1. Future of work: women and young employees challenges and opportunities
Associate Professor Rae Cooper
Associate Dean & Co-Director Women, Work and Leadership Research Group
University of Sydney Business School
@raecooper1
Future of work: women and young employees challenges and opportunities
LCSA – Connecting Communities Conference 2017

2. Overview of the presentation
Work is changing
Working lives now: Women
Working lives now: Young People*
Orientation toward work, volunteering and careers
Opportunities & challenges in the future of work
*but more on women

3. voices of young people and women
Work is changing
Industry, sector and skills mix shifts
Technology and AI disrupts jobs and tasks
Blurring between ‘employers’, ‘employees’, ‘clients’, ‘colleagues’
Flexibility becomes more pervasive (in all its forms)
Security of employment reduced
Regulation is ‘softer’ and not keeping pace with work
Inequality increases (further)
OM#G - you are not listening
voices of young people and women

4. Key FoW theme: Robot-topia or Robot-sploitiation

5. Historically women and young workers:
Past
Present
Future
Historically women and young workers:
Not seen as ‘real workers’;
Had their work undervalued = ‘women’s work’, ‘non-career track’;
Were treated unequally at work and / or mistreated (wages, progression, access to training, leave, safe work)
What about now?

6. Q: Things have changed right?

7. 2. Women’s working lives: significant change in the last generation
Male & Female Labour Force Participation Rates:
Source: ABS (2015, June), Labour Force, Australia, Detailed - Electronic Delivery

8. Women’s working lives: significant change in the last generation
3. Some things change
Female labour force participation rate, by age, 1979, 1984, 1994, 2004 and 2014
Source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2015) analysis of ABS (2015) Labour force, Australia, December ABS. cat. no

9. Men’s working lives : significant change in the last generation
Male labour force participation rate, by age, 1978, 1988, 1998, 2001 and 2011
3. Some things change

10. Share of projected employment growth, by industry to 2020
8. Industry and work
2/3 of projected growth is in feminised jobs and sectors
It’s a thing
Source: Australian Government (2016) Industry Employment Projections 2016 Report, Release date: March 2016

11. Glass ceilings
Glass walls
Sticky floors

12. #disruption? #innovation? #notsomuch
SMH: 29 July 2017

13. Future

14. Young workers life and work experience
Need work
INCOME
HOME OWNERSHIP
UNEMPLOYMENT AND UNDEREMPLOYMENT
Grattan Institute 2014; FYA 2017, 2016; Jackson 2017, 2016a, 2015; KPMG/WGEA 2016, Kryger 2015; Worksafe

15. Young workers’ life and work experience
VOICE
PAY EQUITY
WORK SAFETY
Grattan Institute 2014; FYA 2017, 2016; Jackson 2017, 2016a, 2015; KPMG/WGEA 2016, Kryger 2015; Worksafe

16. Young people’s orientation toward work and careers
VALUE EDUCATION
FLEXIBILITY
SPECIAL RELATIONSHIPS
INDIVIDUALISED

17. Young people’s orientation toward work and careers
VALUES AND IMPACT

18. Australian Women’s Working Futures Survey
2017 national survey of women
Experience NOW at work:
Material conditions of work (wages, hours, training)
Social conditions of work (voice, value, equality)
Expectations of FUTURE of work:
Robot-topia, robot-spolitation?
Material and social condition
(Sample of men: cf)
Results launching December (interim) IWD 2018 (full)

19. Opportunities & challenges for community organisation leaders
Attracting, managing & retaining diverse mix of employees – full, part-time, paid, volunteer.
Understanding workforce and their needs (in work and as people)
Responding to change to build sustainable organisations and careers
Doing this in the context of limited resources (and increasing demands for services).