. Chapter 7 Women in Male Dominated Industries John Burgess, Lindy Henderson and Glenda Strachan Copyright  2010 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs to accompany Strachan, French and Burgess, Managing Diversity 7-1

. The research project Research question: What factors within a company makes for a ‘good’ job and a ‘bad’ job in two very similar institutional environments for a group of minority workers? Why did female workers at one workplace feel valued, informed and respected while those at the other workplace felt marginalised and even ostracised? Methods: two case studies involving analysis of documentary material, e.g. enterprise agreements, and interviews with employees and managers. Copyright  2010 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs to accompany Strachan, French and Burgess, Managing Diversity 7-2

. The two companies Copyright  2010 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs to accompany Strachan, French and Burgess, Managing Diversity 7-3

. Recruitment Both companies sought to recruit women into non- traditional areas but with limited success. MM has made efforts to provide women with a safe working environment and access to career advancement, and several women are in line management. For EM, eliminating occupational segregation was a priority area. Yet women in non- traditional areas are few, and did not necessarily find a welcome environment: ‘When I first started here, my foreman told me that women shouldn’t be working in this industry’ (woman in manual trades). There were no career paths available to women in the clerical area, and those in the production area had to contend with a hostile workplace. Copyright  2010 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs to accompany Strachan, French and Burgess, Managing Diversity 7-4

. Advancement At MM the company paid fees and/or provided leave to attend training courses and further education. This was not the case at EM. Several women were undertaking courses outside work hours in order to leave EM. These women were committed to careers and were seeking advancement, but not with their current employer. MM has used its recent restructuring to position more women in management roles, but a similar opportunity has been lost at EM, a difference explained by the culture of the organisation and the kind of expertise managers are seen to need. EM had only promoted professional engineers to management roles, thus limiting the chances of women progressing to management. Copyright  2010 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs to accompany Strachan, French and Burgess, Managing Diversity 7-5

. Work–life balance Maintaining a work–life balance was not a gender issue at MM: ‘We have a lot of males in the workforce that are single dads, or relationships have broken down, where we have to be flexible with their working hours, which is difficult when they work the kind of rosters that they do’ (female manager). In contrast, a manager at EM thought that child care was predominantly a women’s issue. Part-time work, job-sharing, flexible working hours, and the opportunity to transfer between part-time and full- time work as family needs dictated were a source of satisfaction among employees at MM and the lack of them a source of deep dissatisfaction at EM. Part-time work was not generally available at EM and women were angry that they could not take even a few hours off work without penalty to attend to family matters. Copyright  2010 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs to accompany Strachan, French and Burgess, Managing Diversity 7-6

. Women in male-dominated companies Women are the ‘outsiders’ in traditionally male-dominated industries. Organisational differences shape the experiences of women employees. Organisational structures and managerial attitudes have implications for the quality of women’s jobs. Even in the one industry sector and in the same regional labour market, organisational and managerial practices can differ significantly, resulting in different outcomes for women in male-dominated workplaces. Copyright  2010 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs to accompany Strachan, French and Burgess, Managing Diversity 7-7

. The construction of ‘good’ jobs and ‘bad’ jobs The differences are not due to differences in industries, institutional conditions, competitive conditions, union activism, gender workforce composition or workforce location. Both companies complied with EEO legislation and both had formal equity policies. The answer lies in the areas of managerial commitment and workplace culture. Workplace organisation, management style and company culture were potent determinants of women’s experience as workers. The critical role of senior management and line supervisors in supporting flexible work practices is confirmed in these case studies. Copyright  2010 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs to accompany Strachan, French and Burgess, Managing Diversity 7-8

. What factors determine the experience of the job? There are obvious differences in the conditions of employment between the two companies including access to training, career opportunities, and flexible working and leave arrangements The subjective experience of women workers also differed in terms of how they perceived their status in the company and how satisfied they were with their work. This was associated with the construction of ‘women’s work’, attitudes of supervisors and managers towards women workers, and the gendered construction of beliefs and practices regarding commitment to work and career development. Copyright  2010 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs to accompany Strachan, French and Burgess, Managing Diversity 7-9

. What factors determine the experience of the job? (cont.) Copyright  2010 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs to accompany Strachan, French and Burgess, Managing Diversity 7-10 Both were masculine companies in terms of workforce and workplace profile, but MM’s managers had made positive efforts to open up the workplace to women and to retain women workers. Women felt valued at MM. No such accommodation or encouragement was offered at EM. Women at EM did not comply with the prevailing male norm in regard to what a ‘job’ is. At EM a job was still regarded as full-time, ongoing and production-centred, with no deviations from this norm. At MM differences from this norm were facilitated and accommodated. EEO policies and programs were integrated into MM’s corporate management plan, whereas EM had made no attempt to do this.

. Conclusion This research highlights how the legislative requirements relating to EEO program development and EEO reporting do not in themselves generate workplaces where EEO conditions are implemented and also experienced by employees. There is a need when assessing the effectiveness of EEO programs to examine the managerial commitment to EEO programs and the extent to which the experience of women workers matches the ideals of stated EEO programs. Copyright  2010 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs to accompany Strachan, French and Burgess, Managing Diversity 7-11