Work and family balance: Women still earn less and do more

Australian women combining the roles of breadwinner and homemaker are still being paid less than men while shouldering more family responsibilities.

This is resulting in an increased overall burden for women, according to a review of work and family balance issues by the Australian Institute of Family Studies.

“The increasing workforce participation by women and delays in childbearing are striking social changes. Overall it’s mothers who are combining homemaking and breadwinning who have had their workload greatly increased in this long transition,” said Institute Director Professor Alan Hayes.

Fathers have also been slow to take on an equal share of homemaking responsibilities, although there is some evidence that change is occurring and that some women are also out-sourcing some domestic chores.

“Work and family life has been a big part of the Institute’s research agenda since the eighties. We know that many people are trying to find a new blueprint to manage competing demands. But society and workplaces, in particular, haven’t kept up with these seismic social changes and women are bearing the burden,” said Professor Hayes.

Some couples defer having children or have fewer children than they may otherwise have wanted in order to reconcile the competing demands from work and family.

“Others cope by having one parent – typically the mother – reduce his or her work hours or give up work to look after the children. But ultimately strategies aimed at reducing family size will affect a nation’s total fertility rate,” said the report’s author Lixia Qu.

The Institute’s overview article reported:

• Women in 2004 earned 8% less than men, a gap slightly wider than a decade ago.
• Women aged between 25-34 had increased their labour force participation from 36% in 1966 to 74% in 2008.
• Rates for men in the labour force have declined across all age groups, except for men aged 60-64 who are working more than they did in 1990.
• The proportion of women entitled to maternity leave has increased from 43% in 2002 to 53% in 2007.

Professor Hayes says another emerging issue for families is the need to have policies focused on supporting sole parents so they don’t feel the need to enter new relationships prematurely to achieve financial security.

“The incidence of people forming serial, live-in partnerships in Australia is lower than, say the United States, but it’s higher than in several western countries. The concern among prominent researchers like Andrew Cherlin is that multiple family transitions could be more harmful to children than living with sole parents,” Professor Hayes said.

(Source: Family Matters: Australian Institute of Family Studies: January 2009)