for Women, to launch the Toolkit. We thank her and the Office for Women in FAHCSIA for their support and contribution to the development of the toolkit. I particularly want to recognise the contribution of the Office for Women headed by Mairi Steele. They have contributed both financial support and deep technical expertise. Without their generous support for the research and development of the toolkit we would not be here.
We are also pleased to have with us today special guest speakers for a panel discussion - Mr Terry Burgess, CEO of Oz Minerals, Lieutenant General David Morrison, Chief of Army and Rita Mallia from the CFMEU.
Our panel members have been at the forefront of efforts to increase the representation of women in their sectors. They will share their insights and success stories. I want to congratulate them on their leadership - they are pioneers in this area. I have been following their progress with great admiration. Trying to change the culture of the Army, mining companies and unions is not for the feint hearted and as you will see, the 3 people we have on our panel are absolutely up to the task. There will be time for questions from the audience and then I would love you to join us for refreshments and more discussion.
If you use Twitter you can share your stories on twitter using the hashtag #WomenInIndustry. And of course, please make sure you get online and onto the toolkit website. Like any online resource the toolkit will grow over time. We need you all to join the discussion, to add your invaluable knowledge and experience so that together we can ensure that women have an equal chance at success in these industries.
Introduction
At one point early in our lives, we all had to consider the question of what our futures would look like. This included making a decision about where we could develop a career, hopefully in an area where we felt we could make a contribution – where our skills would be valued. These questions arise multiple times in our lives as we consider and pursue career goals and adapt to changing circumstances and commitments.
For many women and girls, the idea that they could make a contribution in technical or operational fields such as mining, construction or utilities, or one day be a part of the senior leadership in industries dominated by male executives, is a completely foreign one. For one, there is empirical evidence that girls are discouraged from developing their skills in maths and science from a young age, focusing instead on humanities and the social sciences.
I remember as a young girl loving maths and science Being at an all-girls school, and coming from a highly feminised household I was never exposed to the view that maths was for boys and humanities for girls. My father was a nuclear medicine physician, my mother a science graduate. In fact it was not until university where I chose to study chemistry and computer science that this reality dawned on me... I turned up to my first digital logic and assembler programming class and there were 100 men and me. All 100 were much more experienced than me with “and” and “or” gates and coding at the binary level so I traded my essay writing skills for some lengthy computer programs and with my grades underpinned by this symbiotic relationship we all got along very nicely!
But there’s no question that educational choices are in large part associated with gendered stereotypes. The Harvard Implicit Associate Test, which tested more than half a million people globally, found that 70% of the test takers associated ‘male’ with science, and ‘female’ with the arts.[1]
This stereotyping is reinforced in all aspects of all our lives. This includes at home, where parents have often adopted stereotypical roles themselves, from anything as simple as who does the ironing or takes out the trash to who works full time and who is the primary carer. Within the home it is also rare to see women and girls encouraged to consider careers in mining, construction or utilities. This is compounded by the difficulties women face in finding information about possible career paths in male-dominated industries as the conversation is rarely directed at them.
There are often negative perceptions of these jobs and anecdotal feedback about unfavourable workplace environments that are ‘blokey’ and have a high tolerance for bullying and discrimination.
Add to this the negative perceptions about women in the workplace, their commitment and the nature of the work they can perform and it is not surprising we have so few women working in male-dominated industries.
All of these factors result in a huge gender disparity in certain industries. Recent figures suggest women make up 45.7% of the overall Australian workforce across all industries, but only 22.6% in utilities, 15.1% in mining, and only 11.8% in construction.[2]
This needs to change. Such under-representation of women continues to undermine gender equality, industry performance and our nation’s economy.
There is a strong business case for increasing women’s representation in these sectors. According to a Goldman Sachs report, narrowing the gap between male and female employment rates would increase Australia’s GDP by 11%. [3] The countries overall economic activity could be boosted by up to 20%.[4]
Leaders in male-dominated industries know that there is a major skills shortage in Australia currently as high as 45%.[5] The hardest positions to fill are in trades, engineering and sales. This makes women a hugely underutilised and untapped resource.
