Behind the scenes: diversity management paradigm shifts and sticking points. Many Australian organisations miss out on the potential benefits of workforce diversity because they do not manage diversity effectively. This project will investigate how organisations can initiate and direct change processes to manage diversity more effectively, and as a result, experience higher productivity and employee engagement.
The impact of institutional pressure on the management of organisational gender diversity. Women’s low representation in senior management and boards led to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) requiring listed companies to report on gender diversity. This project examines if women’s representation is changing in response to the ASX requirements and identifies organisational strategies for achieving sustainable gender diversity.
Breaking free: How organisations become front runners in gender diversity. This project aims to understand why a few exceptional organisations make substantive progress toward gender equality when so many of their competitors fail. Gender equality has social and economic value but despite decades of equal opportunity legislation and investment in gender initiatives, gender inequality persists in organisations all around the world. The project’s case study methodology examines how gender diversi ....Breaking free: How organisations become front runners in gender diversity. This project aims to understand why a few exceptional organisations make substantive progress toward gender equality when so many of their competitors fail. Gender equality has social and economic value but despite decades of equal opportunity legislation and investment in gender initiatives, gender inequality persists in organisations all around the world. The project’s case study methodology examines how gender diversity front runners align their diversity policies and practices with their internal identity and external reputation to produce substantive change. Understanding these dynamic processes will identify strategies that laggard organisations can adopt to make greater progress toward gender equality.Read moreRead less
Employment outcomes for people with disabilities: enhancing fit perceptions of jobseekers, employment agencies, community members and employers. Nearly four million people in Australia have a disability. People with disabilities experience a high unemployment rate. Current policy encourages the placement of disabled job seekers in disability-focused enterprises. This project will identify strategies to facilitate the placement of disabled job seekers in mainstream organisations.
Trade union futures: purposes, capacities and organisation towards a green transition. What is the future of trade unions? They face uncertain futures especially in the traditional industrial communities. While unions are aware of these challenges it is unclear how they will renew themselves to meet the new conditions. The research will show how unions can contribute to an environmentally sustainable world.
Enforcing labour standards in supply chains through voluntary frameworks. This project aims to investigate the potential of multi-stakeholder initiatives to ensure the enforcement of labour standards in supply chains by examining the cleaning accountability framework - an initiative comprised of diverse representatives in the commercial cleaning supply chain in Australia. It is expected that this will result in the development of new regulatory methods/technology to improve compliance. This is e ....Enforcing labour standards in supply chains through voluntary frameworks. This project aims to investigate the potential of multi-stakeholder initiatives to ensure the enforcement of labour standards in supply chains by examining the cleaning accountability framework - an initiative comprised of diverse representatives in the commercial cleaning supply chain in Australia. It is expected that this will result in the development of new regulatory methods/technology to improve compliance. This is expected to improve the quality of life of vulnerable workers in supply chains and the mitigation of reputational risk for business.
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Unions and Regional Regeneration. Unions face many challenges in older industrial regions, where they previously have had a strong presence. Successful regeneration of such regions depends on the active involvement of unions and their members as well as business. In some places, however, unions have remained marginal to these processes. Not only does this project extend theory on union purpose, capacities and organisation in support of economic, political and environmental change towards sustain ....Unions and Regional Regeneration. Unions face many challenges in older industrial regions, where they previously have had a strong presence. Successful regeneration of such regions depends on the active involvement of unions and their members as well as business. In some places, however, unions have remained marginal to these processes. Not only does this project extend theory on union purpose, capacities and organisation in support of economic, political and environmental change towards sustainable futures, it applies a novel combination of methods. This application examines the consequences of involvement and non-involvement in these processes. The project seeks to extend theories of social change and social mobilisation.Read moreRead less
Understanding gender inequality in the post-pandemic future of work. This project examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis on the working futures of young women and men in three advanced market economies where the pandemic hit with varying degrees of severity. Young people have experienced the greatest upheaval of all workers, and the impact has been gendered. Recovery strategies will have lasting consequences for women’s and men’s working futures. The project will produc ....Understanding gender inequality in the post-pandemic future of work. This project examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis on the working futures of young women and men in three advanced market economies where the pandemic hit with varying degrees of severity. Young people have experienced the greatest upheaval of all workers, and the impact has been gendered. Recovery strategies will have lasting consequences for women’s and men’s working futures. The project will produce macro-level mapping of post-pandemic national work/care regimes, and micro-level survey data on young people’s experience of and attitudes to the future of work in Australia, the UK and Japan, to deliver insights on the gendered economic and social impact of the pandemic and inform a more inclusive global recovery.Read moreRead less
Smashing Glass Walls: Building gender equality in male-dominated jobs. This project investigates gender segregation, which is a remarkably resilient problem in the Australian labour market, despite women's increasing labour force participation and strong educational attainment. It examines this problem with a focus on women’s careers in very male-dominated occupations. In these contexts, women enter in low numbers, find it difficult to progress, and face extremely hostile working environments. ....Smashing Glass Walls: Building gender equality in male-dominated jobs. This project investigates gender segregation, which is a remarkably resilient problem in the Australian labour market, despite women's increasing labour force participation and strong educational attainment. It examines this problem with a focus on women’s careers in very male-dominated occupations. In these contexts, women enter in low numbers, find it difficult to progress, and face extremely hostile working environments. Adopting a career stage, a worker- and industry-engaged, and a comparative design, the project will generate new insight into where and how sustainable careers for women are challenged in these contexts. This knowledge will inform strategies to build gender equality in jobs at the heart of the economy.
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Working longer, staying healthy and keeping productive. Working longer, staying healthy and keeping productive. This project aims to develop a policy suite to respond to an older workforce. By 2060, nearly half of Australians aged 64 or older will be employed. Failure to address their health problems could threaten Australia’s economy, tax base and provision of health and care services. This collaboration between national policy portfolios (employment, social services, workplace health and socia ....Working longer, staying healthy and keeping productive. Working longer, staying healthy and keeping productive. This project aims to develop a policy suite to respond to an older workforce. By 2060, nearly half of Australians aged 64 or older will be employed. Failure to address their health problems could threaten Australia’s economy, tax base and provision of health and care services. This collaboration between national policy portfolios (employment, social services, workplace health and social equity) and expert scientists in work, health, social equality and policy process intends to reveal the diversity of older workers’ work-health dilemmas and effective ways for national policies to solve them. The policy suite will promote financial independence and meet social goals of equity and healthy ageing.Read moreRead less