Flexible work ‘stigma’ a handbrake on women’s careers

[Pelican Press 0]

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Flexible work ‘stigma’ a handbrake on women’s careers

Women working part-time or flexible hours to fit in the school pick-up are often passed over for promotions and the national gender equality agency wants change.

“Flexibility stigma” is a career handbrake for both genders but women are more likely to experience it because they are more likely to work outside the typical nine-to-five work week.

Promotion rates dropped off steeply for part-time workers outside of management, with those workers half as likely to step up the ladder than their full-time counterparts.

The perception part-time and flexible workers lacked commitment was a large part of the problem, Monday’s report from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency and Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre found.

Agency chief Mary Wooldridge said the findings reinforced the need to design jobs for inclusivity and ditch the “full-time mindset”.

“By embracing flexible work practices and addressing the challenges associated with part-time employment, employers create a more equitable and supportive work environment for all employees,” she said.

While workers have traditionally met their flexibility needs by going part-time, the COVID-19 pandemic opened up new ways of working, according to the report.

Remote and hybrid working have become common since lockdowns forced people to work from home, and flexible hours, job sharing, and compressed work weeks have been on the rise.

The share of women in part-time work declined by 3.2 percentage points in the two years to 2022/23.

At the same time, full-time roles with in-built flexibility, such as remote or hybrid, were becoming more prevalent.

Working-from-home pushback could slow that trend, however, with some employers – including the NSW government – angling for more in-office time.

Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre co-author Silvia Salazar said the move away from part-time work towards other flexible forms signalled a structural change in the *********** labour market.

“This trend presents an opportunity for employers to make these arrangements standard without harming employee experiences,” she said.

The report’s key recommendations included normalising flexible work, consulting with employees and monitoring career progression to spot “promotion cliffs”.

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