Educating women: Cracks in the glass ceiling
Associate Professor Helen Forgasz
By Helen Forgasz
In Australia, in 2012, women’s educational participation and outcomes remain mixed. The gross data look promising, yet when they are disaggregated into discipline areas and occupational fields, the picture is far less rosy. The reality of gender equity has not yet been realised.
School enrolment data show that gender-stereotyped patterns have changed little over time. More females (53 per cent of cohort) than males were enrolled in the Victorian Certificate of Education (Year 12) in 2011; males remained dominant in the physical sciences, and females in the humanities. For example, females only comprised 43 per cent of Mathematical Methods CAS, 20 per cent of Physics, and seven per cent of Software Development enrolments, but 71 per cent of Literature, 64 per cent of Biology, and 58 per cent of Chinese Second Language enrolments.
The 2011 VCE achievement data also revealed some persistent patterns of gender difference over time, particularly in the physical science subjects. Mixed results were noted for humanities subjects and the other sciences. In Mathematical Methods CAS, Chemistry, and Literature, for example, higher proportions of males than females achieved the grades A+ or A for each of the three assessment tasks. For Physics the same was true for the two examination tasks but not the school-assessed task, and for Chinese Second Language higher proportions of females than males scored A+ or A on all three assessed components. There was virtually no gender difference in the Biology or Software Development results.
In January, the ABS released statistics on “Gender Indicators”. Among 20-24 year olds in 2011, 86.7 per cent of females and 81.6 per cent of males had attained at least Year 12 or Certificate II qualifications.
In the 25-29 age range, there was also a higher proportion of women (41 per cent) than men (30 per cent) with at least a bachelor-level tertiary degree.
About equal proportions of women (63 per cent) and men (64 per cent) aged 30-34 had attained non-school qualifications (Certificate III or above); the increase between 2002 and 2011 was greater for women (19 per cent) than for men (nine per cent).
The apparent secondary school retention rate to Year 12 was higher for females (83 per cent) than for males (73 per cent) in 2010.
Women aged 15-64 also have higher literacy and numeracy skill levels than their male counterparts.
The profile of educational participation for women looks better than for men. But, does the claim from the ABS that “[H]igher levels of educational attainment are associated with increased employment opportunities and higher wage rates” hold up for women? The answer is clearly “no” with respect to starting salaries.
In 2011, the median starting salaries for bachelor degree graduates in their first job show a $2000 difference in favour of men ($50,000 for women; $52,000 for men), a consistent pattern over the past decade. When disaggregated, there were 14 occupational fields with higher male starting salaries (e.g., economics and business, law, medicine and dentistry), six for which females started higher (e.g., social work, physical science and veterinary science), and three with identical starting salaries (e.g., education, mathematics and engineering).
ABS figures show that female labour force participation had increased from 60.3 per cent to 65.3 per cent over the last decade, while male rates only increased from 78.1 per cent to 79.7 per cent. In May 2010, the median adult hourly ordinary time cash earnings for females was at 93 per cent of that of males, an increase from the 89 per cent rate in 2006. It would augur well for the future if the increase in female participation in the workforce and women’s higher educational qualifications were identified as contributing factors to this positive pattern.
Yet female presence in high profile positions in Australian society remains relatively low. Although there have been females holding high political office in Australia in recent years, overall female representation in federal government only increased by about 2 per cent to 29 per cent in the last decade. In 2011, women only comprised three per cent of CEOs of the top 200 companies in Australia, a decrease from eight per cent in 2003. However, among Commonwealth judges and magistrates, the female proportion rose from 22 per cent in 2002 to 29 per cent in 2011.
Australian legislation and policy efforts aimed at attaining gender equity across all aspects of society have, over time, clearly had some effect. Women are capitalising on educational opportunities available to them, yet appear to remain focussed on gaining qualifications leading to lower paid occupations. Men continue to earn more than women and dominate in high-profile positions, despite having lower overall educational rates. Gender-stereotyped societal expectations may remain implicated in the current situation. It will be interesting to continue to track the gender indicators identified by the ABS.
Cracks in the glass ceiling may have appeared, but breaks in the glass and a gender equitable Australian society are still some way off.
Associate Professor Helen Forgasz works in the Faculty of Education at Monash University.