Summary:
- Women's labour force participation has increased over the last 10 years to 57.8% in December 2006. During this time, over 1 million new jobs have been created for women.
- Women's part-time and full-time work has increased substantially over the last 10 years.
- Increases in part-time and full-time work for women were evident across most industries.
- Among full-time employees, on average, men work longer hours than women do. For part-time work, gender differences in hours worked are dependent upon the industry and occupation in which the employee works.
- In June 2004, women accounted for 31.9% of all small business operators.
- Slightly more women than men undertake volunteering in Australia.
- Volunteering is highest among women aged between 35-44 years who work part-time and have dependent children.
- There has been strong growth in women's full-time earnings over the last 10 years.
- In May 2004, the gender pay gap was 8% for average hourly ordinary full-time earnings.
- 89.7% of women have superannuation contributions made by their employers.
- Women are less likely than men to have superannuation and women's average superannuation balances are lower than men's.
In this part:
Labour force participation
Labour force participation in Australia has increased from 63.5% of the population in December 1996 to 64.9% of the population in December 2006. In December 2006, women comprised 45.1% of the total labour force.1 Trends in labour force participation vary according to gender. The labour force participation rate for women aged 15 years and over increased from 54.0% in December 1996 to 57.8% in December 2006 and men's labour force participation decreased from 73.3% to 72.3% over the same period (Figure 4.1).
Figure 4.1: Seasonally adjusted labour force participation of population aged 15 years and over by gender, December 1996-December 2006
Source: Labour Force, Australia, Spreadsheets, December 2006, ABS Cat. No. 6202.0.55.001, Table 02.
Labour force participation by marital status
Figure 4.2 shows variations in women's labour force participation rates by marital status between December 1996 and December 2006. In December 1996, the participation rates of married women (54.8%) and unmarried women (54.4%) were fairly similar. Each group of women has increased its participation over the last 10 years, but the increase was greater for married women. At December 2006 the participation rate for married women (60.4%) was higher than the participation rate for all women (57.8%).
Figure 4.2: Labour force participation rates of women aged 15 years and over by marital status, December 1996 and December 2006
Source: Labour Force, Australia, Detailed – Electronic delivery, December 2006, ABS Cat. No. 6291.0.55.001, Table 01.
Figures are not seasonally adjusted (original data).
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Labour force participation by age
Women's labour force participation varies by age. Figure 4.3 shows that in December 1996, employment rates for women declined at ages 25–34 years, then slightly increased at ages 35–44 years, and then steadily decreased again with age. Over the last 10 years, large increases in labour force participation of older women have resulted in a reversal of the trend of declining participation for women aged 45–54 years.
Figure 4.3: Labour force participation rates of women aged 20 years and over by age group, December 1996 and December 2006
Source: Labour Force, Australia, Detailed – Electronic delivery, December 2006, ABS Cat. No. 6291.0.55.001, Table 01.
Figures are not seasonally adjusted (original data).
Labour force participation of women aged 55 years and over has remained generally low over the last decade. However, the participation rate for these women proportionally increased the most over the last 10 years. The participation rate for women aged 60–64 years nearly doubled; for women aged 65 years and over, the participation rate increased from 2.7% in 1996 to 4.5% in 2006; and for women aged 55–59 years, it increased by 17.7 percentage points.
It should be noted that part of the growth in women's employment in the older age ranges will be due to the ageing of the population, whereby women are taking jobs with them as they progress into the older age cohorts.
A smaller increase in the labour force participation rate over the last 10 years was observed for women aged between 25 and 44 years and the participation rate for women aged 20–24 remained relatively stable.
Labour force participation of mothers
Figure 4.4 shows the labour force participation rates in December 2006 at the aggregate level and by age group for single women, lone parents with and without dependent children, partnered women with dependent children, and partnered women without dependent children. Participation rates for lone mothers aged 20-24 years without dependents, partnered and lone mothers aged 60 years and over with dependent children, and lone mothers aged 65 years and over without dependent children are not shown as there were very small numbers of women in these particular groups.
Figure 4.4. shows that although at the aggregate level, labour force participation rates are highest for partnered and lone mothers with dependent children, mothers' labour force participation rates are age dependent. For partnered and lone mothers with dependent children, participation rates remain relatively low at all ages, except at ages 45-54 years and 55-59 years respectively. At age 60 years and over, there are few women with dependent children.
Figure 4.4: Labour force participation rates of women aged 20 years and over by family type and age, December 2006
Source: Labour Force Survey, ABS Cat. No. 6291.0.55.001, data available on request. Participation rates not shown where the numbers participating are less than 5,000 in the weighted data, but numbers are included in totals.
