2019/20 SURVEY REPORT - Community and Public Sector Union · WHAT WOMEN WANT: 2019/20 SURVEY REPORT...

WHAT WOMEN WANT: 2019/20 SURVEY REPORT

WHAT WOMEN WANT 2019/20 SURVEY REPORT

PAGE iWHAT WOMEN WANT: 2019/20 SURVEY REPORT

CONTENTSForeword ii

Introduction 1

Summary of key findings 2

General demographics 4

Form of employment and earnings 6

Hours of work 8

Caring responsibilities 12

Flexible working arrangements 13

Autonomy at work and job satisfaction 20

Job security 23

Presenteeism 26

Bullying, harassment and discrimination 28

Safety at work 31

Superannuation 34

Attachment A 38

Methodology 38

Endnotes 39

PAGE iiWHAT WOMEN WANT: 2019/20 SURVEY REPORTWHAT WOMEN WANT: 2019/20 SURVEY REPORT

FOREWORD

I am proud to share with you the tenth Community and Public Sector Union, What Women Want Survey. This national survey asks Australian women from the Australian public sector, Northern Territory Public Services, Australian Capital Territory Public Service and parts of the private sector about the key issues in their working lives.

This report is the only one of its kind in Australia and provides valuable insight internationally with few comparable studies. It details women’s journey to equity across the public and private sector, highlighting the need for government action on gender equity. What Women Want provides key insights into longitudinal trends across the nation and our public services. We continue to see concerning data, showing continuing declines in permanent employment, growing concerns and prevalence of outsourcing and casualisation of essential services, and increasing contact outside of work.

Your union is working hard every day to continue to improve the working lives of women. Working together we have improved the working arrangements of thousands of women

– from flexible working and part time rights, to superannuation entitlements. However, there is more to do.

This edition of the survey shows again that women want more flexible work arrangements and that their ability to balance work and non-work commitments continues to decline for the fifth year in a row. This has been further stressed by more out of hours contact by departments and agencies.

Insecure work is an increasing issue for all women across the Australian and state public services. Since the election of the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison Government in 2013, concerns about insecure work has almost doubled. Women across the APS are worried about their jobs due to the steady increase in outsourcing and Average Staffing Level cap.

Your union is committed to continuing to campaign on these issues and win better working lives for women in the public and private sector.

This is the tenth What Women Want Report, detailing the pressures and needs of working women across the nation. It is the longest and largest survey of its kind, and I would like to thank all those across the public and private sector that have contributed to this survey over the years.

In solidarity,

Melissa Donnelly National SecretaryCommunity and Public Sector Union

WHAT WOMEN WANT: 2019/20 SURVEY REPORTWHAT WOMEN WANT: 2019/20 SURVEY REPORT

INTRODUCTIONThe Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) is committed to providing a strong voice for our members in key public policy and political debates. To better represent our women members, the CPSU carries out a biennial What Women Want survey. The survey was conducted in 2019 for the tenth time.

In 2019, 6,387 women participated in the What Women Want survey, an increase from 5,680 in 2017.

Survey respondents worked in the Australian Public Service (APS), Northern Territory Public Service (NTPS), Australian Capital Territory Public Service (ACTPS) and in the private sector, including in companies such as Telstra. The methodology is outlined at Attachment A.

This comprehensive survey seeks women’s views on a range of issues that affect their working lives. The survey asks questions covering:

� Demographics

� Forms of employment and earnings

� Hours of work and overtime

� Caring responsibilities

� Flexible working arrangements

� The capacity to influence their work and their level of job satisfaction

� Job security

� Presenteeism

� The availability of training and career development

� Bullying, sexual harassment and discrimination

� Safety at work

� Superannuation.

A brief summary of each topic area is provided at the beginning of each section.

The results of the What Women Want survey informs the CPSU’s policies, campaigns and industrial strategies. The report also includes information about how the CPSU has used the findings of previous reports and outcomes we have achieved in areas of interest to women.


SUMMARY OF KEY FINDINGSWomen greatly value flexible working arrangements and are attracted to the public service because of access to those conditions. Access to flexible working hours was the leading issue that women thought CPSU should focus on over the next twelve months. This is consistent with the CPSU’s experience in enterprise bargaining, where control over working hours became a critical point of difference between the Commonwealth and staff in the last round of bargaining.

The 2019 survey results show, across a range of indicators such as job satisfaction and satisfaction with influence over work, levelling out of the decline that started in 2013. Past What Women Want surveys show longitudinal trends such as:

� continuing declines in permanent employment;

� increasing difficulties in accessing sick leave;

� growing concerns about outsourcing and casualisation; and

� increasing contact outside of work.

FLEXIBLE WORK ARRANGEMENTSFlexible work arrangements continue to be a key issue for women. Although women say they are satisfied with current arrangements, satisfaction with their ability to balance work and non-work commitments continues to decline from the 2015 level, and workplace culture continues to discourage women from accessing these conditions.

FORM OF EMPLOYMENTPermanent employment continues to decline with increases in non-ongoing employment and not directly employed. The growing insecure work is not only an issue in the Commonwealth but also in the territory public services.

Half of those who were employed in non-ongoing roles or not directly engaged had more than one temporary engagement in their current position. This raises questions as to how temporary those positions actually were.

The Average Staffing Level cap [the staffing cap] in the Commonwealth, and the staffing cap for the Northern Territory Public Service that began in March 2019 have contributed to the relative decline in permanent employment.

ONGOING IMPORTANCE OF FLEXIBLE ARRANGEMENTSThe top issue that women thought the CPSU should focus on over the next 12 months was access to flexible working hours.

Almost all women rated having flexible work hours and the ability to access leave is important or very important. Women are increasingly rating working from home as important.

Increasingly, staffing constraints is being cited as the main reason to deny access to flexible work arrangements with a notable increase to a third (34.5%) from a quarter in 2017 (25.4%).

Staffing caps have also increased pressure on agencies to reduce access to part-time and other flexible work arrangements, especially in service delivery areas such as call centres and service centres.

PRESENTEEISMOver four in five (86.3%) women continue to go to work while sick. Notably, there has been a steady increase in the number of women who went to work because they did not have enough paid sick days remaining or because of more onerous medical certificate requirements since 2013.

INSECURE WORK CONCERNSThere is a growing concern about outsourcing and casualisation which has nearly doubled since questions about job security were first asked in 2013.

Women who felt insecure and worked in the APS were far more likely to be concerned about outsourcing than those in the ACTPS or NTPS. This is likely to be a result of the Average Staffing Level cap in the APS and the growth in outsourcing, contractors, consultants and labour hire that has resulted.


WOMEN IN REGIONAL AUSTRALIAWomen who lived outside of capital cities are more likely to work in service delivery jobs and generally earned less. They are also less satisfied with their level of job security and more likely to have concerns about the security of their jobs.

INCREASING CONTACT OUTSIDE OF WORKThe encroachment of work into non-work lives has continued. There has been a steady but sizeable increase in the proportion of women contacted outside of work over the past decade from two in five (39.1%) to half (49.0%) of all women. A third of women (33.4%) responded to contact outside of work hours at least weekly. This has been a substantial increase since 2011 when only a fifth (22.2%) were contacted at least weekly.

EXPECTATIONS OF UNCOMPENSATED HOURS REMAINS HIGHThe level of management expectation that extra hours will not be compensated remains unacceptably high (22.3%) amongst those who work additional hours. It was around one in twenty (5.2%) in 2013 before increasing dramatically to approximately one in five (22.3%) in 2015 where it has remained since.

SATISFACTION WITH PAY REMAINS LOWER THAN IN 2013The proportion of women satisfied with the amount of pay received remains below 2013 levels (71%) at three in five (59%). This is unsurprising given the Government’s bargaining policy capped wage increases and staff were not compensated for the years of no pay increases during bargaining.


GENERAL DEMOGRAPHICS

SUMMARY � 6,387 women responded to the 2019 CPSU What Women Want survey.

� Three in five of the women who responded are aged between 35-54.

� 3.5 per cent identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.

� 27.6 per cent were from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

� 27.4 per cent work outside of capital cities.

� 56.2 per cent have a bachelor’s degree qualification or higher.

� A third described their work as service delivery.

The 2019 CPSU What Women Want survey had 6,387 respondents. This is an increase of 12.4 per cent on the 5,680 women who responded to the survey in 2017.

As in previous surveys, the CPSU’s main area of membership, the Australian Public Sector (APS), comprised the majority of survey respondents.1 Of the women who participated in the survey:

� 72.3 per cent were employed in the APS (4,617)

� 19.1 per cent were employed by ACT Government (1,219)

� 5.7 per cent were employed by the NT Government (364)

� 1.3 per cent were employed in private sector areas of CPSU membership (83)2.

A range of demographic questions were asked of the survey respondents.

