Young Women,Work and Inequality: Is it What They Want or What They Get? An Australian Contribution to Research on Women and Workforce Participation

Aspirations for Work and Education

3.1 When asked what type of work they would like to be doing at aged 35, 60 per cent of the cohort responded that they wanted full time paid work. Consistent with the results on work, 74.5 per cent of respondents stated that at 35 they would like to have more educational qualifications than at present.

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Aspirations for Ideal Job

3.2 From our survey, we obtained 14,762 individual responses to the question concerning which job each respondent would like to be doing at age 35. The jobs included everything from accountant, animal trainer to truck driver and Prime Minister. In order to organise the responses into something more manageable, we classified the written responses into the Australian Standard Classification of Occupations (ASCO). The results are contained in table 2.

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3.3 At present, only 29.7 per cent are working in jobs classified as professional, and another 14 per cent aspire to professional jobs in the future. This also throws light on the high percentage of women who desire to improve their educational qualifications. It is also instructive to compare the aspirations of the young cohort with the occupational realities of the mid-life cohort. For instance, while 23 per cent of the mid-life cohort is working as clerks, only 3.5 per cent of the young cohort want to be clerks.

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Table 4.

Young women's aspirations compared with mid life realities

Marriage, Relationships and Children

3.4 It is apparent that this group of young women is not solely focused on work and qualifications. When asked about their aspirations for marriage, relationships and children the results were as follows: 85 per cent wanted to be married at age 35 while a further 11 per cent wanted to be in a stable relationship, and 92 per cent wanted children by aged 35. It is worth noting that the majority of the cohort aspire to the top three occupational categories and want one or two children by age 35.

Social class

4.1 The effect of social class on the aspirations of the women is apparent when we disaggregate the results. For instance, 82 per cent of the high-income group want to be in the professional, paraprofessional or manager/ administrator groups compared to 67 per cent of the low-income group. This difference is statistically significant. In relation to the area of sales and personal services, traditionally an area of low pay, the trend is reversed.

Ethnicity

4.2 Identified by country of birth, ethnicity was indicative of significant differences in aspirations for particular types of work at age 35 - in ways that may appear unexpected. When we combine the three categories of professional, para-professional and manager/administrator, the results were illuminating. While 75 per cent of those born in Asia, 70 per cent of those born in Europe (not of English speaking background), 71 per cent born elsewhere (English speaking background - Canada, USA, South Africa, New Zealand) aspired to have jobs within these categories at age 35, a statistically significant lower number of those born in Australia - 65 per cent - held aspirations for these jobs. In other words, young women who came originally from Asia and non- English speaking backgrounds had the most ambitious aspirations. Those born in Australia held the least ambitious aspirations for their ideal job.

Interviews with 57 of the original cohort of young women 4 years later

5.1 Following analysis of the data from the baseline survey, a qualitative study was designed in order to gain more in-depth and longitudinal data from a sample of the cohort. The questions were designed to be both in depth and wide ranging. For the purposes of this paper, we shall limit our discussion to those issues that were explored in the earlier, quantitative study and from which comparisons can be drawn.

Aspirations for Work and Education

5.2 While this is clearly a much smaller sample, it is interesting to note that the majority of the sample 31 (54.4 per cent) still aspires to full time work when they are 35. At the same time, 41 (72 per cent) continue to aspire to further education (despite the fact that many have now completed their first degrees) and 35 (61 per cent) are aspiring to professional or managerial work.

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5.3 The young women were clear in their responses on what appealed to them about full time work. Lyn responded to the question by using phrases such as … a sense of personal satisfaction, mental stimulation, achieving something … and then gathered her thoughts together and expressed them this way:

5.4 Cate, who has ambitions for an acting career, was realistic about the prospects of full time work in this field yet at the same time aspired to full time work at 35.