So what is it we can do and why this toolkit?
In a nutshell, while male-dominated industries have traditionally been slow to increase female participation in their workforces and in their leadership - this is changing.
As you will hear from leaders in some of these industries today, companies are recognising the need to develop an integrated strategy to increase the number of women in non-traditional roles.
This is why the Australian Human Rights Commission, with the support of the Minister for the Status of Women and the Office for Women within FaHCSIA, brought together members of these industries to gather information on their experience and knowledge.
Feedback from our series of interviews and roundtables highlighted the barriers to female participation, but also revealed the innovative ways companies are moving forward.
The result is the toolkit – which provides practical suggestions and examples of successful strategies for the attraction, recruitment, retention, and development of women’s skills and careers in male-dominated industries.
What does the toolkit cover?
Attracting women
Let me share with you a little of what is covered in the toolkit. Firstly, in terms of attraction:
Companies and industries are developing strategies to attract more women to consider and apply for opportunities.
This includes developing job advertisements that attract women, providing cases and content for their websites and promotional materials that inspire, and the development of engagement activities that broaden the pool of potential candidates.
Some leading companies have made sure case studies of successful women in their industries are highlighted on their websites. This is important because you can’t be what you can’t see. Others have targeted their advertisements to mothers, friends, career advisers and teachers who influence the career decisions of young women. As influencers we often have an out-dated view about what a career in any given industry will entail so making us another target of marketing and educational material is a smart move.
When I started out in computer science I never imagined that my degree would allow me to investigate the way technology affected people’s lives, ride the wave of the dot com boom or assist me to understand digital equality and its implications in my current role as Sex Discrimination Commissioner. We are often limited by narrow views about where career choices will take you.
Other companies have targeted girls at school and TAFE to encourage them to consider carers in technical or trade sectors. Ausgrid provides a four-day program that offers female students the opportunity to experience electrical trades.
A mining organisation in North America has partnered with the Girl Guides to encourage girls to study maths and science.
Recruiting women
In terms of recruitment, companies are developing strategies for inclusive and rigorous interview and selection processes to help secure women into their workforces.
For example, an energy company increased the number of women in senior roles by 15% by ensuring there was at least one woman on every interview panel and at least one female candidate on every shortlist.
By interacting with candidates during the recruitment process, and by giving and receiving feedback, they can ensure the candidate has a positive experience.
A construction company changed their graduate recruitment process by changing the ‘male-oriented’ language, re-developing the selection criteria, making the group assessment process more inclusive, including women on the panels, and training assessors in bias and stereotypes.
Another strategy is to ensure there are diverse and well trained recruitment teams that use merit based processes – processes that have been examined to eradicate any unconscious bias.
It is also valuable to think more broadly about the skills and experience required for a particular job so as to expand the pool of potential candidates, and to support women to make career transitions into non-traditional roles. By changing the requirement that you “must have worked in an offshore office” to “must have a global mindset” you are opening up
One mining company has set a minimum target of ensuring 30% of candidates in the final interview stage for a job must be women. This transparent target encourages selectors to be more innovative in their strategies to recruit women.
Another mining company reviewed its recruitment and promotion procedures to focus on skills and experience, including those developed outside the workplace, rather than on length of service.
Retaining women
Thirdly, it is important that women are not only recruited, but also retained, in non-traditional roles. This involves developing strategies that make traditionally male-dominated environments more gender inclusive.
The Review into the Treatment of Women in the Australia Defence Force recommended holding commanding officers accountable for a health organisational culture, which requires effective management of flexible work arrangements, mentoring, sponsoring and taking corrective action as required.
Working environments need to meet the needs of all employees, including in the physical environment, and workplace cultures must embrace diversity. Employers are therefore taking active steps to build awareness and provide training about stereotypes and unconscious bias.
Some organisations are developing ongoing support for employees and their families, including on-site and off-site support. Ensuring the workplace supports a range of flexible work arrangements is key to retaining women, many of whom have caring responsibility for children, or disabled or elderly family members.
For example, a construction company has taken a ‘life transition’ approach to work-life balance – providing support for employees to take a long-term holistic view of their life how their career fits within their broader responsibilities.