Figure 4.5 shows that between June 1996 and June 2006, increased labour force participation applied to all age groups of mothers. Among all mothers with dependent children, those aged between 35-54 years had the highest labour force participation rates in 1996 and this trend continued into 2006.
Figure 4.5: Labour force participation rates of mothers aged 20 years and over with children aged 0-14 years by age group of mothers, June 1996 and June 2006
Source: Labour Force Survey, ABS Cat. No. 6291.0.55.001, data available on request.
Figure 4.6 shows variations in labour force participation according to the age of the youngest child for 1996 and 2006. The data show that increased participation in paid work over the last 10 years applied to each group of mothers. However, in 1996, there was a distinct relationship between the age of the youngest child and labour force participation, which persisted into 2006. Specifically, labour force participation rates remained low where mothers were caring for very young children and then grew as the age of the youngest child increased. Thus, the labour force participation rate in Australia for mothers with children under 5 years was 52.7% in June 2006, rising to 73.0% when the youngest child was aged between 5 and 9 years, and increasing slightly again to 77.4%—well above the participation rate for all women—when the child was aged between 10 and 14 years.
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Figure 4.6: Labour force participation rates of mothers aged 15 years and over with children aged 0-14 years by age group of youngest child, June 1996 and June 2006
Source: Labour Force Survey, ABS Cat. No. 6224.0.55.001, data available on request.
Employment of parents with very young children
Data from The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children provide information on the percentage of mothers and fathers employed in the first year of an infant's life in 2004.2 Table 4.1 shows the employment rates of mothers and fathers by the age of the infant in months. Less than one-quarter of mothers with infants aged 3–5 months were employed and this proportion increased to about half of all mothers with infants when the child was more than one year old. Rates of employment were higher for partnered mothers than for lone mothers. No relationship between the age of the infant and employment rates was apparent for fathers.
Table 4.1: Percentage of parents employed by age of youngest child, 2004
| |
COUPLE |
MOTHERS LONE |
ALL |
FATHERS ALL |
| Age of infant |
| – 3–5 months |
26.4 |
10.4 |
24.7 |
92.4 |
| – 6–8 months |
35.4 |
12.8 |
33.2 |
92.0 |
| – 9–11 months |
44.1 |
17.9 |
41.2 |
92.2 |
| – 12 months or more |
52.2 |
29.0 |
49.6 |
92.7 |
| Total |
40.5 |
17.5 |
38.1 |
92.3 |
Source: Baxter, J., Gray, M., Alexander, M., Strazdins, L., & Bittman, M. (Unpublished report). Mothers and fathers with young children: Paid employment, caring and wellbeing. An analysis of Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children, Table 3.2.
Trends in full-time and part-time employment
As at December 2006, 44.6% of all employed women were employed part-time and 70.1% of all part-time employees were women (Table 4.2).
Between December 1996 and December 2006, 1,005,300 new jobs have been created that employ women, representing 52% of all new jobs (Table 4.2). This additional employment of women comprised equal numbers of new full-time and part-time jobs.
For men over the same period, the increase in full-time paid work was larger than the increase in part-time work. However, the proportion of men employed part-time increased from 11.7% in December 1996 to 15.5% in December 2006.
Table 4.2: Seasonally adjusted numbers of men and women aged 15 years and over employed fulltime and part-time, December 1996 and December 2006
| |
1996 |
2006 |
DIFFERENCE |
| Women |
| – Employed full-time |
2,072,400 |
2,574,800 |
502,400 |
| – Employed part-time |
1,568,200 |
2,071,100 |
502,900 |
| Total |
3,640,600 |
4,645,900 |
1,005,300 |
| Men |
| – Employed full-time |
4,206,400 |
4,807,400 |
601,000 |
| – Employed part-time |
555,600 |
884,000 |
328,400 |
| Total |
4,762,000 |
5,691,400 |
929,400 |
Source: Labour Force, Australia, Spreadsheets, December 2006, ABS Cat. No. 6202.0.55.001, Table 02.
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Trends in women's full-time and part-time employment by marital status
Table 4.3 shows that between December 1996 and December 2006, there was a slightly higher increase in full-time employment than part-time employment for married women. On the other hand, unmarried women increased their participation in part-time more than full-time paid work over the same period.
Table 4.3: Number of women aged 15 years and over employed full-time and part-time by marital status, December 1996 and December 2006
| |
1996 |
2006 |
DIFFERENCE |
| Married |
| – Employed full-time |
1,195,700 |
1,563,900 |
368,200 |
| – Employed part-time |
998,100 |
1,305,300 |
307,200 |
| Unmarried |
| – Employed full-time |
926,400 |
1,070,800 |
144,400 |
| – Employed part-time |
568,600 |
762,200 |
193,600 |
| Total |
3,688,800 |
4,702,200 |
1,013,400 |
Source: Labour Force, Australia, Detailed, Electronic Delivery, December 2006, ABS Cat. No. 6291.0.55.001, Table 01. Figures are not seasonally adjusted (original data).
