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Review of the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Act 1999 – Submission

City of Sydney

Part 1 - Profile of women living in the City of Sydney Council area

The City's Social Plan 2006 -2010 provides a profile of some of the key characteristics of the female population of the City and a number of key issues different groups face. Women residing in the City of Sydney are a diverse group, with a substantial population from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds and a high concentration of highly educated, employed women in their late twenties and thirties. There are more younger than older women as a proportion of the City-wide population, although there has been a decline in the relative number of young women. The working population (those who work in but do not live in the LGA) of the City of Sydney is also very diverse and come from a very large area in the Sydney metropolitan region.

The employment pattern of women living in the City of Sydney LGA largely reflects national patterns. Compared to males, there is a higher proportion of women employed on a part time basis, or looking for work on a part time basis. Of those who are unemployed and looking for work, a majority of women are principally seeking full time employment. There are also a slightly smaller proportion of women in the labour force in comparison to males, and the unemployment rate among females is lower than males. The most noticeable difference in employment rates occurred in the Aboriginal population, where much lower proportions of females are unemployed compared to males.

Part 2 - The City's approach to ensuring equal opportunity for women employed by the City of Sydney Council

The City recognises issues women face in relation to equal participation in its own organisation and has put in place a number of initiatives to respond to these issues. These include:

The City is also very active in the Australian Local Government Women's Associations (ALGWA) NSW Coordination Group which supports the implementation of strategies under the National Framework for Women in Local Government. At an organisation level, this involves constant review of our own strategies, policies and programs in relation to women, such as those set out in our EEO Management Plan.

There is scope for the Review to consider the Agency's role in supporting initiatives such as women in leadership and the National Framework which respond to sector-specific issues for women in the workplace.

There is scope for the Review to consider the role of the Agency in advocating for more organisations to develop similar policies which expand the provision of child care.

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Part 3 - City of Sydney policy and planning for women living in the Local Government Area

The City's Social Plan identifies women as a key needs group, and outlines a number of priority action areas, which address factors affecting equal participation by women in the workplace. These are:

  1. Increase the range of accessible, affordable and appropriate housing options and homelessness services for women in the City.
  2. Increase the range of training, education and employment opportunities for women in the City.
  3. Improve community safety for women in the City.
  4. Access and equity.
  5. Improve access to health services and promote healthy lifestyles to women in the City.

The City also has a direct role in providing appropriate child care for families in the LGA. The City has recently undertaken a Child Care Needs Study which identified key areas for improvement in the City's provision, e.g. providing more child care places for babies (0-2 years). The City also has a Childcare Centres Development Control Plan which provides for child care in new commercial buildings of a certain size. Provision of appropriate child care is strongly linked to women with children's equal participation in the workplace.

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Part 4 – Key considerations for the Review

The Review Issues Paper (p5) notes the importance of removing obstacles and barriers to women's participation in workplace such as enabling all workers to better manage their work and family responsibilities. The indirect factors addressed by the City's Social Plan (see above) are important in removing barriers and enabling women to satisfy basic personal and financial needs, in order to participate at a functional level in the workplace. Without the removal of these barriers, women will not be able to take advantage of opportunities available in the workplace in a fair and equal way. The Review should recognise the importance of such social and environmental factors as critical enablers of women's equal participation in opportunities available in the workplace.

Affordable Housing - Affordable housing which is located in reasonable proximity to the workplace is a well understood enabler to effective workplace participation and capacity to take advantage of available work opportunities. This is particularly important where, as the Issues Paper notes, there is a continuing income disparity between women and men. Appropriate housing applies also to the availability of emergency accommodation for women experiencing homelessness, and ensuring there are functional pathways out of homelessness to a more sustainable tenure, as well as employment.

Training, Education and Employment - In order to provide equal access to employment and workplace opportunities for women, the City coordinate and provides training, education and employment opportunities. The City works with government, education and training providers, and the business community to develop specific programs for women. For example, via a grant funding program run by the Women in Television Group, women are encouraged to pursue employment opportunities in the media, an industry with strong representation in the LGA. The City also seeks to enhance linkages between key stakeholders in economic development, education and training, to create new, flexible employment opportunities for women. There is scope for barriers to entry into key industries for women to be recognised in the Review.

Safety - Basic safety is also critical to enable women to take up work opportunities equally. This is particularly important for the significantly higher proportion of women who work part time and potentially outside normal working hours, when safety concerns may affect equal uptake of work opportunities. To address this, the City seeks to actively involve local women in the development of local community safety plans and initiatives. The City also develops initiatives to address the needs of groups of women with greater safety concerns. For example, the City has a specific Development Control Plan to manage safety for sex workers.

Equal accessibility to health and community services - The City assumes a direct role in ensuring the availability of health and community services and facilities in local neighbourhoods. Like many local governments, the City of Sydney Council provides a wide range of sports, recreation, arts and cultural, and health programs that are accessed by women in the City of Sydney. They are provided from Council's community centres, libraries and recreation centres, in coordination with government and local community-based organisations. It is a fundamental role of local governments to make these facilities available (for women and men) to support healthy and balanced lifestyles of both resident and working populations.

However, the actual accessibility of these services and facilities is a function of their spatial accessibility, women's awareness of them, as well as financial and time constraints. In line with its access and equity priorities for women, the City undertakes the following activities:

However, workplace commitments and social isolation can also significantly determine women's capacity to effectively access the services and facilities that they need to remain balanced and productive workers. This can in turn affect women's ability to take advantage of workplace opportunities. The Issues Paper notes that that the proportion of women working 'very long hours' has doubled in the last 25 years. This balance between workplace commitments and accessibility to services and facilities will affect women's opportunity to take roles of greater responsibility in the workplace. Also, lack of accessibility to services for women who may be experiencing social isolation can hinder their participation in the workplace. In both instances women require the social and environmental supports provided by locally accessible services and facilities. There is scope to require workplaces to take a more proactive role in ensuring that available services are realistically accessible to women who can benefit from them, eg providing information, flexible hours of work, etc.

Council works with local services on joint community development projects that encourage women to come together, around common interests and issues. These types of projects have been particularly successful with women from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse backgrounds. In some cases, the projects have led to pathways into training and employment. Research undertaken by the City in 2006 indicates that particular groups of women (including women who are unemployed, on low incomes, carers, and from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds), are experiencing social isolation.

Child Care - A range of appropriate child care options is important to equal access to employment opportunities. The City ensures that large commercial developments allocate appropriately designed spaces for child care facilities. This is important to enabling choice for child care located close to the home or close to work, and facilitates women's participation in the workplace. In addition, easy access to locally-based family support, including child care and other neighbourhood based services, are critical for supporting women in the City of Sydney, especially those who are isolated, have dependent children and experiencing other personal or economic difficulties. The effective provision of these services is a priority for local government and is critical in enabling all workers to better manage their work and family responsibilities.


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