Of the respondents, a similar number of APS women identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander (3.6%) to the APSC figure of ATSI employees (3.5%).1

In the NTPS, 11.3 per cent of respondents identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, compared to the service wide figure of 10.6 per cent.2

In the ACTPS, 1.7 per cent did, compared to the service wide figure of 1.8 per cent.3

Table 1: Cultural or ethnic backgrounds (%)4

%

Anglo-Celtic 60%

European 16.9%

Non-European 10.7%

Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander 3.4%

I prefer not to respond 7.5%

Women were asked for the first time about their cultural or ethnic backgrounds. A quarter (27.6%) identified as having a culturally and linguistically diverse background. This compared to 14.4 per cent of APS employees who identified as having a non-English speaking background5 and the 19% of APS Census respondents who spoke a language other than English at home.6

One in ten women reported having a disability (9.5%), higher than the APS average (3.7%)7.

Less reported working in a capital city (72.6%) than work in the APS (86%).8

1 Unless specified, results are for all respondents, inclusive of the APS, ACTPS, NTPS and private sector.2 104 women did not indicate their employer


The location of women, broadly mirrored APSC data9 on location of Australian Public Service employees. The largest group of respondents lived in the ACT, followed by New South Wales and Victoria. There was a higher proportion of responses from the NT which would reflect respondents from the Northern Territory Public Service. NTPS respondents were four in five (81.9%) of NT results.

Table 2: Location of respondents (%)

ACT NSW Vic Qld SA WA NT Tas

Survey respondents 35.0 15.7 15.2 12.1 6.2 4.7 6.9 3.1

% of total APS 37.5 18.3 17.3 11.5 6.2 4.6 1.3 2.5

Nearly three in five respondents were between the age of 35 and 54 (57.6%), reflecting that the majority of APS employees are between 30 and 54 years of age (56.6%).10 The age profile of the respondents broadly reflected the APS with 19.7 per cent of respondents under the age of 35 compared to 24.2 per cent of APS employees and 21.0 per cent of respondents over the age of 55 compared to 19.3 per cent of APS employees.

Half (49.9%) of respondents had worked for the same agency or employer for more than 10 years while a fifth (19.6%) had for less than five years.

Less than one in five (15.2%) women had not completed any post-secondary school training. A further 13.0 per cent held an advanced diploma/diploma as their highest qualification. Over half (56.2%) of respondents had a bachelor’s degree qualification or higher. As expected, this is notably higher than the general Australian population, where 36 per cent of women have a bachelors degree qualification or above11. This is, however, lower than the APS where 65 per cent of respondents had a university qualification.12

Women were asked for the first-time what job family best described their occupation at present. A quarter (24.6%) described their occupation as service delivery, followed by administration (11.9%).

When asked what description best described the type of work they do:

� 32.6 per cent described their role as service delivery.

� 16.7 per cent say that their role is administrative.

� 11.8 per cent say their role is in professional services.

� 12.5 per cent reported it as program and project management.

� 6.9 per cent worked in policy.

� 6.8 per cent worked in a regulatory setting.

� 8.0 per cent worked in technical roles.

� 2.0 per cent worked in content maker roles.


FORM OF EMPLOYMENT AND EARNINGS

SUMMARY � 91.4 per cent of women worked full time.

� One in ten (10.2%) women earned less than $60,000 per annum.

� A third of women working full time earned between $60,000 and $80,000 per annum.

� Since 2013, there has been a notable increase in non-permanent employment in the APS.

� Nearly half of women in regional Australia work in service delivery roles.

� Insecure employment is a large problem in the ACTPS and NTPS.

� Over half of those employed on a temporary basis had more than one consecutive temporary engagement in their current position.

The vast majority of women (91.4%) continue to report they were employed on a permanent, ongoing basis – either full time or part time. This reflects the APS where 89.8 per cent of staff are ongoing.13 5.9 per cent said they were employed on a temporary or non-ongoing basis and 1.6 per cent said they were casual. Of those not engaged directly by the APS, half were labour hire and two in five (40.3%) were contractors.3

The 2019 figures show a slight decrease in the proportion of permanent, ongoing employees and an increase in temporary or non-ongoing. It reflects the continuing decline in permanent/ongoing employment with 96.2 per cent of respondents employed on a permanent, ongoing basis in 2013.14 The increase in non-permanent employment is reflected in APS employment data. It shows non-ongoing employees were 10.2 per cent of total APS employees in June 2019, compared to about 9 per cent in 2013.15

Table 3: Form of employment (2013-2019) (%)

2013 2015 2017 2019

Permanent/ongoing (either full or part time) 96.2 92.7 93.5 91.4

Casual 0.6 2.2 1.6 1.6

Non-ongoing/temporary engagement (specified term/task) 3.0 4.6 4.3 5.9

Not directly engaged by APS (i.e. a contractor, labour hire) 0.1 0.2 0.4 0.9

While there has been significant focus on the impact of the Average Staffing Level cap on permanent and ongoing employment in the APS, insecure work is also a large problem in the territory public services. Only four in five (82.0%) respondents had permanent or ongoing employment in the ACTPS. Non-ongoing employment was 3.3 per cent amongst respondents working in the APS compared to 10.2 per cent according to the APSC. In the ACTPS, it was 13.2 per cent. ‘Not directly engaged employment’ was 0.8 per cent in the ACTPS. Casual employment was 1.5 per cent in the APS and 2.1 per cent in the ACTPS. Similarly, ongoing employment was 87.6 per cent and non-ongoing employment was 10.2 per cent in the NTPS.

Three quarters of respondents (73.5%) worked full time while the reminder worked part time.4 For APS respondents, it was 72.1 per cent. This is similar to APSC employment data16 which shows 22.0 per cent of women being employed part time in the APS. (By contrast only 4.7 per cent of men employed in the APS are part time). For ACTPS respondents, it was 75.7 per cent. Nine in ten (89.5%) of NTPS respondents worked full time.

3 Labour hire workers are employed through a third party that is engaged by an agency or firm to provide workers. Contractors are directly engaged by agencies or firms.4 35 hours or more


Of those women who worked full time:

� 3.5 per cent earned less than $60,000 per annum.

� 33.4 per cent earned between $60,000 and $80,000 per annum.


Those full-time women who lived outside of capital cities generally earned less:

� 5.2 per cent earned less than $60,000 per annum.

� 47.0 per cent earned between $60,000 and $80,000 per annum


The lower pay is likely to reflect that women are far more likely to work in service delivery (46.7%) roles outside of capital cities at lower classifications. APSC data indicates that a quarter (27.6%) of APS employees work in service delivery.17

The most recent ABS average weekly earnings data for November 2019 shows that full time average weekly ordinary time earnings for women equate to $78,442 per annum18. A significant number of women working full time in the public sector are earning below or at the average weekly female earnings.

A third of part time women (32.6%) reported their gross annual salary to be under $60,000, reflecting the nature of their employment. For these women, their low salary level will have a future impact on their superannuation balance at retirement amongst other things.

A non-permanent employee is likely to be aged 25-34, working in the National Disability Insurance Agency in the Australian Public Service. They are likely to be in a service delivery role and earning between $60,000 and $79,000.

One in ten (16.3%) reported they were acting in a higher position. Of those, a third (35.7%) had been acting for more than a year, raising questions as to whether the position should have been filled permanently.

Those who were employed in non-ongoing roles or not directly engaged were asked if they had consecutive temporary engagements. A majority (51.0%) of those employed on a non-ongoing basis or not directly engaged had more than one temporary engagement in their current position.

� 46.6 per cent had two consecutive contracts

� 22.8 per cent had three consecutive contracts

� 30.1 per cent had four or more consecutive contracts


HOURS OF WORK

SUMMARY � Seven in ten full time women work additional hours.

� The most common reason for working additional hours was to get all their work done.

� The majority indicated they only sometimes or never receive compensation for working extra hours.

� The most common reason why women were not compensated was that payment or time off was only given in certain circumstances.

� A fifth of women state that they are not compensated because management expects uncompensated hours.

� Three in five women said working additional hours caused or sometimes caused them personal difficulties.

� The frequency of women being contacted outside of work hours for work related matters has steadily increased over the past few surveys.

� Two in five women were contacted outside of work hours for work related matters in the last 6 months. Four in five were not compensated.

There continues to be pressure on women to work additional hours with seven in ten (68.6%) women who work full-time hours working additional hours.19 Full-time women in policy roles (80.1%) were most likely to work additional hours, followed by those in professional (79.7%) and program and project management (78.6%) roles.

Of those full-time women who said they worked additional hours, 9.9 per cent worked 10 or more additional hours and over one in ten (16.4%) worked between five and 10 additional hours. Three in ten worked between one and less than three additional hours (29.5%) and a fifth (20.3%) worked between three to less than five additional hours.

