It's about time: Women, men, work and 
family - final paper 2007
The women, men, work and family project was launched by former Sex Discrimination Commissioner Pru Goward in 2005. It builds on the HREOC's previous work on paid maternity leave and examines the relationship between family responsibilities and paid work.
HREOC released a discussion paper, Striking the Balance: Women, men, work and family in June 2005.
It's About Time: Women, men, work and family, released in March 2007, is the final paper of this project.
Our aim has been to broaden the work and family debate to better include men's role in family life, include forms of care other than child care (such as elder care and care for people with disability) and to highlight the relationship between paid work and unpaid work.
It's About Time makes the case for a new framework to support a balance between paid work and family responsibilities. This new framework recognises changes in caring needs and responsibilities across the life cycle, addresses equality between men and women and reflects a "shared work - valued care" approach.
It proposes a series of changes to legislation, workplace policy and practice and government programs to support this new approach.
Making this new framework a reality requires commitment from governments, employers, communities, families and individuals because, in the end, striking the balance between paid work and family is a shared responsibility.
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations and acronyms
- Foreword
- Executive summary
- List of Recommendations
- List of submissions
- Consultations and focus groups
- Advisory panels
- Chapter 1: Background
- Chapter 2: It's about time
- Chapter 3: Legal protection for workers with family and carer responsibilities
- Chapter 4: Striking the balance in the workplace
- Chapter 5: Striking the balance in the family
- Chapter 6: Government support: Welfare and tax
- Chapter 7: Government support: early childhood and care
- Chapter 8: Government support: Care for adults and support for carers
- Chapter 9: Other issues
- Chapter 10: Conclusion
Community Guide
Media Pack
Submissions
Feedback form
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- Community Guide in PDF format (4.23 MB)
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Hard copies of the It's About Time: Women, men, work and family and the It's About Time Community Guide are also available for free.
Download the HREOC Publications Order Form to order your copy:
Alternatively, contact the Publications Officer on Tel: 02 9284 9600 or email: publications@humanrights.gov.au.
Send us your Feedback
HREOC welcomes your feedback on It's About Time. If you'd like to share your thoughts, ideas or feedback on balancing paid work and family life, download a feedback form and either fax or email us back a copy to (02) 9284-9789 or Its.About.Time@humanrights.gov.au