Trends in women's full-time and part-time employment by age
Trends in women's part-time and full-time work between December 1996 and December 2006 also varied according to age group (Figure 4.7). Increases in both full-time and part-time paid work occurred for all age groups of women, with larger proportional growth for women aged 45 years and over. For women aged 45 to 59 years, increases in full-time employment were higher than increases in part-time employment. The opposite was true for women aged 60 years and over. Part-time employment increased at a slightly higher rate than full-time employment and, at December 2006, more women in this age group were employed on a part-time than a full-time basis.
Figure 4.7: Number of women aged 20 years and over employed full-time and part-time by age, December 1996 and December 2006
Source: Labour Force, Australia, Detailed, Electronic Delivery, December 2006, ABS Cat. No. 6291.0.55.001, Table 01.
Figures are not seasonally adjusted (original data).
In 1996, slightly more women aged 35–44 years were employed full-time than part-time. Over the last 10 years, a larger increase in part-time employment than in full-time employment has resulted in equal numbers of women in this age group now in part-time and full-time jobs.
There were relatively small proportional increases in both full-time and parttime employment for women aged between 20 and 24 years and full-time employment remained more common than part-time employment for this age group in December 2006.
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Trends in mothers' full-time and part-time employment
Table 4.4 shows that between June 1996 and June 2006, trends in mothers' part-time and full-time employment varied according to the presence or absence of dependent children aged 0–14 years in the household.
Table 4.4: Number of women aged 15 years and over employed part-time and full-time by presence of dependent children aged 0-14 years, June 1996 and June 2006
| |
1996 |
2006 |
DIFFERENCE |
| FAMILY TYPE |
FULL-TIME |
PART-TIME |
FULL-TIME |
PART-TIME |
FULL-TIME |
PART-TIME |
| Member of couple with dependent children |
395,000 |
578,500 |
429,900 |
687,800 |
34,900 |
109,300 |
| Member of couple without dependent children* |
730,400 |
413,700 |
1,001,900 |
611,700 |
271,500 |
198,000 |
| Lone parent with dependent children |
62,700 |
73,700 |
78,100 |
128,300 |
15,400 |
54,600 |
| Lone parent without dependent children |
62,500 |
26,400 |
100,700 |
46,200 |
38,200 |
19,800 |
| Total |
1,250,600 |
1,092,300 |
1,610,600 |
1,474,000 |
360,000 |
381,700 |
Source: Labour Force Survey, ABS Cat. No. 6291.0.55.001, data available on request.
* Includes wife or partner with no children and with children aged 15 years and over.
In 1996, employment for women with no dependent children was more likely to be full-time than part-time. This trend continued through to 2006, with a larger increase over the last 10 years in full-time than part-time employment.
The opposite is true for women with dependent children. In 1996, this group of mothers was more likely to be employed on a part-time rather than a full-time basis. Over the last 10 years, employment growth was greater for parttime work than for full-time work and employment for this group of mothers remained more commonly part-time in 2006.
Table 4.5 shows the number of women employed part-time and full-time in June 1996 and June 2006 according to the age of the youngest dependent child. In 1996, paid work was largely part-time for women with a child aged between 0–9 years, but more commonly full-time when the youngest child was older than 10 years of age. Over the last 10 years, there have been larger increases in the numbers of mothers working part-time than full-time, regardless of the age of the youngest child. The result of this has been that as at June 2006, work for all mothers with children aged between 0–14 years was more commonly part-time.
Table 4.5: Number of women aged 15 years and over employed part-time and full-time by age of youngest child, June 1996 and June 2006
| |
1996 |
2006 |
DIFFERENCE |
| |
FULL-TIME |
PART-TIME |
FULL-TIME |
PART-TIME |
FULL-TIME |
PART-TIME |
| Age of youngest child |
| – 0–4 years |
144,400 |
282,800 |
152,200 |
340,100 |
7,800 |
57,300 |
| – 5–9 years |
131,700 |
207,800 |
163,000 |
256,800 |
31,300 |
49,000 |
| – 10–14 years |
182,900 |
166,200 |
201,400 |
231,500 |
18,500 |
65,300 |
| Total |
459,000 |
656,800 |
516,600 |
828,400 |
57,600 |
171,600 |
Source: Labour Force Survey, ABS Cat. No. 6224.0.55.001, data available on request.