5.5 Pam also talked about the sense of security associated with full time work and then added:

5.6 The young women were also clear on the connections between the desire for full time work and a career. Helen, for instance, when asked what it was about full-time work that appealed to her, responded:

5.7 Lyn had a similar view when she replied to the same question:

5.8 Carrie confirmed these views and added some comments concerning the disadvantages of part time work for career prospects.

5.9 And what of those women who aspired to part time work at 35. What were the reasons for their choice? While for the majority, their reasons were connected to anticipated child care responsibilities, there were a variety of other reasons for not wanting to work full time and these included a desire for more time for themselves, a more flexible lifestyle and in some cases, an antipathy towards paid work. The latter reason was especially relevant for the young women from low-income areas and will be dealt with separately below.

Aspirations for Ideal Job

5.10 As with the original survey (S1) the, ‘ideal’ jobs the majority of the women in S2, 35 (61 per cent) wanted were clustered in the professional and manager/administrator categories. This is a grouping which does not reflect the current labour market position of women where around 52 per cent of all employed women in Australia work in the two occupational groups of clerical and service workers (elementary, medium and advanced categories combined; ABS 2000 - 2001). In comparison, only 8 (14 per cent) of the respondents in the sub-study aimed to work in this traditionally female area. While 5 (9 per cent) were aiming at para-professional jobs, including nursing, the positions aspired to demonstrated a wide diversity, including such non-traditional areas as; town planning, mining engineering, cinematographer and business executive/CEO positions

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Aspirations for Marriage, Relationships and Children

5.11 The overall proportion of women who indicated they would like to be married at 35 was, at 47 (82 per cent), typically high. A slightly atypical 6 (10 per cent) of women opted for a stable relationship. Of the whole group, 4 (7 per cent) were unsure about whether they wanted a relationship or to eventually marry and this group was composed almost entirely of high-income young women (except for one). When asked what appealed to them about marriage, some distinct themes emerged in the answers. Janine discusses why she would prefer to be married when she has children:

5.12 In Mary's view, children are again the key, and reference is also made to the broader social valuation of marriage.

5.13 Veronica echoed these sentiments:

5.14 Other women expressed similar views and used words such as formality, tradition and security when describing their reasons for favouring marriage. In addition to tradition and security for children, another important and surprising finding was the almost equally common characterisation of the value of marriage as a source of companionship and in the provision of emotional rather than financial support. The following three quotes illustrate these sentiments.

5.15 Taken together, these findings indicate that a ‘companionate’ rather than a ‘bread winner/homemaker’ model of marriage is present amongst this group of women. This is reinforced when we recall that that just 5 (9 per cent) of the group intend to be exclusively homemakers at age 35.

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5.16 The number of children aspired to at age 35 was fairly typical at around one third wanting more than two children and slightly under half of the women wanting one or more children at 35. A small minority 6 (10 per cent) of the women had not yet decided and a smaller minority 3 (5 per cent) wanted no children at all. Changes across time in the number of children desired were mapped. Around 57 per cent of the group had stable desires in this regard with the other third reconsidering their earlier statements. There was no clear pattern in these responses though 8 (14 per cent) of the group wanted more children than previously and approximately 5 (9 per cent) wanted less. Six of the women (11 per cent) were no longer sure how many children they wanted.

5.17 In summary, it is significant that a majority of the sample (54.4 per cent) are still aspiring to full time work when they are 35. We note also that 72 per cent continue to aspire to further education and 62 per cent are aspiring to professional or managerial work. The numbers who definitely want children at 35 is smaller at 82 per cent with 16 per cent now stating that they are either unsure (10.5 per cent) or want no children (5.3 per cent).

