4.4 Reducing workforce gender segregation

2024-25 Budget Measures

Segregation between women and men across industries, occupations and positions of leadership is persistent in the NSW labour market. This restricts choice for individuals, results in gender gaps in earnings, reduces economic security for women and causes a misalignment of skills and talents, all of which impede productivity and economic growth.¹⁰⁹

Occupational and industrial gender segregation accounts for almost a quarter of the gender pay gap,¹¹⁰ with recent research highlighting that gender differences in pay within the same occupation also contributes significantly.¹¹¹ More gender diversity across workplaces would support the productivity and prosperity of the NSW economy.¹¹²

Feminised industries are historically undervalued

Feminised industries are those that are female dominated and often associated with traditional gendered expectations. Feminised industries include health care, social assistance, education and community services. These feminised industries and occupations are essential to the NSW community and economy but are lower paid and historically undervalued.¹¹³ This undervaluation stems from gendered norms where work value is assessed against assumptions about the role of women as carers and the normalisation of women’s unpaid care work.¹¹⁴

The undervaluation of feminised occupations and industries leads to certain jobs attracting lower status, wages, and other fringe benefits. Addressing these factors will help make these essential jobs more attractive, some of which are facing skills shortages including child care, nurses and nursing support and personal care workers.¹¹⁵

Care and education workforces in NSW are a priority for the NSW Government. Work has been undertaken, at a whole-of-government level, to better understand the long-term trends at these workplaces and the experiences of workers, including looking at the experiences in NSW and other jurisdictions. These workforces are predominantly female dominated and the work will help inform NSW policy directions and programs into the future to support the economic outcomes of women. 

The NSW Government is also investing $1.0 billion for school maintenance and minor upgrades to work through the multi-year backlog of works. This investment will provide a better work environment for school teachers (77.8 per cent female) and school support staff (83.7 per cent female).¹¹⁶

The community sector is a major employer with a highly female dominated workforce. Employing more than 240,000 workers in NSW, with 80 per cent women,¹¹⁷ and a quarter over 55 years old. By 2030, the sector is estimated to grow by up to 62,000 jobs.¹¹⁸ This sector is vital in supporting some of the most vulnerable people in our community. This includes providing essential homelessness, domestic and family violence, and child protection services and critical supports through bushfires, droughts, floods and other major disasters such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

To support the female dominated community sector, the NSW Government is investing $9.7 million in 2024-25 to establish the portable long service leave scheme. This scheme will enable community sector workers to accrue leave based on time employed in the sector, rather than time employed by a single employer, ensuring essential community service workers will have timely and fair access to long service benefits. 

The NSW Government is also delivering on its election commitment to deliver job security and funding certainty for the non-government community services sector. Short-term government contracts to the non-government sector contribute to uncertainty around financial viability and continuity, impacting the services available to support communities when they need it most. It also impacts the workforce, lowering the job security for thousands of women across the State, as well as creating recruitment and retention challenges. Survey results of 398 community sector organisations in NSW found half of all employees in the sector are in insecure employment, including casual or fixed-term employment.¹¹⁹

To address this, the Secure Jobs and Funding Certainty (SJFC) Leadership Group has been established. Consultation with government agencies and the sector has been undertaken and a draft SJFC roadmap is being developed. 

The NSW Government is also committed to passing on the 2024 Fair Work Commission’s minimum wage decision to community sector contracts. Providing the community sector with greater funding certainty will support the accessibility of services as service providers can plan future service delivery and retain staff by offering more secure employment arrangements.

Priority industries need more diverse workforces

Encouraging women to join male dominated industries is vital to help address the current skills shortages and to create more inclusive and diverse workplaces. 

The NSW economy will change significantly over the next 40 years, with advances in technology supporting a more productive economy.¹²⁰ Several priority sectors in NSW are important to our future prosperity, including manufacturing, agrifood, clean economy, technology, health and life sciences, defence and aerospace.¹²¹ Ensuring equal gender representation in these growing sectors will enable more diverse problem solving and innovation as well as creating more productive and inclusive industries.

Manufacturing is the seventh largest employing industry in NSW, yet only 34.2 per cent of the workforce are women.¹²² The NSW Government is committed to rebuilding the manufacturing sector through buying locally made content and encouraging skilled workforce growth. This commitment provides valuable opportunities to improve gender equality within the sector.