Industries in which women work
With the exception of only a few industries, the labour force in Australia is largely segmented by gender (see Figure 4.8). As at November 2006, differences in the numbers of male and female employees were largest in the construction, mining, education, and health and community services industries. The former two industries employed large numbers of men, but few women. The opposite is true for the latter two industries. Four of the 17 industries—retail trades; property and business services; education; and health and community services—employed over 58% of all employed women.
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Figure 4.8: The number of employed men and women aged 15 years and over by industry, November 2006
Source: Australian Labour Market Statistics, January 2007, ABS Cat. No. 6105.0, Table 2.4.
Figure 4.9 shows that in November 2006 there were slightly more women employed on a full-time than part-time basis across most industry types, except in four groups: the cultural and recreational services; construction; accommodation, cafes and restaurants; and retail trades industries. The retail trades sector was overwhelmingly the largest employer of women who worked part-time. This was also true for men, but there were over twice as many women as men working part-time in the retail trades industry.
Figure 4.9: The number of employed women aged 15 years and over by industry and employment status, November 2006
Source: Australian Labour Market Statistics, January 2007, ABS Cat. No. 6105.0, Table 2.4.
Between August 1996 and August 2005, large increases in the numbers of employed women were evident across most industries, except in the agriculture, forestry and fishing; manufacturing; and wholesale trade industries (Figure 4.10).
Figure 4.10: Percentage change in the number of employed women aged 15 years and over by industry and employment status, August 1996 - August 2005
Source: Australian Labour Market Statistics, July 2006, Data Cubes, ABS Cat. No. 6105.0, Table 3.
The electricity, gas and water supply industry reported the strongest percentage growth in women working either part-time or full-time, although in absolute terms, this represented only 5,800 women. The majority of the increases in part-time and full-time paid work for women over the last 10 years were concentrated in the retail trade; health and community services; education; and property and business services industries. The growth of part-time and full-time employment for women in property and business services since 1996 has seen this industry overtake the education industry as the third highest employer of women.3
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Occupations in which women work
In November 2006, 40% of all employed women worked as either elementary or intermediate clerks, sales and service workers. A further 22.6% were employed as professionals. Figure 4.11 shows a disparity within and across occupations in the gender mix of employees, especially among tradespersons and clerical, sales and service workers. The distribution of male and female employees was fairly equal for professionals.
Figure 4.11: Number of employed men and women aged 15 years and over by occupation group, November 2006
Source: Australian Labour Market Statistics, January 2007, ABS Cat. No. 6105.0, Table 2.4.
More women worked part-time than full-time in the clerical, sales and service worker occupation groups. Full-time work was more common than part-time work for women employed as managers and administrators, associate professionals, and professionals (Figure 4.12).
Figure 4.12: Number of employed women aged 15 years and over by employment status and occupation group, November 2006
Source: Australian Labour Market Statistics, January 2007, ABS Cat. No. 6105.0, Table 2.4.
Since 1996, there have been substantial percentage increases in the number of women employed full-time as managers and administrators, professionals, and associate professionals (Figure 4.13). Other occupations showed declines or only modest increases in the number of full-time female employees. The largest decreases were observed for full-time advanced clerical and service workers and intermediate production and transport workers.
Figure 4.13: Percentage change in the number of employed women aged 15 years and over by occupation group and employment status, August 1996 - August 2005
Source: Australian Labour Market Statistics, July 2006, Data Cubes, ABS Cat. No. 6105.0, Table 4.
In relation to part-time positions, the number of female labourers and related workers decreased between 1996 and 2005. There was strong percentage growth in part-time work for female professionals, associate professionals and managers and administrators. However, in absolute terms, between August 1996 and August 2005, slightly more additional women were employed as part-time intermediate and elementary clerical sales and service workers (274,500) than in professional or associate professional positions (226,500).3
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Hours worked
Table 4.6 shows that average weekly full-time hours in May 2006 varied across industries and occupations. However, across all industries and occupations, on average, men worked longer hours than women.
Table 4.6 also shows that for part-time jobs, there were some gender differences in hours worked per week according to industry and occupation. On average, men and women working part-time worked similar hours per week.
Between June 1996 and June 2006, average full-time weekly working hours decreased slightly from 37.6 hours to 37.4 hours for women and from 42.3 hours to 41.0 for men.4 Trends in part-time hours are in the opposite direction. Women working part-time in June 2006 worked an average of 16.3 hours per week compared to 15.7 hours in June 1996 and the average weekly hours of men working part-time increased over the same period from 14.8 hours to 16.1 hours.
