Business and Economics National Pay Equity Forum Spotlight on SMEs Hosted by economic Security 4 woman and the Office for Women Dr Susan Mayson Department of Management Monash University 5 th September 2013
What do we know about women in SMEs and gender pay equity? – Very little data/research on gender equity/gender pay equity in Australian SMEs (but see Barrett & Mayson, 2008 on PML and Barrett & Mayson (in preparation) on gender pay equity) – We can extrapolate some information various statistical reports on SMEs eg RBA, 2012 and DIISRTE, 2012, HILDA data. – Fair Work Australia research reports provide some understanding of how employment matters in SMEs play out eg FWA Enterprise Case Studies: Effects of minimum wage-setting. – Some studies about management practices, employment arrangements and gender pay equity in SMEs again see Barrett & Mayson 2006 & 2007 (Aust) also Woodhams & Lupton, 2006, 2009 (UK) – We really have more questions than answers on the issue 2
We know small firms are numerous, economically important and significant sources of employment (including new employment) not only for workers but also for owner-managers Employment and value added by firm size Firm Size Share of Employment % Share of Value Added % Small (0 -19) 45. 7 33. 7 Medium (20 -199) 24. 3 23. 4 Large (200+) 29. 9 42. 9 Source: Dept Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education (2012) Australian Small Business: Key Statistics and Analysis, December, 2012. See also RBA, (2012) Small Business: An economic overview, May 2012. 3
We also know that many small firms are located in the service industry, an industry where many women are employed Small firm employment by industry Industry % Services 84. 4 Agriculture, forestry & fishing 9. 1 Mining 0. 5 Manufacturing 6. 0 Source: Dept Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education (2012) Australian Small Business: Key Statistics and Analysis, December, 2012 4
In female dominated sectors of the service industry, there is significant employment in small firms Sector % employment in small businesses % small business in sector Health care and social assistance 34. 4 45. 3 Accommodation and food 51. 2 41. 5 Retail 38. 4 38. 7 Admin and Support 33. 6 36. 8 Arts and recreation 38. 5 27. 2 Ed and training 28. 2 17. 5 Source: Dept Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education (2012) Australian Small Business: Key Statistics and Analysis, December, 2012 5
In terms of people management we know small firms…. § Are characterised by – Highly personalised management by owner-manager (Beaver and Jennings, 2005) – Employment relations and HR practices (where they exist) shaped by owner-managers’ values and perceptions (eg the sense they make of work and employment in the context of their firm and its environment) (Edwards et al, 2006; Baron and Hannan 2003 etc) – Informality in management practices (Barrett & Mayson) (can bring both positives and negatives to the firm (see Marlow et al 2009) – Employment relationship can be treated as an social relationship, rather than an economic relationship as a result of personal and familial ties and good communication between small group of employees and ownermanager – Stereotyped as being resistant to change/sensitive to cost increases and regulatory burden (see Barrett, Mayson & Bahn forthcoming) 6
We know there is reliance on awards for terms and conditions of employment § 12. 9% of small firms use award (only) for determining wages and conditions § 29. 7% of small firms adopted a combination of award and other arrangements for determining wages and conditions § 57. 4% used non-award arrangements Source: Fair Work Australia Research Report 1/2012 Award-reliant small businesses (data drawn from Business Longitudinal Database) 7
Small firms are said to offer advantages of flexibility for workers but this not apparent in employment arrangements by firm size Employment arrangements 0 -4 % 5 -19 % 20 -199 % 200+ % Flexible hours 47. 5 64. 7 69. 6 88 Flexible leave arrangements buy/cashout leave/LWP 11. 6 28. 2 48. 1 72 Determine own roster 19. 1 27. 5 28. 3 33 Job sharing 7. 1 16. 5 20 40 Work from home 21. 8 17. 7 32. 6 58 Paid Parental Leave 2. 2 6. 0 18. 4 49 Flexible use of personal, sick, unpaid, compassionate leave 17 34. 2 60 85 Source: ABS Cat. No. 8167. 0 Dept Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education (2012) Australian Small Business: Key Statistics and Analysis, December, 2012, p. 32. 8
Basic HRM practices a step towards good people management and gender pay equity § Job analysis – Job description and person specification • Tasks, skills, abilities, experience and responsibilities • Key performance indicators (for performance management later on) • Job evaluation to inform rewards? § Recruitment and selection – Recruit on basis of job description – Look more broadly for applicants – Select for skills, abilities and experience § Remuneration – Modern awards as basis – Market intelligence § Compliant and good practice employment arrangements – National Employment Standard as the bottom line – Advice on good practice eg written policies See Barrett’s findings on Gender Pay Equity in Small firms for e. S 4 W 9
What to do next? § More research on gender pay equity in Australian small firms – Qualitative – how do small firm owners make sense of people management and equitable practices? § Develop check lists/advice sheets on – – Job analysis and job descriptions Ways to broaden applicant pool Merit based decision-making Questions employers can ask themselves that will help surface their underlying assumptions about people § Develop training materials in the form of case studies/vignettes on issues such as – – Formalising people management practices Merit-based decision making Work value and valuing comparable work Compliance with Fair Work and other regulatory provisions 10
Скачать презентацию Business and Economics National Pay Equity Forum Spotlight
843b125c4d3c1bea3875ecc5e2997a10.ppt