Table 4: Additional hours worked by full time women (%)

2013 2015 2017 2019

< one additional hour 11.7 11 12.8 23.9

1 < 3 additional hours 35 34.2 34.7 29.5

3 < 5 additional hours 23.6 19 21.3 20.3

5 < 10 additional hours 20.7 21.4 20.6 16.4

10 < 15 additional hours 6.1 7 6.7 4.5

15+ additional hours 3 7.4 3.8 5.4

As expected, the more women earn, the more likely they are to be working longer hours. Those working full-time, earning $120,000 or more were most likely to report working additional hours (92.6%). Half (53.2%) of those earning between $60,000 and $79,999 reported working additional hours.

Of those women working full-time, earning $120,000 or more, one in ten (9.8%) worked 15 hours or more additional hours per week. In contrast, only 4.0 per cent of those earning between $60,000 and $79,999 reported working 15 hours or more additional hours.

It is of little surprise that APS women working full-time in higher classifications were more likely to work longer additional hours. 9.1 per cent of EL1s and 24.7 per cent of EL2s worked 10 or more additional hours. This is a notable jump from the APS classification where 5.5 per cent worked 10 or more hours.

Women working in professional roles are most likely to be working 15 or more additional hours (8.2%). This was followed by women in service delivery roles (5.3%) and program or project management (5.0%). Women in administrative (3.4%) and technical roles (4.0%) were the least like work 15 hours or more.


Those full-time women who worked additional hours were asked the reasons why they worked overtime or extra hours. The most common reasons why were:

� So I can get all my work done (56.5%)

� So I can get all my work done on time (43.4%)

� So I can get all my work done to a proper standard (38.9%)

COMPENSATION FOR ADDITIONAL HOURSWomen who work full-time were asked if they received compensation for additional hours and two fifths (45.8%) said they always received compensation. Women who work in regulatory (54.8%), administrative (53.3%) and service delivery (53.0%) roles were most likely to always get compensated for additional hours.

Over half (53.4%) said they were only sometimes compensated (36.2%) or never received compensation (17.1%). Women in policy (38.1%), program and project management (38.1%) and professional (26.9%) roles were least likely to always get compensated.

It is concerning that working additional hours and not always receiving compensation is normalised for the majority of women in the public sector.

As earnings rose, women working full-time were less likely to be compensated for working additional hours. Fewer than a tenth (6.9%) of those earning $60,000-$79,999 never received any compensation. In contrast, two in five (38.9%) of those earning $120,000 or more never received compensation for additional hours worked. Those at this higher income bracket at higher classification levels who were compensated were likely to be given time off in lieu rather than payment.

Women who did not always receive compensation were asked the main reason why they were not compensated (Table 5). The most common reason was that payment or time off is only given in certain circumstances (24.4%), followed closely by management expects uncompensated extra hours (20.7%). There has not been a significant change in the main reasons since 2015.

The level of management expectation that extra hours will not be compensated remains unacceptably high, noting that it was one in twenty (5.2%) in 2013 before increasing to around one in five (22.3%) in 2015 where it has remained.

Table 5: Main reason why not always compensated (%)

2011 2013 2015 2017 2019

Payment or time off is only given in certain circumstances (e.g. if management agrees) 33.5 37.2 27.3 25.4 24.4

Payment or time off is capped (e.g. flextime accrual is capped at 37.5 hours) 10.5 10.4 8.8 9.8 9.6

I have an informal arrangement with my supervisor/management 18.9 17.4 12.6 12.8 12.5

I don’t tell my employer 16.7 14.7 13.1 13.2 14.7

My workplace cannot afford it 2.4 2.2 2 1.3 1.9

No compensation arrangements available 3.3 4 5.7 5.8 7.6

Management expects uncompensated extra hours 3.1 5.2 22.3 21.5 20.7

Full-time women who worked additional hours were asked if it caused them any personal difficulties. One in ten (11.2%) indicated that it did and just under half (48.7%) reported that it sometimes caused them personal difficulties. Two in five (39.0%) said it did not.


Women who worked full time who reported that it caused or sometimes caused difficulties were asked what types of difficulties were caused (Table 5). The most common response continues to be that they are already fatigued and overworked (53.6%), followed by it takes a toll on personal relationships (47.3%) and having to reprioritise other non-work commitments is difficult (45.1%).

Table 5: Types of personal difficulties working extra hours causes (%)

2011 2013 2015 2017 2019

I am not given sufficient notice of additional hours 6.7 7.3 13.5 8.0 6.4

Travel home early/late from work is difficult 34.6 35.7 41.8 31.5 31.5

I am already fatigued and overworked 45.7 46.7 72.1 55.0 53.6

I only get TOIL/Flex for overtime and would rather be paid 11.3 11.6 13.9 12.3 12.4

Having to reprioritise other non-work commitments is difficult 47.5 48.6 56.7 43.8 45.1

It takes a toll on personal relationships 45.8 45.7 62.1 46.0 47.3

Caring responsibilities are difficult to organise 35.9 28.4 44.2 30.6 35.2

Note: multiple response question so columns do not sum to 100%

CONTACT OUTSIDE OF WORK HOURSWomen were asked if they were required, as part of their formal employment arrangements, to be contactable outside of work hours. The vast majority were not required with seven in ten (71.1%) saying it was not a requirement. Only one in ten (9.2%) said it was a requirement with a further 18.8 per cent saying sometimes.

While it is not a requirement for the majority of women, nearly half (49.0%) have been contacted outside of work hours, by phone or email, for work related matters in the last 6 months.

Of those women who had been contacted, nearly all (87.4%) responded or sometimes (10.8%) responded.

Table 6: Contact outside of work hours (%)

2011 2013 2015 2017 2019

Yes 39.1 40.8 44.2 47.6 49.0

No 60.5 58.5 55 51.4 50.1

It is concerning that there has been a steady but sizeable increase in the proportion of women contacted outside of work over the past decade. These increases are likely to reflect the increasing workload demands on public sector employees as a result of budget and staffing cuts and the Average Staffing Level cap.

The more women earned, the more likely they were to be contacted outside of work hours. Four in five (81.2%) of those earning $120,000 or more indicated they had been. This compared to a third (32.6%) of those earning $60,000-$79,999.

The frequency of contact has also increased over past What Women Want surveys. A third of women (33.4%) responded to contact outside of work hours at least weekly. This has been a substantial increase since 2011 when only a fifth (22.2%) were contacted at least weekly. Women earning higher salaries were also more likely to respond to contact outside of work with three in ten (31.9%) who earned $120,000 or more responding at least weekly whereas less than one in ten (8.8%) of those earning $60,000-$79,999 did.


Table 7: Frequency of contact (%)

2011 2013 2015 2017 2019

Daily 4.2 3.5 3.6 4.5 5.3

Every couple of days 6.8 7.6 8.8 10.7 11.4

Weekly 11.2 11.5 13.4 14.7 16.7

Monthly 8.5 9.5 8.8 9.2 8.8

Occasionally 67.9 66.7 64.3 60.0 56.7

Women who said they were contacted outside of work hours were asked if they were paid or given time off for being contacted. Less than one in ten (9.8%) were compensated with a further one in ten (10.9%) only compensated sometimes. The vast majority (78.7%) were not paid or given time off.

Given the proportion of women contacted outside of work hours is growing and contact is becoming more frequent, this is an issue that needs to be addressed. Staff should be compensated for contact outside of work hours. Not only do these additional uncompensated hours increase workload pressures on staff, they also increasingly blur the lines between work and personal lives.


CARING RESPONSIBILITIES

SUMMARY � Two in five women have dependent children for whom they are the primary carer.

� One quarter of women care for others on a regular basis, most likely parents/parents-in-law.

� Women who work full time and have caring responsibilities for dependent children and others are less likely to be satisfied with their work/life balance and more likely to almost always feel rushed or pressed for time.

Two in five (40.7%) women reported they have dependent children (under 18 years). The vast majority of women with dependent children either had one (38.4%) or two (47.8%) children. Almost all (95.7%) said they were the primary carer of their dependent children.

Women were also asked about regular caring responsibilities for others and nearly one in three (28.4%) said they had regular caring responsibilities for others. Those with caring responsibilities for others mostly had caring responsibilities for parents/parents-in-law (54.7%), followed by adult children (21.9%) and children under 18 (including stepchildren) who did not live with them for the majority of the week.

Those with dual caring responsibilities who have caring responsibilities for both dependent children as well as others continue to face pressures. Two fifths (42.7%) of women who regularly care for others also have dependent children. Three in five (59.9%) women with dual caring responsibilities also work full-time. With these pressures, it is unsurprising they are less likely to report they are satisfied with their current work/life balance and more likely to say they almost always feel rushed or pressed for time (Table 8).

Table 8: Women with dual caring responsibilities and work life balance (%)

Full-time women with dual caring responsibilities All women

Working overtime or extra hours causes or sometimes causes personal difficulties 76.8 76.8

I almost always feel rushed or pressed for time 40.1 40.5

I often feel rushed or pressed for time 44.5 39.4

I am very satisfied with my current work life balance 6.6 6.6

I am satisfied with my current work life balance 37.0 37.0

A longitudinal analysis shows that the proportion of women with dual caring responsibilities feeling that working additional hours causes personal difficulties has remained constant, nearly half always feel rushed or pressed for time and less than half are satisfied with their current work/life balance (Table 9).