Table 4.6: Average weekly hours worked by men and women aged 15 years and over by employment status, industry and occupation group, May 2006
| |
FULL-TIME AVERAGE WEEKLY HOURS |
PART-TIME AVERAGE WEEKLY HOURS |
| |
MEN |
WOMEN |
MEN |
WOMEN |
| Industry |
|
|
|
|
| Agriculture, forestry and fishing |
51.1 |
45.9 |
14.9 |
14.6 |
| Mining |
44.1 |
42.4 |
12.7 |
15.1 |
| Manufacturing |
42.3 |
38.5 |
18.9 |
18.0 |
| Electricity, gas and water supply |
40.1 |
38.4 |
24.2 |
18.0 |
| Construction |
43.6 |
38.8 |
18.0 |
13.4 |
| Wholesale trade |
44.5 |
39.7 |
17.8 |
18.6 |
| Retail trade |
44.1 |
40.4 |
14.2 |
15.6 |
| Accommodation, cafes and restaurants |
46.8 |
43.4 |
16.6 |
16.4 |
| Transport and storage |
44.8 |
38.4 |
17.6 |
16.6 |
| Communication services |
40.5 |
38.7 |
20.1 |
18.2 |
| Finance and insurance |
43.8 |
37.9 |
17.4 |
19.9 |
| Property and business services |
44.4 |
39.4 |
16.2 |
16.7 |
| Government administration and defence |
37.1 |
35.2 |
20.3 |
19.5 |
| Education |
41.8 |
40.7 |
17.0 |
18.0 |
| Health and community services |
41.0 |
38.1 |
19.0 |
19.0 |
| Cultural and recreational services |
43.5 |
42.5 |
15.5 |
15.0 |
| Personal and other services |
42.2 |
39.1 |
17.2 |
15.9 |
| Occupation |
|
|
|
|
| Managers and administrators |
49.7 |
44.4 |
18.2 |
17.9 |
| Professionals |
43.5 |
39.9 |
18.5 |
18.2 |
| Associate professionals |
45.4 |
41.6 |
17.2 |
19.5 |
| Tradespersons and related workers |
41.8 |
40.7 |
18.3 |
17.4 |
| Advanced clerical and service workers |
39.7 |
37.4 |
17.4 |
14.7 |
| Intermediate clerical, sales and service workers |
40.5 |
37.0 |
16.6 |
17.9 |
| Intermediate production and transport workers |
43.3 |
38.4 |
16.5 |
16.7 |
| Elementary clerical, sales and service workers |
40.3 |
37.5 |
13.6 |
15.2 |
| Labourers and related workers |
40.4 |
38.4 |
15.7 |
16.0 |
| Total |
43.4 |
39.3 |
16.5 |
17.0 |
Source: Australian Labour Market Statistics, July 2006, ABS Cat. No. 6105.0, Table 2.6.
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Small business
The Australian Bureau of Statistics defines a small business as a non-agricultural business with less than 20 employees.5
In February 1995, women accounted for 33.9% of all small business operators. Between 1995 and 1997, the proportion of small businesses operated by women increased to 35.2%. In June 2004, women comprised 31.9% of all small business operators (Figure 4.14).
Figure 4.14: Proportion of female small business operators in Australia, 1995–2004
Source: Characteristics of Small Business, ABS Cat. No. 8127.0 (Years 1997, 2001, 2004).
Female small business operators were most likely to be in business with a male partner. In 2004, the majority of small businesses (62%) were operated by an individual male or predominantly by men. Just over one-fifth of small businesses (21.5%) were run by equal numbers of men and women and 16.5% were operated by an individual woman or predominantly by women.6
Age differences in female small business operators
Figure 4.15 shows that in both 1995 and 2004, younger women were much less likely to run a small business, whereas the predominant age group at both periods for female small business operators was 30 to 50 years, with over half of women running small businesses (63%) in this age group in 2004.
Figure 4.15: Proportion of female small business operators by age, 1995–2004
Source: Characteristics of Small Business, ABS Cat. No. 8127.0 (Years 1997, 2001, 2004).
Since 1995 there has been a drop in the proportions of female small business operators younger than 50 years of age and a commensurate increase from 19% to 28.7% in the proportion of female small business operators aged greater than 50 years.
Gender differences in other characteristics of small business Small businesses run predominantly by women are more likely than those run predominantly by men to be operated at home (39.1% in comparison to 16.7%).6
Relative to small businesses run predominantly by men, those run predominantly by women are less likely to employ staff and are more likely to have been in operation for shorter periods of time (Table 4.7). Small businesses with equal numbers of men and women operators are most likely to employ larger numbers of staff and to remain in operation for longer.