One US company has developed a Work/Life Guide to help employees find ways to meet both their personal and professional needs.
In another example, a mining company is shortening its FIFO shifts to 3 days so it can assist women with family responsibilities.
Companies are also conducting regular pay audits for both fixed and variable pay, and the processes being developed are transparent for employees
Origin Energy has an ‘equal pay for equal work policy’, which it implements through its annual salary review processes, with checks and balances for variations across gender, and at the point-of hire salary decision.
Developing women’s skills and careers
Finally, companies are developing strategies to ensure women get both the formal and on-the-job development required for a strong career in a non-traditional role. Skills and career advancement opportunities must exist for all employees
Schlumberger a French oil field developed a succession planning process for both men and women, that accelerated the development of leaders in their early career, thus strengthening a mobile female leadership pipeline with multi-dimensional skills
Senior leaders are sponsoring key development activities and promoting the importance of development for female employees.
A construction company has ‘Diversity Champions’ who are senior leaders who advocate, organise and sponsor gender –related initiatives.
Structured leadership development programs that still provide flexibility are being offered. Like the recruitment process, the talent process needs to be merit based and inclusive.
One good example is a construction company that conducts what it calls a ‘one-up conversations’ with all female employees regarding their career strategies. This increases their exposure to senior levels of the organization and ensures they are not reliant on a single manager for their development
AGL held an annual ‘diversity Big Day Out’ conference for employees – focusing on gender equity – it's everyone’s business. It was an opportunity for senior leaders to share their stories and commitment to gender diversity. The conference aimed to enrol men as advocates for women in the workplace
The website
We identified these four areas – attraction, recruitment, retention and development - as crucial to addressing the increased representation of women. Successfully bringing more women in non-traditional roles will require continued cultural evolution, strong leadership, focus and holding people accountable for outcomes.
As I mentioned, the toolkit has primarily been designed as an interactive, web-based resource. By visiting the site, you can download the entire report, or focus of the specific chapters that are of interest.
At the end of each section of the Toolkit there is a hard hat which links you into the discussion forums where users can reflect on which strategies have worked, and which ones haven’t, or share any other ideas for increasing the representation of women in these industries.
The discussion forums are an opportunity for you to join into the conversation – to contribute your own strategies and practices.
This way the conversation and the development of successful implementation techniques will continue long after this launch.
We are very excited about the rich resource this Toolkit can become and hope that employers, employees and unions will find it of practical use in identifying ways to increase women’s representation in their sector.
Conclusion
In closing, I’d again like to thank Hon Julie Collins and the Office for Women. Your ongoing support of the Australian Human Rights Commission has enabled us to do some invaluable work over the years. I believe this project will be another valuable contribution.
This toolkit comprises leading practices for increasing women’s representation. Consequently, we had many discussions with Government, senior leadership, human resources and development officers, employer groups, unions and professional networks about what has been successful and what has not. I would like to acknowledge all of those with whom we had discussions, many of whom are here today. Your contribution has been vital.
Before we finish, though, I want to invite all of you here today to take the time to visit the Toolkit online and engage in the discussion forums, so that the Toolkit continues to develop as a resource.
We also hope you’ll take some the practical suggestions and insights away with you, be it to your colleagues, leadership, employment networks, policy makers or union representatives. And for everyone on Twitter, please tweet your stories using the hashtag #WomenInIndustry.
Thank you
[1] C Hill, C Corbett & A Rose, Why So Few? Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, AAUW (2010).
[2] Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA), Industry Verticals (2011). At http://www.wgea.gov.au/Information_Centres/Resource_Centre/WGEA_Publica… (viewed 6 February 2013).
[3] Goldman Sachs JB Were Investment Research, Australia’s Hidden Resource: The Economic Case for Increasing Female Participation (2009).
[4] Goldman Sachs JB Were Investment Research, Australia’s Hidden Resource: The Economic Case for Increasing Female Participation (2009).
[5] Manpower Group, "Manufacturing" Talent for the HUMAN AGE 2011 Talent Shortage Survey Results (2011).
