Breaking down gender norms – which include conscious and unconscious biases, stereotypes and perceptions – isn’t just about equity, inclusion and participation, though these should be standalone goals for any developed country.
Tackling these corrosive norms could inject $128 billion into the Australian economy.
“Floor, not the ceiling”
“These benefits are really the floor, not the ceiling, for what we can achieve by breaking gender norms,” said Deloitte Access Economics partner Sruthi Srikanthan.
The Breaking the Norm: Unleashing Australia’s economic potential report by Deloitte Access Economics in partnership with Australians Investing in Women, released today, look at how gender norms are holding us back as a society – socially, culturally and economically.
Gender norms limit women's full participation in the paid-work economy, creating a stark gender gap that is only widening in Australia despite years of government policies designed to close it.
The average woman earns just 86 cents for every dollar earned by a man and spends nearly two hours more on domestic work a day.
We hear the lament that there are more men named Andrew than women in the boardroom, and this is not apocryphal – only 6% of top company CEOs are women.
Women’s work
Across a range of indicators – including women’s overrepresentation in unpaid domestic work, the part-time labour force and lower-paid industries – the gap is increasing, while women’s financial independence is hampered by under-investment over their lifetimes, particularly in superannuation.
“The way that Australia has aimed to tackle gender inequality has historically looked at different outcomes of gender norms, like the costs of childcare, the structure of paid parental leave or discriminatory hiring practices,” said Srikanthan.
“What this report shows is that without looking at the common source of these gender gaps, each action only plugs a leak which springs up elsewhere. We need to turn the tap off.”
The report models the economic benefits of closing gender gaps and uses the yardstick of countries with better gender equality, and finds that not just individuals but the nation as a whole can benefit from the smashing of these outdated norms.
Structural barriers
Research tells us that our belief in these norms – such as stereotypes about who is better at maths, for example, or who should take care of kids and the home – start early, and in turn underpin and perpetuate the gender gap.
Such stereotypes translate into fewer women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), and fathers contributing less time to raising children and running the household.
The report said that these misconceptions could lead to structural barriers for women in the workforce. The flow-on effect is that these beliefs become labour market choices, driving differences in pay and participation in the labour market over time.
And these norms that have been perpetuated for centuries are not only holding women back – they are costing our economy in productivity to the tune of $128 billion a year.
Doing away with these attitudes would unlock an additional 461,000 full-time jobs and allow more women to follow their career aspirations.
The report found the boost to the economy would come from more women working in the labour force, more women working paid hours, men participating more fully in unpaid domestic labour and taking on care responsibilities, and a better alignment of people’s skills and qualifications with the roles they take on.
Socially inclusive
And of course, even if these goals didn’t make a cent, outdated gender norms are no loss to our society – breaking them down would help to make a more socially cohesive, inclusive society where everyone truly had a fair go.
We often hear that the march of progress is inevitable and that societal attitudes are changing slowly for the better but a finding from Australian survey data tells us that this is wishful thinking.
There is evidence that younger generations are internalising more traditional gender norms than those before them and that Generation Z men are less likely than baby boomers to think that a father should be as heavily involved in the care of his children as their mother.
If these views go unchallenged, we risk falling even further behind as a nation.
Better mental health for all
“We know that there are so many ways that families, businesses and communities benefit from more equitable ideas around gender – from better mental health for young boys and men, to reduced domestic violence and sexual assault for women and girls," said Srikanthan.
“The key thing is that we need to start this now – before progress stalls even more.
“When nearly a third of men don’t believe in gender inequality, even though gender gaps persist in nearly every aspect of our home, work and political life, our gender problem is much bigger than each individual gender gap.
“Our way of thinking has normalised differences between men and women to the point that we don’t just accept gender gaps, but we expect them.”
Australians Investing in Women CEO Julie Reilly said: “Philanthropy often provides the risk capital necessary to drive social change and there is an incredible opportunity for corporate, private and institutional funders to take a lead on breaking gender norms. Accelerating progress towards gender equality is the ultimate impact investment, capable of delivering a $128 billion payday for the Australian economy.
“This research is a call to action for policy and decision-makers in government, business and the community sector. It recognises the philanthropic sector’s vital role in Australia’s economy, reinforcing the need for private and corporate funders to help address rigid gender norms to accelerate progress."