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Table 4.7: Selected characteristics of small businesses by predominant gender of operators, 2004
| |
GENDER OF OPERATORS |
| BUSINESS CHARACTERISTIC |
PREDOMINANTLY MALE % |
PREDOMINANTLY FEMALE % |
EQUAL NUMBERS OF MEN AND WOMEN
% |
| Employer size group |
| – 0 employees |
57.7 |
83.2 |
31.7 |
| – 1–4 employees |
33.5 |
13.0 |
45.8 |
| – 5–19 employees |
8.8 |
3.9 |
22.5 |
| Total |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
| Length of operation |
| – Less than 1 year |
16.2 |
22.2 |
8.5 |
| – 1 to less than 5 years |
34.4 |
38.9 |
26.6 |
| – 5 to less than 10 years |
18.6 |
18.3 |
21.5 |
| – 10 or more years |
30.8 |
20.7 |
43.5 |
| Total |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
Source: Characteristics of Small Business, 2004, ABS Cat. No. 8127.0.
Totals may not add to 100% due to rounding.
Gender differences in hours worked in small business
Figure 4.16 shows that the majority of female small business operators worked part-time hours (less than 35 hours per week) (60.4%). Working between 1–10 hours per week was fairly common among these women. On the other hand, 80% of male small business operators worked full-time hours, with a large percentage working very long hours.
Figure 4.16: Usual weekly hours worked by small business operators by gender, 2004
Source: Characteristics of Small Business, 2004, ABS Cat. No. 8127.0, Table 1.2.
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Voluntary work
Based on the results of the 2002 Australian Bureau of Statistics General Social Survey, over one-third (35%) of all Australian women had undertaken voluntary work in the previous 12 months. This participation rate represents a substantial increase from the results of the Voluntary Work Surveys in 1995 and 2000 (see Table 4.8). A slightly higher proportion of women than men have undertaken voluntary work in Australia.
Table 4.8: Proportion of men and women aged 18 years and over undertaking voluntary work, 1995, 2000 and 2002
| |
1995
% |
2000
% |
2002
% |
| Men |
22.9 |
30.5 |
33.7 |
| Women |
24.4 |
33.0 |
35.1 |
Source: Voluntary Work, Australia 2000, ABS Cat. No. 4441.0, Table 2 and General Social Survey, Summary Results, 2002, ABS Cat. No. 4159.0, Tables 2 & 3.
As shown in Figure 4.17, volunteering was highest among women aged between 35 and 44 years. After age 44 years, voluntary participation generally declined as women aged and was lowest among women aged 75 years and over.
Figure 4.17: Voluntary work participation of women aged 18 years and over by age group, 2002
Source: General Social Survey, Summary Results, ABS Cat. No. 4159.0, Table 3.
Figures 4.18 and 4.19 show that in 2000, employed parents were most likely to undertake voluntary work. Among men, participation in voluntary work was highest for fathers and for men who were employed full-time. Women employed part-time and partnered women with dependent children were more commonly volunteers than other women.
Figure 4.18: Voluntary participation rates of men and women aged 18 years and over by employment status, 2000
Source: Voluntary work, Australia, 2000, ABS Cat. No. 4441.0, Table 2.
Figure 4.19: Voluntary participation rates of all men and women aged 18 years and over by family status, 2000
Source: Voluntary work, Australia, 2000, ABS Cat. No. 4441.0, Table 2.
Volunteers undertake a variety of activities. In 2000, the most common activities undertaken by volunteers were fundraising, management, teaching, and administration (Figure 4.20). Women were more likely than men to engage in fundraising, food preparation, and teaching. Male volunteers were much more likely than female volunteers to be involved in activities such as repairs, maintenance and gardening, and coaching.
Figure 4.20: Voluntary participation rates of men and women aged 18 years and over by activity type, 2000
Source: Voluntary work, Australia, 2000, ABS Cat. No. 4441.0, Table 21.
In 2000, the median time spent in voluntary work was 1.4 hours per week. Women spent more time volunteering (1.4 hours per week) than men (1.2 hours per week). The time spent undertaking volunteering activities increased with age (Figure 4.21). The gender difference in time spent volunteering was greatest among people aged 35–44 years and 75 years and over.
Figure 4.21: Median weekly hours spent volunteering by men and women aged 18 years and over, 2000
Source: Voluntary work, Australia, 2000, ABS Cat. No. 4441.0, Table 4.
Estimates for 75+ age group have a relative standard error of between 25% and 50% and should be used with caution.
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Women's incomes
Women's earnings
Average female full-time adult ordinary time earnings were $941 per week in November 2006. The average earnings of all women employees, including junior and part-time employees were $666 per week.7
Industry differences in women's earnings
In November 2006, women's average weekly full-time ordinary time earnings varied according to the industry in which they worked (Figure 4.22). Full-time earnings were highest in the mining industry, followed by the education and electricity, gas and water supply industries. Women's average full-time earnings were lowest in the retail trades and accommodation, cafes and restaurant industries.
