Our workforce of women
Women will outnumber men in the workforce within a decade, business experts predict.
Business SA chief executive Peter Vaughan said the scene was set for women to dominate the workforce through greater gender equality and changes to society’s demands. He said the trend began 30-40 years ago and will gather momentum.
“If you are a young female in Australia at school or studying, the world is really your oyster,” he said.
Mr Vaughan said the shift came from the abandonment of traditional expectations of men being the main providers for a family and women caring for children at home.
The availability of childcare services and the determination of women to succeed in life outside of home, meant more women would join the workforce, he said.
The most recent research shows men occupy 52 per cent of all jobs.
“There is a much higher proportion of older males than females in the workforce,” Mr Vaughan said.
“As these men age and retire, it’s highly likely women will take their places. Girls are far better at school than boys and this sets girls up to be better qualified. That trend is going to continue forever.”
Australian Bureau of Statistics figures from November show the workforce consisted of 5,895,000 men and 4,953,000 women.
University of SA’s Centre for Work and Life director Barbara Pocock said the day would come when women outnumbered men in the workforce as they began to “catch up on gender pay and paid maternity leave issues”. “As there is an improvement in the culture of the workforce to better accommodate women we’ll definitely notice a shift,” she said.
“We’re seeing a quite significant investment by women in their skills, particularly through university study.
“Women are recognising they will be in the workforce a lot longer and are committed to having the skills and knowledge to match that.”