Table 9: Full-time women with dual caring responsibilities (2013-17) (%)

2013 2015 2017 2019

Working overtime or extra hours causes or sometimes causes personal difficulties 73.2 79.6 77.8 76.8

I almost always feel rushed or pressed for time 37 43.3 49.7 40.5

I am very satisfied with my current work life balance 10.5 7.6 5.9 6.6

I am satisfied with my current work life balance 44.3 39.2 37 37.0


FLEXIBLE WORKING ARRANGEMENTS

SUMMARY � Access to flexible working hours was identified by 30.5 per cent of women as the most important issue for

them in the next twelve months.

� Almost all women rated having flexible work hours and the ability to access leave as important or very important.

� While access to flexible arrangements was important to almost all women, only a third of women only accessed leave or flexible work hours once or twice in the last twelve months.

� Seven in ten women are almost always or often felt rushed or pressed for time.

� Only half of women were satisfied with their work/life balance.

� Half agreed or strongly agreed that their current entitlements are sufficient to enable them to balance work and non-work commitments.

� Half agreed or strongly agreed that taking time out for family reasons will disadvantage an employee’s career prospects

Respondents were asked what the key issue is that they thought the CPSU should focus on for women over the next 12 months. The top five issues were:

� Access to flexible working hours (30.5%)

� Career progression (23.4%)

� Superannuation (15.6%)

� Increased number of women in senior roles (9.5%)

� Transition to retirement (9.3%)

Unsurprisingly women who work part-time and have dependent children were even more likely to nominate flexible working hours as their number one issue.

0 20 40 60 80 100

2011

2013

2015

2017

2019

Having paid maternity/paternity leave provisions

Having access to purchased additional leave schemes

Working from home in normal working hours

The opportunity to job share

Being able to negotiate part-time work

Having flexible work hours

The ability to access leave as needed

Chart 1: Importance of flexible work arrangements, 2011-2019 (%)


Women were asked how important specific flexible work arrangements were to them personally (Chart 1). As in previous years, for nearly all women, the ability to access leave as needed and having flexible work hours is important. There was a notable increase in the number of women who stated that working from home in normal working hours was important or very important to them.

Women were asked about their access to flexible work arrangements over the last twelve months. Two thirds (68.8%) said they requested access to flexible working arrangements in the last 12 months. Most who asked generally were able to access flexible working arrangements with nine in ten (89.7%) having their request agreed to.

Those who accessed flexible arrangements were asked which entitlements they had used in the last 12 months (Table 10). Accessing leave as needed was the most regularly used arrangement (62.8%), followed by flexible work hours (59.4%).

While almost all women see access to flexible arrangements such as leave or flexible work hours as important, many still do not use it regularly. A third only accessed leave (34.5%) or flexible work hours (30.5%) once or twice over the last twelve months.

Table 10: Flexible work arrangements accessed in the last 12 months (%)

Regularly Once or twice (%) No (%) Not applicable (%)

Accessed leave as needed 62.8 34.5 1.8 0.8

Accessed flexible work hours 59.4 30.5 6.9 3.2

Negotiated part-time work 22.7 15.4 40.2 21.7

Had the opportunity to job share 1.3 1.3 54.4 43.0

Worked from home during normal working hours 20.9 26.1 38.4 14.6

Purchased additional leave schemes 10.4 7.3 65.1 17.2

Accessed paid maternity/paternity leave provisions 3.8 1.6 49.1 45.5

Accessed employer provided childcare assistance 0.8 0.9 53.5 44.8

Table 11: Flexible work arrangements accessed in the last 12 months - regularly (2011-2019) (%)

2011 2013 2015 2017 2019

Accessed leave as needed 59.3 64.6 56.1 56.8 62.8

Accessed flexible work hours 59.7 63.1 54.2 57.5 59.4

Negotiated part-time work 35 19.4 20.9 22.3 22.7

Had the opportunity to job share 1.9 1 1.4 1.2 1.3

Worked from home during normal working hours 7.9 6.6 8 12.7 20.9

Purchased additional leave schemes 9.2 12.7 7.6 8.5 10.4

Accessed paid maternity/paternity leave provisions 6.5 3.6 4.1 3.6 3.8

Accessed employer provided childcare assistance 1.5 0.6 1.1 0.6 0.8


Those who had sought flexible work arrangements and had their request denied (10.3%) were asked the main reason(s) for the denial. There was a notable increase in the proportion who cited staffing constraints to a third (34.5%) from a quarter in 2017 (25.4%). The next most common reasons were other operational (increased to 28.5% from 23.8%) and /or workload constraints (21.8%).

Women were asked how satisfied they were with their ability to access the flexible working arrangements they were entitled to in the past twelve months. Three quarters (75.3%) of women indicating they were very satisfied or satisfied.

Table 12: Satisfied with access to flexible working arrangements (2011-2017) (%)

2011 2013 2015 2017 2019

Very satisfied 32.6 40.8 30.6 31.1 33.0

Satisfied 43.1 40.4 43.8 41.7 42.4

Neutral 9.6 8.1 10.9 10.7 10.5

Dissatisfied 9.5 7 10 10.2 8.3

Very dissatisfied 5 3.6 4.5 6.3 5.6

Don’t know 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.2


WORK/LIFE BALANCEThere continues to be an ongoing gap between satisfaction with access to flexible working arrangements and satisfaction with work/life balance. While women are generally satisfied with their access to flexible working arrangements, satisfaction with their ability to balance work and non-work commitments remains lower than before 2015. This likely reflects increased work pressures due to budget and staffing cuts in the APS.

Just over half of women (54.8%) agreed or strongly agreed that their current entitlements are sufficient to enable them to balance work and non-work commitments. While it was not a notable change from 2017 (53.8%), it is a sizeable decline since 2015, when two thirds (64.7%) agreed or strongly agreed.

Women were asked about how satisfied they were with their work/life balance. Just over half (53.8%) were satisfied or very satisfied and a quarter (23.9%) were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied. As the Table below shows, the proportion of women satisfied or very satisfied with their work/life balance decreased notably between 2013 (62.2%) and 2017 (51.9%) and has not recovered.

Table 13: Satisfied with work/life balance (2011-2019) (%)

2011 2013 2015 2017 2019

Very satisfied 10.4 14.3 10.2 10.3 12.2

Satisfied 47 47.9 44.4 41.6 41.6

Neutral 20.8 18.5 21.1 21.7 21.8

Dissatisfied 17.6 15.7 18.8 19.8 18.3

Very dissatisfied 4 3.3 5.1 6.4 5.6

Don’t know 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.2 0.4

Nearly seven in ten (68.1%) women said they almost always or often felt rushed or pressed for time. Less than five per cent (4.1%) said they rarely or never felt pressed for time. These figures have remained relatively unchanged since 2011.

Table 14: Time pressure frequency (2011-2019) (%)

2011 2013 2015 2017 2019

Almost always 27.2 24.7 29.4 30.3 28.7

Often 40 38.7 39.5 39.1 39.4

Sometimes 28.3 31.9 26.6 26.3 27.4

Rarely 4 3.9 3.8 3.7 4.1

Never 0.3 0.5 0.4 0.5 0.3

I prefer not to respond 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.1 0.1

While nearly three quarters (75.3%) of women are satisfied or very satisfied with their access to flexible working arrangements, there continues to be a substantial gap with their levels of satisfaction with work/life balance (53.8%). The ongoing gap indicates closing it will require more than enabling access to flexible working arrangements. It requires addressing factors such as increasing contact outside of work hours without compensation, additional hours due to workload pressures, time pressures and unpaid domestic work.


WORKPLACE CULTUREWomen were asked whether they agreed or disagreed with a range of different statements that focused on workplace culture (Table 15). The responses to the statements provide an indication of how workplace culture affects satisfaction with work/life balance.

Table 15: Workplace culture (%)

Agree or strongly agree (%)

Disagree or strongly disagree (%)

Taking time out for family and personal reasons is frowned on 22.9 56.4

Current entitlements are sufficient to enable me to balance work and non-work commitments 54.8 24.5

Employees who ‘get ahead’ work long hours on a regular basis 43.3 28.7

Employees who ‘get ahead’ take work home on a regular basis 40.4 28.5

Unless you put work before family or personal matters, you do not get noticed by management 37.4 36.2

Other employees in their workplace resent people making use of flexible work arrangements to meet family responsibilities 32.0 41.0

Taking time out for family reasons will disadvantage an employee’s career prospects 49.8 26.1

Employees without family responsibilities are often expected to make sacrifices for employees who have family 40.7 34.8

My workload is adjusted when necessary to take account of family or caring responsibilities 28.2 34.6

I feel comfortable taking the leave I am entitled to 60.9 24.1

Both male and female employees are given access to work and family balance leave arrangements 62.3 11.2

I am able to take annual leave when I want to 58.3 25.7

It is easy for all employees to combine career and family 15.4 55.5

The results continue to show that while women are satisfied with access to flexible working arrangements, workplace cultures still discourage women from accessing their entitlements. This has not changed notable since the previous survey. Most notably

� A fifth (22.9%) of women agree or strongly agree that taking time out for family and personal matters is frowned upon.