Figure 4.22: Real values of average weekly full-time seasonally adjusted ordinary time earnings for female employees aged 21 years and over by industry, November 2006
Source: Average Weekly Earnings, November 2006, ABS Cat. No. 6302.0, Time Series Spreadsheets. Table 2 – Average Weekly Earnings of Employees, Australia (Dollars) Seasonally Adjusted. Nominal dollar values have been converted into constant dollar (December quarter 2006) values by FaCSIA using the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
Trends in women's full-time earnings
Figure 4.23 shows trends in women's full-time earnings for each quarter between November 1996 and November 2006. Women's average weekly full-time ordinary time earnings increased steadily between November quarter 1996 and May quarter 2000 and then decreased in the August quarter 2000. Real earnings around this time were influenced across the board with a temporary spike in inflation due to the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). Women's full-time earnings gradually increased again between the November quarters in 2000 and 2005. In the November quarter 2006, women's full-time earnings increased slightly following three consecutive decreases in each quarter between February 2006 and August 2006. Overall, between November 1996 and November 2006, full-time ordinary time earnings for women have increased in real terms, that is, after taking account of inflation, by $149.00 per week. This represents an 18.8% real increase.
Figure 4.23: Real quarterly values of average weekly full-time seasonally adjusted ordinary time earnings for female employees aged 21 years and over, November 1996-November 2006
Source: Average Weekly Earnings, November 2006, ABS Cat. No. 6302.0, Time Series Spreadsheets. Table 2 – Average Weekly Earnings of Employees, Australia (Dollars) Seasonally Adjusted. Nominal dollar values have been converted into constant dollar (December quarter 2006) values by FaCSIA using the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
Women's earnings growth by industry
Average weekly full-time ordinary time earnings growth for women occurred across all industries between November 1996 and November 2006 (Figure 4.24). Earnings growth in real terms was largest in the mining industry, followed by the finance and insurance, electricity, gas and water supply, government administration and defence, and wholesale trade industries. Average weekly full-time earnings growth was smallest in the cultural and recreational services industry, followed by the transport and storage, and health and community services industries.
Figure 4.24: Percentage change in real values of full-time seasonally adjusted ordinary time earnings for female employees aged 21 years and over by industry, November 1996-November 2006
Source: Average Weekly Earnings, November 2006, ABS Cat. No. 6302.0, Time Series Spreadsheets. Table 2 – Average Weekly Earnings of Employees, Australia (Dollars) Seasonally Adjusted. Nominal dollar values have been converted into constant dollar (December quarter 2006) values by FaCSIA using the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
Gender gap in earnings
As at November 2006, using adult full-time seasonally adjusted average weekly ordinary time earnings, the ratio of female to male earnings was 0.84. In other words, women's average weekly earnings ($941) were 84% of men's average weekly earnings ($1,125). This represents a gender earnings gap of 16%.7
However, as women, on average, work fewer hours per week than men, an examination of the gender pay gap requires a measure that incorporates an adjustment for differences in the number of hours worked per week. The Australian Bureau of Statistics provides estimates of the average hourly ordinary full-time earnings using data derived from the Employee Earnings and Hours Survey.8
In May 2004, among non-managerial employees, the ratio of female to male average hourly ordinary full-time earnings was 0.92, resulting in a gender earnings gap of 8%. The gender gap in earnings has narrowed slightly since 1996, when the ratio of female to male average hourly ordinary full-time earnings among adult non-managerial employees was 0.91.
Figure 4.25 shows a gender pay gap in each industry in 2004 and its size varied across industry groups. The smallest gap between the full-time earnings of men and women was in government administration and defence (2%). The gender pay gap was most disparate in the finance and insurance industry (23%). Larger gender differences in earnings were also evident in the industries of personal and other services and mining.
Figure 4.25 also shows that between 1996 and 2004, the gender pay gap decreased in some industries and increased in others. Larger increases in the ratio of female to male average hourly ordinary full-time earnings were observed in the accommodation, cafes and restaurants and mining industries. The largest increase in the gender pay gap occurred in the communication services industry.
Figure 4.25: Female/male earnings ratio among full-time adult non-managerial employees by industry, 1996 and 2004
Source: Employee Earnings and Hours, May 1996 and May 2004, ABS Cat. No. 6306.0.
Income Support
As at June 2004, there were nearly 2.6 million women in receipt of income support payments, compared to 1.8 million men (Table 4.9). The Age Pension, Parenting Payments and Partner Allowances went predominantly to women. Since 1996, there has been an increase in the number of people, particularly men, receiving the Age Pension and Parenting Payment.
In 1996 men formed 35.6% of Age Pension recipients. At that time 570,328 men and 1,032,506 women received the Age Pension.9 In June 2004, 40.6% of Age Pension recipients were men.
