IB Woman
Issue No. 34 - April/May 2007
Decline in Australian women‘s attitude towards workplace opportunities
Australian women's perception of their place in the workforce, in particular their views on their position and earnings, has declined significantly over the last 12 months, according to the MasterIndexTM of Women’s Advancement released by MasterCard Worldwide.
The final figures show how close, or how far, women in each market come to being equal to men. A score under 100 indicates gender inequality in favour of males while a score above 100 indicates inequality in favour of females. A score of 100 indicates equality between the sexes. Australian women’s overall perception of their advancement verses men’s has dropped from 89.07 (where 100 equals equality with men) to 76.18 in the last year, despite Australian women reaching parity to men in the area of labour force participation.
The study found that women’s perception in their position, classified as ‘managerial’ in status, has declined from 90.67 to 55.13, while their perception that they earn at least the median income has dropped 15.41 to 66.20 in composite score. Commenting on the results, Georgette Tan, vice president, Communications, Asia/Pacific, Middle East & Africa, MasterCard Worldwide said: “It is somewhat surprising that Australian women’s perception towards career advancement has declined, given the strength of the Australian economy and the demand for workers in almost all sectors. One possible explanation is that the resources boom has been at the heart of...
