<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> <docID>328683</docID> <postdate>2024-09-09 16:48:54</postdate> <headline>Women ditching part-time as COVID redefines flexibility</headline> <body><p><img class="size-full wp-image-309293" src="https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/pexels-cowomen-2041390-resized.jpg" alt="" width="900" height="600" /></p> <caption>Women are most likely to experience "flexibility stigma" in the workforce, a report has found.</caption> <p><span class="kicker-line">By <strong>Poppy Johnston</strong> in Canberra</span></p> <p><strong>The share of women working part-time is shrinking as more opt for remote and flexible full-time gigs made mainstream in the pandemic.</strong></p> <p>The forced working-from-home experiment brought about by COVID-19 lockdowns normalised remote, hybrid, tailored hours and other ways of working coveted by all but especially those seeking flexibility to balance caring responsibilities.</p> <p>Workplace Gender Equality Agency and Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre's research suggests a broader understanding of flexibility beyond part-time is creating opportunities for improved gender equity.</p> <p>Alan Duncan, report co-author, said part-time employment was still a valuable alternative for those balancing caring responsibilities and other pursuits but there were downsides.</p> <p>It could result in long-term economic disadvantage, including lower lifetime earnings and reduced retirement savings, Professor Duncan said during an online report launch.</p> <p>"Women make up three-quarters of the total part-time workforce, and this makes part-time work a gendered issue," he said.</p> <p>Part-time employment among women dropped by 3.2 percentage points to 29.7 per cent over the last five years.</p> <p>In the same period, the share of women formally categorised as having full-time jobs increased from 40.2 per cent to 42.5 per cent, in line with a growing prevalence of remote and other non-traditional flexible work.</p> <p>The pandemic "broke the back" of negative perceptions around flexible and non-traditional work as employers were forced to recognise organisation performance was little compromised, Prof Duncan said.</p> <p>Yet "prehistoric" views persisted, including the notion flexibility meant workers were paid "full whack" for fewer hours.</p> <p>"That's really not a good mindset," he said.</p> <p>A focus on work outcomes rather than hours in the office was recommended to improve job design and promote inclusivity.</p> <p>Part-time and flexible work remained rarer at management level, Monday's report revealed.</p> <p>Aware Super chief of staff Katrina McPhee said the pressure of "always needing to be on" was a deterrent to women balancing care responsibilities and other demands.</p> <p>"Potentially we need to rethink how that works from a workload perspective," she said at the report launch.</p> <p>Agency chief Mary Wooldridge said the report's findings reinforced the need to design jobs for inclusivity and ditch the "full-time mindset".</p> <p>"Flexibility stigma" remained a problem, with promotion rates dropping off steeply for part-time workers outside of management.</p> <p>"By embracing flexible work practices and addressing the challenges associated with part-time employment, employers create a more equitable and supportive work environment for all employees," she said.</p> <p>The report's key recommendations included normalising flexible work and monitoring career progression to spot promotion cliffs.</p> </body>