This question is asked in the Benchmarks for Work and Family Policies produced for the coming Federal election by a group of feminist academics, including myself. It raises the wider question of why existing policies are so weak in this area that we still need to construct tests against which to assess the parties’ proposals.
Australia, as a developed country with a large surplus, is still well behind equivalent countries in its recognition that paid workers have families – and vice versa. We are one of only two OECD countries that have no national scheme for paid parental leave of any kind. We lack accessible, quality, affordable child care and do not have enough care for other family members who cannot manage alone. These deficits could explain why our workforce participation rates for mothers are well below many equivalent countries.
The criteria developed by the Australian Work and Family Policy Roundtable (W+FPR) for assessing policies for improving work and family interactions are not rocket science. They are simply realistic research-based proposals for a better fit between paid work and family time and tasks. Total hours worked is one element, but the criteria also include assessment of the flexibility, location, predictability and preferences which make the balancing of varied roles possible.
The W+FPR benchmarks include eleven guiding principles and nine specific policy recommendations for consideration in a Charter for Work and Family.
Assessment against these fairly basic benchmarks generates a low scorecard for either of the major parties (see table below). Neither hastaken up the ideas in toto or seriously accepted the need to make ‘a strong commitment to improving the reconciliation of work and family in Australia (and) adopt a Charter for Work and Family’ which gives attention to the specific issues addressed in the benchmarks.
The ALP is obviously ahead but from a very low base, so we wait and watch for more attention to this area of policy.