Full or Part-time Work

6.1 We acknowledge again that this (S2) study is based on a small sample. Nevertheless, the effect of social class on the aspirations of the women is apparent when the results are disaggregated. This is particularly marked in relation to aspirations for full and part time work but also for choices regarding marriage and children. In relation to the hours of work aspired to, the class background of the respondents had a clear effect. While 22 (67 per cent) of the high-income respondents aspired to full time work at 35, only 9 (37.5 per cent) of the low-income respondents had the same aspiration. In relation to part time work the trend is reversed. (See Table 10)

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6.2 We are able to grasp the longitudinal dimensions of this set of aspirations when we compare the responses of the women from the low and high-income groups in 1996 and the year 2000. (See Table 11)

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6.3 It became apparent during the interviews that a discernible pattern was emerging between the two groups in the language used by the women to describe their reasons for wanting different types of work. Out of the six quotes presented above, from the women describing what it is that appeals to them about full time work, only one was from a woman from a low income background (Helen). More typical were these comments from Karen:

6.4 She then goes on to say

6.5 With these comments we get a sense of work being something that must be done rather than a source of fulfilment and pleasure. Amanda echoed these comments with her reply to the question on what it was that appealed to her about part-time work.

6.6 Amanda was not the only woman from the low-income group who had encountered work and had not particularly liked the experience. Kirsty had stated in 1996 that at age 35 she wanted to be in full time work. By 2000 she had changed to wanting part time work and her reasons for this are interesting. To the initial question on what appealed to her about part time work, she replied that at that time she hoped to have children and that was causing her to change her mind. Later in the interview it became apparent that she was at a crossroads in relation to her career and future plans. Partly this was due to a change in government policy. While in 1996 she had thought she could combine having children with a full time career, she now felt that this would not be possible.

6.7 Well I guess what I mean with being a teacher, they're just bringing out the new (teachers) award and that's saying that the Minister for Education wants schools to be open from 7am to 10pm at night and that's like a sort of baby sitting service so I guess that would probably be an issue that would be in the forefront of my mind and the huge amount of money that it seems to cost to put your children into care if you're working full time.

6.8 Later in the interview she enlarged on the more personal reasons for wanting to get out of her current job.

6.9 Kirsty enlarged on other sources of stress for teachers, in particular, the way that most of the responsibility for children's behaviour and future prospects were now perceived to be the responsibility of teachers. She then went on to explain:

6.10 In the case of Kirsty, we get a real sense that part of the attractiveness of the ‘family option’ at this stage is that it provides her with a rationale for leaving a job which she finds stressful and which has not fulfilled her hopes and expectations. There were, of course, others in the low-income group who had more positive experiences with and more positive attitudes about work. There was, however, a tendency for the women from the high-income group to be more positive and enthusiastic about the idea of work and career and importantly about their work experiences. We decided to submit this apparent tendency to more rigorous scrutiny by undertaking a content analysis of the various answers provided by the respondents in relation to their attitudes, experiences and feelings about work.

Aspirations for Ideal Job

7.3 While the difference is fairly small between the aspirations of the low and high-income groups for professional work, the differences are more marked in the aspirations of the women in the different groups for work in two key areas. In the category of Clerical/Sales and Personal Services, a traditional and relatively low paid area of work for women, only 2 (6 per cent) of women from the high-income group had aspirations to work in this sector compared to 6 (25 per cent) of women from the low-income group. In relation to the sector Management/Administration, historically an area dominated by men and characterised by relatively high paying jobs, 5 (21 per cent) of the women from the low income group compared to 10 (30 per cent) of the women from the high income group had aspirations to work in this sector.

7.4 In relation to the direction and type of changes in aspiration in both categories of respondents, a higher percentage of high-income young women (36 per cent of high income compared with 20 per cent of low-income respondents) had stable aspirations across both time points. More high income women indicated they intended to aim for a consultancy or to hold a managerial position in the same general area of employment they aspired to previously than did low income young women (21 per cent and 12.5 per cent).