� Less than one in five (15.4%) women believe it is easy for all employees to combine career and family.

� More women agreed or strongly agreed (43.3%) that employees who ‘get ahead’ work long hours on a regular basis (28.7%).

� More women agreed or strongly agreed (40.4%) that employees who ‘get ahead’ take work home on a regular basis than disagreed or strongly disagreed (28.5%).

� Two in five (40.7%) agreed or strongly agreed employees without family responsibilities are often expected to make sacrifices for employees who have family.

� Half (49.8%) of women agreed or strongly agreed that taking time out for family reasons (i.e., to have a baby or care for dependents) will disadvantage an employee’s career prospects.


ACTION: FLEXIBLE WORKING ARRANGEMENTSThe importance of flexible working arrangements to women has been shown through previous What Women Want survey reports.

In the previous bargaining round, some agencies attempted to reduce or remove arrangements. CPSU members fought successfully against these attempts, maintaining these arrangements in their enterprise agreements.

In the current round of bargaining this has not occurred, agencies have not sought to remove these important conditions in their claims and women have maintained their flexible working arrangements.


AUTONOMY AT WORK AND JOB SATISFACTION

SUMMARY � Women enjoy the work they do.

� Women’s influence and satisfaction with aspects of their work remains below 2013 levels.

� Women were most likely to be satisfied with how they did their work, and least likely to be satisfied with their workload.

� Satisfaction with the amount of pay has recovered to 59 per cent in 2019 from 53 per cent in 2017, after pay rises. It still, however, remains below 71 per cent in 2013.

Women were asked what they liked most about their job. The most common answer was the work that they do (36.6%), followed by pay (18.8%).

Across all job descriptions, women were more likely to say the work they do but the extent varied. Those who worked in jobs described as professional (44.6%), content maker (49.8%) and policy (38.5%) were most likely to say the work they do.

For pay, the top three job descriptions that were most likely to state pay was what they liked most about their job were service delivery (20.9%), program and project management (18.6%) followed by administrative (17.3%).

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

2013

2015

2017

2019

Flexibility

Career opportunities

The work environment

The work I do

Working conditions

Pay

Chart 2: Aspect of job enjoyed most (%)

Women were asked how much influence they felt they had over various aspects of their work. While there were improvements, women continue to report having less influence in 2019 than they did in 2013 (Chart 3). Workloads continue to be an issue with only two in five women reporting they had some or a lot of influence over their workload.


2013

2015

2017

2019

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Flexibility

Workload

The range of tasks done

The pace at which work is done

Working additional hours

How work is done

Chart 3: A lot or some influence over work (%)

Women felt most able to influence how they did their jobs and least able to influence their workload:

� Those who worked in program and project management (55.1%) were most likely to say they had a lot or some influence over workload. Those in service delivery were most likely (69.1%) to say they have little or no influence.

� Women in content maker roles were most likely to say they had a lot or some influence (66.6%) over the range of tasks done while those in service delivery were least likely to (37.1%).

� Women in service delivery roles were most likely to say they had little or no influence (55.6%) over the pace at which they worked. Those in program or project management roles were most likely to say they had some or a lot of influence (65.5%), closely followed by content makers (62.8%).

� Women in program and project management roles were most likely to say they had a lot or some influence (79.2%) over how they did their work. Those in service delivery were most likely to say they had some or a lot of influence (51.7%).

� Women in technical roles were most likely to say they had a lot or some influence (65.6%) over working additional hours. Those women in service delivery roles were least likely to say they had some or a lot (49.8%) of influence.

Women were also asked how satisfied they were with various aspects of their work. Women were most likely to be satisfied with how they did their work, and least likely to be satisfied with their workload.

2013

2015

2017

2019

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Flexibility

Workload

The range of tasks done

The pace at which work is done

Working additional hours

How work is done

Chart 4: Satisfied or very satisfied with influence over aspects of work (%)


Levels of satisfaction with influence over aspects of work remains below 2013 levels except for how work is done (Chart 4). Satisfaction with the ability to control working additional hours was at 52.0 per cent, control over workload was 44.7 per cent and the pace at which work is done was 59.1 per cent. The pressures of increased workloads and longer hours to get work done remains an issue.

� Those who worked in program and project management (53.6%) were most likely to say they were satisfied or very satisfied with their influence over workload. Those in service delivery were least likely to say they were satisfied or very satisfied (36.1%) with their influence.

� Women in program and project management roles were most likely to say they were very satisfied or satisfied with influence (66.6%) over the range of tasks done while those in service delivery roles were least likely to (49.6%).

� Women in service delivery roles were less likely to say they were satisfied or very satisfied with their influence (52.2%) over the pace at which they worked. Those in content maker roles were most likely to say they were satisfied or very satisfied with their influence (69.2%).

� Women in technical roles were most likely to be satisfied or very satisfied with their influence (74.3%) over how they did their work. Those in service delivery were least likely to say they were satisfied or very satisfied (52.0%).

� Women in technical roles were most likely to be satisfied or very satisfied (61.5%) with their ability to control additional hours worked. Those in service delivery (45.6%) were least likely to say they were satisfied or very satisfied.

2013

2015

2017

2019

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Level of job security

Sense of achievement from work

The amount of pay received

Respect from those above

Chart 5: Satisfied or very satisfied with aspects of work (%)

Women were also asked about their satisfaction with aspects of their job.

� While there has been a slight improvement, satisfaction with the amount of pay at 59 percent received remains significantly below the 2013 level of 71 percent. This is unsurprising given the Government’s bargaining policy capped wage increases and has not compensated staff for the years of no pay increases.

� Women in professional roles (68.0%) were most likely to say they were satisfied or very satisfied with the sense of achievement they got from their work while those in administrative roles were least likely to (55.8%).

� Women in policy (59.8%) were most likely to be satisfied or very satisfied with the respect they get from those above them. Those in service delivery roles (41.7%) were least likely to be very satisfied or satisfied.

� Women in policy roles were most likely to say they were satisfied or very satisfied with their level of job security (74.6%). Those in content maker roles were least likely to be satisfied or very satisfied (59.1%).


JOB SECURITY

SUMMARY � Since 2013, concerns about outsourcing and casualisation increased significantly.

� Women in the APS are less likely to feel secure in their job than women in the ACTPS.

� Women in regional areas were less likely to be satisfied with job security or feel secure in their jobs.

� Women in administrative roles were less likely to feel secure or very secure in their current job.

� The most common reasons for concern about job security was organisational restructuring, followed by budget cuts.

Three in five (62.5%) women are satisfied or very satisfied with their level of job security. While there was a slight improvement since the last survey, it still remains lower than it was in 2011, when seven in ten (70.3%) were satisfied or very satisfied with their job security. Women in regional areas were also less likely to be satisfied or very satisfied with their level job security (58.5%).

Three in five (61.0%) women feel secure or very secure in their current job. Women in the APS are less likely to feel very secure or secure (60.7%) than women in the ACTPS (64.8%) but on par with women in the NTPS (59.8%). Women in regional areas were less likely to feel very secure or secure (57.5%). Women in administrative roles were also less likely to say they felt very secure or secure in their current jobs (54.3%)

Of the fifth (22.9%) of women who reported feeling insecure in their current job, organisational restructuring continues to be the most reported (53.7%) reason for feeling insecure. This was followed by nearly two in five (37.6%) reporting that budget cuts had led to job security concerns.

While concerns about budget cuts and organisational restructuring have been relatively stable since 2015, there is a growing concern about outsourcing and casualisation. Concerns have nearly doubled since questions about job security were first asked in 2013.

The level of concern for each reason varied depending on where women worked. Women who felt insecure and worked in the APS were far more likely to be concerned about outsourcing (37.3%) than those in the ACTPS (3.6%) or NTPS (12.3%). Women in the ACTPS were far less likely to cite budget cuts (21.5%) than the APS (40.6%) or the NTPS (49.2%). Casualisation was less of a concern in the NTPS (12.3%) than in the ACTPS (24.6%) or APS (29.6%).

