By consciously addressing the ‘gender contract’ at work, employers can dismantle barriers to gender equity and build a workplace where all employees have the opportunity to succeed.
HR professionals often talk about the social contract at work: how will our teams work together? How do we make decisions, communicate and share information?
The principle of the social contract allows us to consider the spoken and unspoken agreements that govern our daily practices and policies.
These contracts don’t just manifest in a workplace environment; they govern our attitudes to behaviour, rules and authority in all aspects of our lives. In their ideal form, they can be a powerful force for good, fostering a sense of unity, cooperation and purpose. However, harmful or antiquated social contracts have the potential to perpetuate bias and unfair practices.
According to Marian Baird, author and Professor of Gender and Employment Relations at the University of Sydney, there is a particular social contract employers should consider in policy design, particularly when it comes to parental leave: the ‘gender contract’.
This intangible contract is made up of a collection of unspoken and spoken guidelines that shape interactions between genders, assigning distinct tasks, worth, duties and expectations to men and women. These rules are often upheld across cultural and organisational frameworks, as well as the ways individuals are brought up within families.
As we strive for greater gender equity, there’s a pressing need to reassess how this contract shapes workplace policies and practices.
“The gender contract should be integrated with the social contract, so that employers, industry [and] government as a whole are much more conscious of the way in which the lives of women as workers operate, as opposed to men as workers,” says Baird, who will be speaking at AHRI’s International Women’s Day virtual event on 12 March.
“Once we do that, it’s much clearer and easier to see the sort of policies you need to address the unpaid care that women do, and to work out ways to share the care between men and women.”
Understanding the ‘gender contract’
Historically, the gender contract positioned men as the primary earners and women as caregivers. While society has evolved, some policy frameworks have lagged, continuing to reinforce outdated stereotypes.
This traditional gender contract has tangible consequences. It contributes to the gender pay gap, limits women’s advancement into leadership roles, and restricts men’s participation in caregiving roles.
Baird points out that the disruption to work during the pandemic exacerbated the existing issue that unpaid domestic work is disproportionately performed by women. At the same time, women’s labour force participation is increasing, leaving many female workers struggling to balance work and care responsibilities.
“Policies begin in a certain way. And it’s quite hard to shift them without a very radical intervention. And you see that in a lot of our policies around work, care and family.” – Marian Baird AO, Professor of Gender and Employment Relations, University of Sydney
Her research has also demonstrated that having a child delivers a boost in men’s hours of work, while women’s hours tend to decline without full recovery.
These issues are indicative of the need for policymakers to acknowledge the gender contract and adjust to the different demands and expectations placed on workers in their personal and professional lives. This is one of the central arguments made by Baird’s latest book, which she co-authored with Elizabeth Hill and Sydney Colussi, titled ‘Turning Point: Work, Care and Family Policies in Australia’.
Many of the pitfalls in existing processes come down to the fact that they lack a holistic approach, instead relying on reactive and incremental changes to existing policies, she says.
“Policies begin in a certain way. And it’s quite hard to shift them without a very radical intervention. And you see that in a lot of our policies around work, care and family,” she says.
“We need an approach that understands it’s a life course, it’s not just one-off events that interrupt our careers – it’s ongoing. And our policies, of course, don’t match that.”
This brings us to the eponymous ‘turning point’ in Baird’s latest book: can we harness the momentum of change in work and care to improve work experiences for parents and foster gender equity?
The role of HR in integrating work and care
Rethinking the gender contract is not just about promoting fairness or equity, says Baird; it’s about creating workplaces that reflect the reality of our lives. By integrating work and care more effectively, organisations can unleash the full potential of their workforce, fostering environments where everyone, regardless of gender, can thrive.
The legislative landscape in the gender equity space is moving in a positive direction, she says – evidenced by recent industrial relations changes such as the end of pay secrecy clauses and the requirement for employers to publish their gender pay gap via the WGEA, which was introduced last week.
Read HRM’s article on what the WGEA pay gap reporting requirements mean for employers.
However, in other areas, particularly surrounding care and parenthood, policy has yet to catch up with the expectations of the workforce.
While many organisations have enhanced their parental leave and flexible work provisions to position themselves as an employer of choice, a stronger government safety net is needed to ensure employees in all sectors have access to the support they need, says Baird.
One of the most important roles employers play in addressing the gender contract is making it easier and less stigmatised for men to work fewer hours to engage in more care work. Research shows this is one area where Australia is lagging behind its global counterparts, and she stresses that closing this gap is essential to achieving pay equity in Australia.
The below graph details the distribution of paid parental leave among mothers and fathers in Australia compared to other countries.
Leading employers in this space have taken positive steps to support the full lifecycle of parenthood for their employees.
“[At the moment], there’s a lot of movement around support for menstruation, endometriosis, IVF, gender transition and menopause,” says Baird.
This movement is encouraging in that it recognises the woman’s body at work and the different circumstances and support required for female employees, she says.
Moves like this also signify employers’ realisation that, if they do not rethink the social and gender contracts impacting their workforces and adjust accordingly, they risk losing top talent in a competitive market.
“The younger generation of female workers are much more attuned to what they need and what they want, and are more outspoken about that at work. They [also] understand the barriers that they’re facing. And the body is one of those areas,” says Baird.
“And the other group [to consider] are older women who are in more leadership positions, who maybe put up with [the traditional gender contract] for a long time, and are now facing menopause and just saying, ‘We’re not going to do it anymore. We’ve got power in the workplace. Now, we want change.’”
Hear more from Marian Baird AO CAHRI along with a range of other experts, including Sam Mostyn AO and Deloitte’s Pip Dexter at AHRI’s International Women’s Day virtual webinar on 12 March. Sign up here.
Giving prospective parents an understanding that the responsibility of parenthood is accepted by the FWA as a shared experience is vital. Carer responsibilities do not have to sit solely with one parent and legislation needs to focus and emphasise this as a right going forward. Many parents will want a choice that enables one parent to take up the role of primary care giver and that is a choice that should be allowed to continue. However, the issue is that the current laws force couples to decide on, “who is the primary carer” and “lock it in”. If the FWA… Read more »
The issue is much broader than gender equality. While it is good to have men and women share the caring responsibilities, the decision of who works part time or takes parental leave is based on financial position. More men are in higher paying roles and with the cost of living increasing, the decision for the woman in a lower paying role mostly puts her in the position of working part time.
the split of caring responsibilities should be left to the decision of individual couples based on what’s best for their family. If a woman wants to be primary caregiver, that’s her choice, and vice versa with fathers.
We have been talking, researching and writing shout such issues for around 40 years and here we are today, Still discussing issues around gender., Let’s not forget the sole male parent who has to decide whether to give up work or downshift their career.
Let’s hope we are not still talking about these issues in another 40 years, One hopes,