Women in low paid, highly feminised industries face a double burden of low wages and more out-of-hours, unpaid care that higher-paid workers do not face to the same extent.
A new survey of almost 1500 members of the United Workers Union has revealed insights into women working across industries like logistics, cleaning, manufacturing, food production, farms, disability support, aged care, early childhood education and care, ambulance, correctional services and security, and allied health and support services health and education.
It found workplace issues like low pay, low hours and last-minute shift changes faced by women in these industries are compounded by high levels of unpaid caring responsibilities at home, above reported national averages.
For example, 31 per cent of women reported caring for children under the age of 18, and 16 per cent reported caring for elderly relatives. This compares to 26 per cent of Australians who reported undertaking unpaid care for children in the 2021 Census, and 12 per cent of Australians caring for people with disability or the elderly in 2022.
“It is highly significant that women in sectors including aged care and early childhood education have fought for and won pay rises of up to 28.5 per cent – a start towards addressing systemic gender pay gaps occurring in sectors across the economy,” said United Workers Union National President Jo Schofield.
“There has been considerable progress in identifying and combating this historic undervaluation based on gender, and union members can hold their heads high about their role in fighting for these reforms.
“However it’s also striking that women in this survey are reporting care duties higher than the rate of those of the broader community. The fact many are doing this with some of the lowest wages in Australia amid highly insecure work environments should give policy makers pause for thought.”
The survey also found that one in three workers said they need to keep their phone nearby in case of last-minute shift changes, making it harder to plan their out-of-hours unpaid caring responsibilities.
One teacher’s aide from Queensland who responded to the survey said, “I have exhausted all of my sick, long service leave and sometimes leave without pay caring for my Mum. There should be a carers’ leave for people caring for their aging parents.”
Meanwhile, an assistant-in-nursing from Queensalnd said, “I think a lot of women sacrifice a lot to look after children: they lose superannuation, annual leave, promotions at work and sometimes work hours. These things should be considered.”
The survey also found low pay is entrenched in these feminised industries, with 37 per cent earning less than $41,700 annually. This compares to the median full-time wage for men in Australia sitting at $93,000 and $83,000 for women.
Meanwhile, 50 per cent of the women surveyed said they worked part-time, with 29 per cent indicating they wanted to work more hours.
Women in these low paid industries also have lower access to formal paid care for their children and for elderly relatives. Just 12 per cent reported paying for early childhood education and care, while seven per cent reported paying for disability or aged care services.
So what would women in lower paid industries like to see?
The survey shows that women in low-paid work environments are united in calling for higher pay, with 70 per cent of respondents making this clear. They are also highly interested in the possibility of reproductive leave (54 per cent), more personal leave or carers’ leave (44 per cent), more annual leave (36 per cent) and four-day weeks or nine-day fortnights (24 per cent).