Table 16: Reasons for concern about job security (2013-2019) (%)

2013 2015 2017 2019

Budget cuts 71.8 44 42.4 37.6

Organisational restructuring 71 63.9 63.0 53.7

Outsourcing 17.5 22.3 34.1 29.8

Casualisation 17.7 29.4 24.3 27.5

Personal issues 16.9 15.7 14.6 12.6


ACTION: AVERAGE STAFFING LEVEL CAPThe much higher levels of concern about outsourcing in the APS is likely to reflect the outsourcing as a result of the Average Staffing Level cap and the explicit contracting out of core work in the Department of Human Services. Significant growth in spending on contractors, consultants and labour hire ‘to perform work that has previously been core in-house capability’ while ‘spending on APS employee expenses has remained steady’ was cited in the Independent Review of the Public Service (APS Review).27

The CPSU has been running a concerted campaign to abolish the Average Staffing Level cap through submissions to the Budget, Senate inquiries and government reviews and the media. The CPSU has been highlighting how it is worsening conditions of staff by encouraging outsourcing, increasing costs to agencies by discouraging direct hiring and reducing the quality of services to the community.

Agencies are increasingly on the record stating that the Average Staffing Level is causing them problems. Central agencies in the APS are well aware of the problems caused by the ASL cap, the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet stating that ‘through removing ASL caps, agencies may have greater flexibility to recruit specialist staff at a reduced cost.’28 The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) told the APS Review that the ASL cap resulted in staffing costs being 25% more, reducing the number of funded additional positions by 14. 29

There is widespread and growing support for removing the Average Staffing Level cap beyond the CPSU. Most notably, the APS Review recommended abolishing the Average Staffing Level cap.30 The Productivity Commission has also recommended removing the cap on directly employed NDIA staff as it may hinder the ability of the NDIA to manage the NDIS effectively and independently.31

The CPSU will continue to campaign against the Average Staffing Level cap which must be removed to rebuild trust in government and confidence in its capacity to deliver for the community.


PRESENTEEISM

SUMMARY � Nine in ten women have gone to work while sick in the last 12 months.

� A quarter of women often to go to work while sick.

� Workload pressures and the belief they were not sick enough to stay at home were the main reasons women went to work while sick.

� An increasing number of women do not have enough paid sick leave remaining or are going to work while sick because of onerous medical certificate requirements.

Women were asked if they went to work while they were sick in the last 12 months. It is concerning that over four in five (86.3%) continue to go to work while sick at some point. A quarter (25.1%) who went to work while sick did so often and three fifths (61.2%) did once or twice. Only one in ten (10.2%) always take sick leave. These figures have remained constant over the last few surveys.

Table 17: Gone to work while sick (2013-2019) (%)

2013 2015 2017 2019

Yes, often 21.4 26.1 25.8 25.1

Yes, once or twice 65.1 61.5 60.1 61.2

No, never, I always take sick leave 9.4 8.5 10.4 10.2

I have not been sick in the last 12 months 3.7 3.4 3.2 3.0

The continuing sizeable proportion of women who often go to work while sick shows there are pressures on women at work that have remained.

As in previous years, the most common reasons women went to work while sick were workload pressures (52.7%) and many felt they were sick but not sick enough to stay at home (54.8%).

There has been a steady increase in the number of women who went to work because they did not have enough paid sick days remaining or because of more onerous medical certificate requirements since 2013.

Table 18: Reasons for going to work while sick (2013-2017) (%)

2013 2015 2017 2019

Workload pressures 51.8 50.4 52.1 52.7

Not enough paid sick days remaining 15.5 14.5 19.8 21.6

Pressure from management not to take sick leave 21.4 26.2 22.8 19.2

Pressure from colleagues not to take sick leave 5 5.7 5.6 4.7

Taking sick leave will adversely affect their career 12 12.3 15.4 15.9

Onerous medical certificate requirements 18.7 21.3 23.3 25.0

I was sick but not sick enough to stay at home - 51.5 52.6 54.8

These findings show the focus on unscheduled absences, based on a view about the widespread abuse of personal/carers leave entitlements within the APS is incorrect and ignores the cost of presenteeism or working while sick. Many employees go to work when sick because of workload pressures. An increasing number of employees are not able to access the sick leave they need because they have run out or the requirements are too onerous.

The costs of presenteeism includes productivity loss, poor health and risks the spread of sickness to colleagues.

The cost to the employer has been estimated at between three and four times that of absenteeism.20


TRAINING AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT

SUMMARY � 11.5 per cent of women reported they had received no training and a further 10.2 per cent had received less

than a day of training over the last 12 months.

� 16.3 per cent of women applied for and were denied training.

� Women working in service delivery were more likely to receive training.

� Women place a high importance on having higher positions and workplace mentoring as part of career advancement.

� When making career decisions women take into account their ability to interact with family and friends, the intellectual or professional enjoyment the role would provide and caring responsibilities.

There is a wide gap between satisfaction with the availability of career development opportunities and the perceived attitude of management. Four in five (80%) women believe management is supportive of training, however, only three in ten women (30.4%) are satisfied with their current career development opportunities. This is not surprising given there continues to be limited training provided. In the last year – 11.5 per cent reported that had received no training over that period, and a further 10.2 per cent had received less than a day of training. Just under a quarter (24.8%) of women reported that they had received five or more days of training in the last year. These figures have not changed notably since 2017.

Those working in service delivery were more likely to receive training with nearly a third (32.1%) receiving five or more days training by their employer in the last 12 months. Three in ten (29.8%) of those in regulatory roles received five or more days training. Those least likely to receive five or more days training worked in content maker (9.9%) and program and project management (17.6%) roles.

One in five (16.3%) women applied for and were denied training. This is consistent with previous years (17.5% in 2017, 17.2% in 2015, 17% in 2013, 17.3% in 2011). For nearly nine in ten of these women, the training they applied for was directly related to their current role (89.5%) and relevant to the development of their career (89.7%). Less than one in five (19.6%) who were denied training have access to training that is not directly related to their current position, which may assist with career development.

Women were asked what reasons were given for their application for training being denied. The most common reasons included it was a decision of management (38.6%), staffing constraints (32.5%), cost of training (30.4%), workload constraints (29.4%) and/or budget pressures (23.8%).

Only two in five (38.2%) women reported that they had access to training that was not directly related to their current role that might advance their careers.

These findings reinforce findings from the APS Review that the APS spend on learning and development is at, or below, the lowest global benchmark for spending on learning and development in large private sector organisations. The APS Review suggested dedicated funding to build the skills and expertise of APS employees. It estimated at least $60 million a year in dedicated APS-wide funding is required for learning and development.21

Women were asked questions about how important various factors were in terms of achieving career advancement. Having higher positions available within their organisation (76.1%) was the most important, followed by workplace mentoring (67.6%).

When making career decisions women also take into account non-financial factors. Some of the key non-financial factors that influence women’s decisions about work include:

� Their ability to interact with family (90.3% reported this as important) and friends (82.6%).

� The intellectual/professional enjoyment (91.0%) and social enjoyment (76.7%) provided by work was important to many women.

� Caring responsibilities was an important factor for many women (65.1%).

� For women who have dependent children, the availability of employer provided childcare assistance was also important (49.0%).


BULLYING, HARASSMENT AND DISCRIMINATION

SUMMARY � A quarter of women experienced bullying or harassment in the last 12 months.

� 3.3 per cent of women experienced sexual harassment at work in the last 12 months.

� An increasing proportion of women reported the incident of sexual harassment.

� 14.3 per cent of women reported experiencing discrimination at work in the last 12 months.

� The most common form of discrimination was age discrimination.

� The most common form of discrimination for women with non-European backgrounds was racial discrimination.

BULLYING AND HARASSMENTWomen were asked if they experienced bullying or harassment in the last 12 months. A quarter (25.4%) said they did, higher than the 13 per cent reported in the APSC State of the Service Report.22

Of those who experienced bullying and harassment, half (48.1%) reported the incident. Three in five (61.7%) respondents who reported it were not satisfied with the response from management. Fewer than one in ten (6.7%) were satisfied with the response and three in ten (29.2%) were satisfied to some extent.

Women were asked if they agreed or disagreed with a range of statements about bullying and harassment (Table 19). Nine in ten women (89.4%) said they were aware of bullying and harassment policies and procedures. Women were evenly divided on whether they agreed, disagree or were neutral that complaints are dealt with quickly and appropriately by management.

Table 19: Bullying and harassment (%)



I am fully aware of bullying and harassment policies and procedures at my workplace 89.4 4.4

Complaints regarding bullying and harassment are dealt with quickly and appropriately by management 33.0 33.3

Adequate training on bullying and harassment is provided by my workplace 52.1 24.6

Management places importance on eliminating bullying and harassment from the workplace 45.9 28.6

SEXUAL HARASSMENTLess than five per cent (3.3%) of women reported experiencing sexual harassment at work in the last 12 months. Of those who did, three in ten (29.6%) reported the incident, an increase from only a quarter (24.8%) in 2017. Two in five (43.5%) respondents were not satisfied with the response of management. Only one in ten (10.0%) of those who did report were satisfied with the response of management and a third (32.6%) were satisfied to some extent.

Women were asked if they agreed or disagreed with statements about sexual harassment (Table 20). While most women (81.8%) said they were fully aware of policies and procedures, only two in five (38.0%) believed that complaints about sexual harassment were dealt with quickly and appropriately.


