Gender Discrimination In Australia Essay

Many issues in the line of employment relations are contentious and most likely to provoke strong opinions and debate. Through the years, the concept of workplace behaviour has become increasingly important as the Australian workplace is constantly changing and evolving. However the issues of equal employment initiatives, still remains a common problem in the work environment. One of the most controversial issues occurring in today’s society is gender discrimination. Women are becoming very significant in the workplace, as more and more women are participating and part taking in to all types of work. Yet, regardless of these factors, women, especially working mothers, have no place in the workforce. In recent Australian papers, the topic
Our society is developed around a social structure that creates barriers for women that continues to disadvantage them in the workforce. In this situation, the needs of men are treated as the norm and women are ignored (Moyle, 2002). As such, men are seen as in a position of power, where women are limited by their choices yet we accept this framework as the logical truth. “More than half of the airline's workforce was female …We are one of the only companies in Australia with 50 per cent female representation in our executive team” (The Herald Sun, 2011). Even though there is an increasing amount of women participating in the workforce, they are not treated with the same benefits and respect as males. In 2001, the Human Rights Commission (2002) received 85% of complaints under the Sex Discrimination Act, 30 % of that were on the base of pregnancy
However this impression of liberation is limited. The assumption that women can have it all is slowing leaning to a yes but due to the current workplace and societal attitudes, women are limited to the opportunities offered unlike men. Women are restricted by the change in their workforce behaviour and the unsuccessful attempts to change the perspective of gender roles at home (Moyle, 2002). Equality cannot be reached while women are still limited, restricted and disadvantaged in the labour market just because they can bear children. In times of pregnancy, there are still various employers who believe that women are not efficient and do not work as productively, while pregnant. In a number of cases many pregnant women were either demoted or fired, and in some cases they were denied of training or further promotional opportunities (Moyle, 2002). For instance, “Both of the women positions were made redundant as they confirmed they were pregnant or returning from maternity leave, despite the fact that the model employer was advertising and recruiting for the same position” (The Sydney Morning herald,