In 1996, 93.6% of Single Parenting Payments were paid to women.10 By June 2004, the proportion of Single Parenting Payment recipients who were women dropped slightly to 92.2%.
Table 4.9: Total number of income support recipients by gender, June 2004
| INCOME SUPPORT TYPE |
MEN |
WOMEN |
| Age pension |
761,025 |
1,115,225 |
| Disability support pension |
418,829 |
277,913 |
| Wife pension |
N/A |
52,829 |
| Widow B pension |
N/A |
1,879 |
| Carer payment |
29,838 |
54,244 |
| Sickness allowance |
5,613 |
2,865 |
| Austudy |
19,413 |
15,613 |
| Youth allowance |
176,549 |
205,256 |
| Newstart allowance |
324,536 |
158,557 |
| Mature age allowance |
29,681 |
3,231 |
| Widow allowance |
N/A |
45,328 |
| Partner allowance |
10,842 |
80,094 |
| Special benefit |
6,918 |
4,298 |
| Parenting payment (single) |
34,866 |
414,446 |
| Parenting payment (partnered) |
18,917 |
158,240 |
| Total |
1,837,027 |
2,590,018 |
Source: Statistical Paper No. 3: Income support customers: A statistical overview 2004.
Australian Government Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs.
Excludes Carers Allowance.
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Superannuation
Employee superannuation coverage
Under the Superannuation Guarantee Act, employers are obliged to make superannuation contributions on behalf of most employees. Some employees are exempt, such as employees aged less than 18 years who are not working more than 30 hours per week, employees aged 70 years and over and employees who were paid less than $450.00 (before tax) in a calendar month.10
In August 2005, 89.7% of all female employees and 91.1% of male employees reported that their employer provided superannuation. More women who were employed full-time (96.7%) than employed part-time (81.8%) reported that they were provided with superannuation by their current employer.11
Gender differences in superannuation savings
An analysis of data collected in 2002 during the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey revealed that women are less likely than men to have superannuation and women have lower superannuation balances than men across all age groups (Table 4.10).
Table 4.10: Superannuation incidence and average balance of men and women aged 15 years and over by age, 2002
| |
MEN |
WOMEN |
| AGE GROUP (YEARS) |
% WITH SUPERANNUATION |
AVERAGE ($) |
% WITH SUPERANNUATION |
AVERAGE ($) |
| 15–24 |
59.3 |
6,800 |
55.3 |
4,300 |
| 25–34 |
92.2 |
27,200 |
82.5 |
20,800 |
| 35–44 |
91.7 |
65,400 |
78.3 |
37,600 |
| 45–54 |
86.8 |
122,300 |
77.0 |
67,500 |
| 55–64 |
68.8 |
183,600 |
53.4 |
94,700 |
| 65+ |
26.6 |
184,900 |
12.6 |
124,300 |
| Total |
73.6 |
78,700 |
61.8 |
43,300 |
Source: Clare, R. (2004). Why can't a woman be more like a man – gender differences in retirement savings. Paper presented at the ASFA 2004 National Conference and Super Expo, Super: Saving the Nation, Adelaide Convention Centre, 10–12 November 2004, Table 1.
When women's part-time work and their tendency to not participate in the paid labour force are considered, their superannuation balances become smaller (Table 4.11). The superannuation balances of women currently employed parttime are about one-half of the superannuation balances of women employed full-time. The average superannuation balance for women currently not in the labour force is 36% of the balance accumulated by women employed full-time.
Table 4.11: Superannuation balances by age, gender and employment status, 2002
| AGE GROUP (YEARS) |
MEN EMPLOYED FULL-TIME
$ |
WOMEN EMPLOYED FULL-TIME
$ |
WOMEN EMPLOYED PART-TIME
$ |
WOMEN NOT IN THE LABOUR FORCE
$ |
| 15–24 |
7,800 |
7,200 |
1,000 |
450 |
| 25–34 |
28,600 |
26,900 |
13,700 |
8,100 |
| 35–44 |
69,600 |
53,800 |
23,500 |
13,200 |
| 45–54 |
122,200 |
83,400 |
43,700 |
20,300 |
| 55–64 |
165,500 |
76,800 |
57,800 |
41,800 |
| 65+ |
74,700 |
86,300 |
79,400 |
13,000 |
| Total |
72,000 |
47,200 |
24,000 |
17,000 |
Source: Clare, R. (2004). Why can't a woman be more like a man – gender differences in retirement savings. Paper presented at the ASFA 2004 National Conference and Super Expo, Super: Saving the Nation, Adelaide Convention Centre, 10–12 November 2004, Table 2.
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References