Table 20: Sexual harassment (%)



I am fully aware of sexual harassment policies and procedures at my workplace 81.8 8.0

Complaints regarding sexual harassment are dealt with quickly and appropriately by management 38.0 9.5

Adequate training on sexual harassment is provided by my workplace 46.7 23.5

Management places importance on eliminating sexual harassment from the workplace 50.4 13.8

DISCRIMINATIONJust over one in ten (14.3%) women reported experiencing discrimination at work in the last 12 months, a similar result to the 2019 APS Census (12%).23 This increased to one in three (32.2%) for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander respondents.

Of the women who reported experiencing discrimination, only a fifth (19.2%) reported the incident. Less than five per cent (3.6%) of those who reported experiencing discrimination were satisfied with the response by management, a decline from 7.3 per cent in 2015. A quarter (24.3%) were satisfied to some extent, a decrease from 29.6 per cent in 2017, and just over three fifths (70.6%) were not, an increase from 63.3 per cent in 2017.

Women were asked for the first time what kind of discrimination they experienced. Of those who experienced discrimination:

� 35.3 per cent experienced age discrimination.

� 30.2 per cent experienced discrimination on the basis of family or caring responsibilities.

� 26.2 per cent experienced sex discrimination.

� 14.2 per cent experienced discrimination on the basis of race or ethnicity.

� 14.8 per cent experienced disability discrimination.

The 2019 APS Census also found that gender (32%), age (27%) and caring responsibilities (24%) were the most common forms of discrimination experienced.24

The kind of discrimination that women experienced differed, depending on their backgrounds.

Two in five (40.9%) women with non-European cultural backgrounds who experienced discrimination experienced it on the basis of race or ethnicity. It was far more frequent than discrimination on the basis of sex (27.3%) or age (30.9%).

Over half (53.6%) of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander women who said they experienced discrimination in the past twelve months said the discrimination was on the basis of race or ethnicity. Less than one in ten (8.9%) experienced discrimination on the basis of sex.

Women were asked if they agreed or disagreed with a range of statements about discrimination (Table 21). Four in five women (81.3%) agreed or strongly agreed they were fully aware of policies and procedures, however, only a third (35.5%) agreed or strongly agreed that complaints about discrimination were dealt with quickly and appropriately by management.


Table 21: Discrimination (%)



I am fully aware of discrimination policies and procedures at my workplace 81.3 6.7

Complaints regarding discrimination are dealt with quickly and appropriately by management 35.5 16.6

Adequate training on discrimination is provided by my workplace 51.9 19.9

Management places importance on eliminating discrimination from the workplace 48.9 17.3

The results of previous What Women Want surveys have shown that there is broad awareness about harassment and discrimination policies and procedures. There remains an ongoing gap between awareness about policies and procedures and belief that complaints are acted on, that training is adequate and that eliminating harassment and discrimination is prioritised. Much more will need to be done to address these gaps.


SAFETY AT WORK

SUMMARY � A third of women have experienced customer aggression in the last 12 months.

� Women in service delivery roles were most likely to have experienced customer aggression, followed by those in regulatory roles.

� Verbal aggression over the telephone continues to be the most common form of customer aggression.

Women were asked if they had any safety concerns in the workplace and 16.3 per cent said they had. Two thirds (67.6%) of those who said they had safety concerns reported their concerns. Three in five (58.7%) women were not happy with the response when they had raised a safety concern with less than a third (33.7%) happy to some extent.

CUSTOMER AGGRESSIONWomen were asked if they had experienced customer aggression at work in the last twelve months. A third (32.2%) of women had experienced customer aggression. Those working in service delivery were most likely to have experienced customer aggression with over half (56.2%) saying that they had in the last 12 months, followed by those in regulatory roles (35.5%).

Verbal aggression over the telephone continues to be the most common form of customer aggression followed by face-to-face verbal aggression (Table 22). Women also experienced written and online aggression while a small percentage experienced physical aggression.

Table 22: Customer aggression experienced (2013-2019) (%)

2013 2015 2017 2019

Verbal (telephonic) 74.9 72.1 69.4 69.9

Verbal (face-to-face) 38.8 41.3 45.6 45.5

Online, email -- 15.4 19.1 20.6

Written 2.7 8.3 7.1 7.9

Physical 3.3 3.2 4.9 5.5

Women at the Department of Human Services were most likely to experience customer aggression in the APS. Three in five women (56.7%) experienced customer aggression at the Department of Human Services in the last 12 months. As in the previous surveys, verbal aggression over the telephone (65.5%) was the most common form of customer aggression experienced by women in DHS.

Customer aggression has continued to be a problem at DHS, made worse by the ongoing robodebt saga and long call waiting times. Members have reported that the garnishing of tax returns without telling clients first led to increases, even in sites that traditionally had low customer aggression.25 They have also reported the pursuit of savings has created a drop in the quality of work and far greater workloads as inaccurate debts are reviewed and reassessed.

The outsourcing of call centre work has also resulted in conflicting information being provided to clients. Clients are regularly being told incorrect information about eligibility, evidence and paperwork required and timeframes. These long, confusing and highly stressful processes are leading to increased customer aggression.

Addressing these pressures within DHS that are resulting in customer aggression will require increased staffing levels and a redesign of debt processes. The Government needs to remove the Average Staffing Level cap, bringing call centre work back in-house and increase permanent staffing levels.


ACTION: OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETYEnsuring the health and safety of workers has been, and is to this day, at the heart of the Australian union movement. The CPSU believes the health and safety of our members must always be the priority at work.

We are ramping up the union’s capacity to take action to protect our members, get problems solved and improve working conditions.

A network of over 800 union Health and Safety Representatives (HSRs) coordinated campaigns to resolve problems affecting both the physical and mental health of workers.

Over the past two years we have delivered resources and expertise to union workplace representatives organising to address problems like unsafe staffing levels, exposure to hazardous chemicals, dangerous workloads, fatigue, customer aggression, hazardous air quality and members not getting the training and equipment to do their job safely.

In 2020, the CPSU will continue taking strong effective action to ensure the health and safety of members is the priority.

Recognising the necessity of ensuring work-related psychological health and safety, the CPSU has also begun running Mental Health First Aid courses.

The Mental Health First Aid course teaches any adult how to provide initial support to someone who is experiencing a mental health problem or crisis. Participants learn about the signs and symptoms of common mental health problems in adults, how to provide initial help, where and how to get professional help, what sort of help has been shown by research to be effective, and how to provide first aid in a crisis situation.


SUPERANNUATION

SUMMARY � A third of women do not know what type of superannuation scheme they belong to.

� One in ten women do not know how much money they have in their superannuation account.

� Over two in five women said they made their own additional super contributions.

� The most common reason for not putting in additional contributions was that women could not afford to put extra money in.

� Over half of women had never been to any superannuation information/training sessions.

Superannuation continues to be an important issue for CPSU members. It was the third most (15.6%) important issue that respondents felt should be prioritised over the next twelve months.

Women face the prospect of inadequate superannuation savings because superannuation is underpinned by the assumption of being employed full-time for an uninterrupted 35-year period. The cumulative impact of the existing pay gap and having their working life often interrupted by maternity leave and time off to raise their family, can result in a gender gap in superannuation at retirement which currently stands at 47%.26 It has a very real impact on the quality of retirement for women compared to men, especially as women have a longer average life expectancy.

Women were asked whether they knew the type of scheme they belonged to. A third (32.8%) of women reported having an accumulation fund, a quarter (25.1%) were part of a defined benefits scheme and one in ten (7.7%) had both.

Younger women were the least likely to be members of a defined benefit scheme. Just 3.4 per cent of those aged 25-34 years reporting they were in a defined benefit scheme. This compares with a third of women aged 45-54 years (35.1%) and 55-59 years (34.9%). The difference between these age groups reflects the 30 June 2005 closure of the last defined benefit scheme in the APS to new members.

A sizeable cohort of respondents did not know much about their superannuation scheme or how much in superannuation they had. A third (32.3%) did not know what type of scheme they were in and 12.7 per cent did not know how much they held in their superannuation. As one would expect there were significant differences between age groups. Younger women were less likely to know what type of scheme they were in with two thirds of those aged 25-35 (68.0%) and half (51.1%) of those aged 35-44 not sure about their type of superannuation scheme. While older women were more likely to identify their scheme type, there was still a sizeable minority of older women that could not identify what type of superannuation scheme they had– 35.3 per cent of 45-54 year olds, 26.4 per cent of 55-59 year olds and 19.1 per cent of 60-64 year olds.

The responses to questions about their superannuation balance indicate that many women do not really consider superannuation until later in life. Overall, just over one in ten (12.8%) of women did not know their superannuation balance. Again those who were younger were less likely to know about their superannuation. Over one in ten (15.5%) of those aged 20-24 years did not know their balances. This compared to just 5.1 per cent and 6.0 per cent of those aged 60-64 years and 55-59 years respectively who did not have an idea of what their current super balance was. Given that compounding on earlier investments influences final superannuation balances and the tendency for women’s working lives to be interrupted, it is important for there to be more education about the importance of superannuation earlier in working lives.

Two in five (44.0%) women said they put their own money into superannuation, in addition to the employer contribution. It should, however, be noted that for some in defined benefit funds, they are required to contribute, and there is an incentive to contribute to maximise the final outcome. Only one in three (35.5%) of those in an accumulation fund contributed additional amounts compared to two thirds (66.3%) of those in a defined benefit fund. Of those who did make extra contributions, two in five (42.1%) salary sacrificed, while a similar number (44.6%) made post-tax contributions. 7.5 per cent made both pre and post tax contributions.


Half (52.9%) of women did not put their own money into superannuation. Those who did not put any of their own money into superannuation were asked why (Table 23). The most common reason continues to be they could not afford to put extra money in (41.8%), followed by they would rather pay off their mortgage (33.6%).

Table 23: Reasons for not putting own money into superannuation (%)

2015 2017 2019

I can’t make extra contributions in my defined benefit fund 7.3 7.2 7.2

My employer contribution is enough 12.2 9.5 10.9

I would rather spend the money now 9.4 7.2 7.7

I would rather pay off my mortgage 35.7 34.6 33.6

I cannot afford to put extra money in 47.2 43.9 41.8

I would rather invest the money myself 5.8 4.9 5.3

It does not make financial sense 4.2 4.5 4.1

I don’t know how to/it is complicated/difficult 10.3 15.9 14.4

I am planning to, but it is not a priority 21.6 16.9 19.2

I would rather pay off debts - 18.5 17.6

I am saving for other things - 15.2 17.5

Similar to previous surveys, the vast majority (81.8%) do not actively manage their own superannuation accounts. Only one in five (18.1%) do.

Three in ten (30.0%) said they had more than one superannuation account. Those who had more than one account were asked the main reason why they had more than one account. The most common reason was because they had not had a chance to combine their funds (21.8%) followed by because they choose to (21.1%)

Table 24: Reasons for having more than one superannuation account (%)

2015 2017 2019

Because I have not had a chance to combine my funds 32.4 25.7 21.8

Because I want to be able to salary sacrifice 8.8 8.4 10.5

Because I have two jobs 3.1 4.7 4.6

Because I also have a self-managed fund 4.2 4.8 5.0

I choose to 14.8 20.8 21.1

Because I don’t know how/it is too difficult/complicated to change 11.4 14.0 12.3

I am in the process of rolling over my funds 8.8 8.8 9.9

Unable to combine funds - 7.3 10.3

Over half (54.9%) of respondents said they had never been to any information/training sessions about superannuation and three in five (63.5%) said they had never seen a financial planner about superannuation or retirement.


ACTION: SUPERANNUATIONSuperannuation continues to be an important issue for our members (15.6% said it should be the issue we focus on over the next twelve months).

The CPSU has campaigned strongly for increased superannuation for our NTPS and ACTPS members who continue to receive lower employer contributions than our members in the Australian Public Service.

Through the last round of ACTPS bargaining, agreement was reached for the ACT Government for a 0.75% increase in employer contributions to superannuation over the life of the agreement. The first of 0.25% per year would bring the rate to 11.25% over the life of the Enterprise Agreement.

The CPSU has also been advocating for the NT Government to lift the super guarantee by 3 per cent in line with other NT employers through a gradual stepped process, similar to the ACT.

The CPSU will continue to advocate for improved superannuation for our members to ensure women are not unfairly disadvantaged and that they have an adequate income for a comfortable retirement.


ATTACHMENT AMETHODOLOGYThe 2019 CPSU What Women Want Survey was launched online on 21th October 2019 and was open for participants to complete for 4 weeks, closing on 22th November 2019. The survey was hosted online by SurveyGizmo.

Invitations to complete the survey were sent via email to all CPSU women members and other employees who have asked to receive CPSU material. The initial invitations were staged over the first three days of the survey.

The first invitations were sent out on 21 October 2019 to 23,896 women and a second batch was sent on the 22 October 2019 to 16,882 non-member women.

In addition to initial email invitations, a “heads up” email was sent to all CPSU delegates (all genders) on 21 October 2019 advising them the survey was now open and asking them to share the survey with female colleagues.

A number of reminders were sent out over the course of the survey. These included email reminders sent to all women members on 13 & 22 November 2019, ACT Government also sent out an email to all staff and some agencies shared the survey through their intranet. Links to the survey were also posted on the CPSU social media accounts.

The total number of women the CPSU emailed and asked to participate in the CPSU What Women Want survey in 2019 was 40,778. This figure does not include emails sent out by agencies to their employees. A total of 6,387 responses to the survey were received, an overall response rate of 15.6 per cent.

REFERENCESACT Public Service Head of Service (2019). State of the Service Report 2018-19. ACT government

Australian Bureau of Statistics (2019) Average Weekly Earnings, Australia, November 2019

Australian Bureau of Statistics (2017), 6227.0 - Education and Work, Australia, May 2019

Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (2018). Submission to the Australian Public Service Review

Australian Public Service Commission (2019), State of the Service Report 2018-19

Australian Public Service Commission (2019), APS Employment Data 30 June 2019

Australian Public Service Commission (2015), APS Statistical Bulletin

Australian Public Service Commission (2019), Employee Census Highlights Report: Australian Public Service Overall

Comcare (2011). Benefits to business: the evidence for investing in worker health and wellbeing

Commonwealth of Australia (2019). Our Public Service, Our Future. Independent Review of the Australian Public Service. Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (2018). Australian Government Contract Reporting - Inquiry based on Auditor-General’s report No. 19 (2017-18) - Submission 18

Office of the Commissioner for Public Employment (2019), State of the Service Report 2018–19. NT Government

Productivity Commission (2017). National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Costs, Study Report, Canberra

Women in Super (2019). The Facts about Women and Super

Katie Burgess (2019, 27 September). Robodebt Centrelink compliance program cost $600m to recoup $785m so far. Canberra Times


ENDNOTES1 Australian Public Service Commission (2019), APS Employment Data 30 June 2019 Release Section 3:

Diversity

2 Office of the Commissioner for Public Employment (2019), State of the Service Report 2018–19. NT Government

3 ACT Public Service Head of Service (2019). State of the Service Report 2018-19. ACT government

4 The classification is based on the AHRC Leading for Change report. Multiple responses were allowed.

5 Australian Public Service Commission (2019), APS Employment Data 30 June 2019 Release Section 3: Diversity

6 Australian Public Service Commission (2019), Employee Census Highlights Report: Australian Public Service Overall

7 Australian Public Service Commission (2019), APS Employment Data 30 June 2019 Release Section 3: Diversity

8 Australian Public Service Commission (2019), APS Employment Data 30 June 2019 Release Section 2: Size and Shape of the APS

9 Australian Public Service Commission (2019), APS Employment Data 30 June 2019 Release Section 2: Size and Shape of the APS

10 Australian Public Service Commission (2019), State of the Service Report 2018–19

11 Australian Bureau of Statistics (2017), 6227.0 - Education and Work, Australia, May 2019



14 2013 What Women Want survey report

15 Australian Public Service Commission (2015), APS Statistical Bulletin Table 1 : All employees: sex by employment category, 30 June 2001 to 30 June 2015.

16 Australian Public Service Commission (2019), APS Employment Release Tables - 30 June 19

17 Australian Public Service Commission (2019), APS Employment Data 30 June 2019, Release Section 2: Job Families

18 Australian Bureau of Statistics (2020) Average Weekly Earnings, Australia, Cat No 6302.0, Table 1. Average Weekly Earnings, Trend, November 2019

19 The variation in hours worked by part-time women meant it was not possible to accurately calculate their additional hours.

20 Comcare (2011). Benefits to business: the evidence for investing in worker health and wellbeing

21 Commonwealth of Australia (2019). Our Public Service, Our Future. Independent Review of the Australian Public Service. Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

22 Australian Public Service Commission (2019), State of the Service Report 2018-19.



25 Katie Burgess (2019, 27 September). Robodebt Centrelink compliance program cost $600m to recoup $785m so far. Canberra Times. Retrieved from https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6407984/four-of-five-robodebt-reviews-hit-with-a-debt-as-cost-revealed/

26 Women in Super (2019). The Facts about Women and Super.



28 Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (2018). Australian Government Contract Reporting - Inquiry based on Auditor-General’s report No. 19 (2017-18) - Submission 18

29 Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (2018). Submission to the Australian Public Service Review


31 Productivity Commission (2017). National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Costs, Study Report, Canberra. Retrieved from http://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/ndis-costs/report/ndis-costs2.pdf


Authorised by Melissa Donnelly, Community and Public Sector Union (PSU Group), 7/191-199 Thomas St, Haymarket, NSW, 2000.

2019/20 SURVEY REPORT - Community and Public Sector Union · WHAT WOMEN WANT: 2019/20 SURVEY REPORT...

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