7.5 Kate encapsulated the confidence and ambitions of many others from the high-income group when she answered a question on what it was about management that appealed to her:

Aspirations for Marriage, Relationships and Children

7.6 As we have seen, significantly differing aspirations are held amongst the two groups of young women and this is also evident in their attitudes to partnerships. Whilst 23 (96 per cent) of the low income young women remained committed to the ideal of marriage, slightly over a quarter of the high income women were unsure about marriage by 35 or wanted to be unmarried but in a stable committed relationship at that point. None of the low-income group indicated that they would prefer such a relationship at 35. Members of this group were unsure about whether or not they planned to marry, but did not choose the relationship option.

7.7 A substantial minority 6 (18.2 per cent) of their high-income counterparts did, however, choose relationships over marriage at 35. This may prove be an effect of the young women's stage in the life course, or it may be indicative of a decline in the pervasiveness of the marriage ideal among some social groups. It is also instructive to take a look at the reasons given for this choice. Amongst the women who preferred relationships to marriage the main reasons for this departure was a perception of marriage as unnecessary to a stable relationship. The formalisation of such a bond was seen as redundant. This theme is taken up in Amanda's response below

The Group as a Whole

8.1 The data from these cross-sectional and longitudinal studies present a rich and complex picture of the aspirations held by a large cohort of young, Australian women for work, marriage/relationships, children and their ideal job. Importantly, this study has produced both quantitative and qualitative data that has allowed the examination of the stated preferences of young women over a range of life choices. We are now in a position to know at least what these women want. These data also give us information that enhance our understanding of the causes of labour market segmentation, going beyond explanations that rely on the notion of individual choice and preferment.

8.2 In relation to preference for type of work, a majority of women in the original, large cohort (S1) and the smaller sub-set re- questioned four years later (S2) stated that at age 35 they wanted to be in full-time paid work outside the home. These figures appeared to indicate a serious commitment to a future in which paid work plays a significant and ongoing role in their lives. The responses to the questions in the baseline survey are particularly significant given the size and profile of the cohort. They cast serious doubt on the schema developed by Hakim of three groups of women, the largest consisting of ‘adapters’ with two smaller groups making up either work centred or home centred orientations. 0ur data indicate that the young women in this large study simply do not correspond to Hakim's three groups. These young women have a strong commitment to work and ongoing education at the same time as wanting marriage and children and time to spend with their children. In this they resemble the women in the study reported by Looker and Magee (2000) who noted that while the women in their study expected to take responsibility for most of the child-care, this did not affect their choice of career. In this they differ markedly from earlier studies of young women who regarded marriage as a career in itself.

8.3 These conclusions were reinforced in the year 2000 sub-study (S2) that demonstrated a similar percentage of the women continue to aspire to full-time work and more education at 35. The quantitative evidence is enhanced by comments from the women who took part in the qualitative study who demonstrated an understanding of the links between education, hours of work and career attainment to their ideal job. Their comments also revealed a perception about the limitations of part-time work for their career aspirations.

8.4 How then do we make sense of the disjuncture between the relatively low number of women aspiring to part-time work (31 per cent) and current workforce realities which indicate that since 1991 most of the steady upward trend in the average labour force participation rate for women in Australia can be accounted for by an increase in women's part-time employment? Indeed, during this period, women in the labour force were about three times more likely than men to be employed part-time (ABS, 2002). The economist Bob Gregory has pointed out that the other side of this picture concerns the fact that since 1966, the proportion of women in full-time jobs has been ‘stuck’ at 30 per cent (Sydney Morning Herald, February 20, 2002). This issue goes to the heart of the debate about preference and agency and structure and constraint. Certainly there is evidence from this study and elsewhere that women prefer part-time work while they are caring for pre-school children. There is also evidence that women with school age children are more likely to want full-time work in the future (Walsh, 1999:197). We believe that there is sufficient evidence to conclude that many women want different work at different times but that it is much harder to get out of part-time work than it is to get into it. This is confirmed by other researchers, such as Rubery, Horrell and Burchell (1994), Probert (1994), Jacobs (1999) and Walsh (1999). Yet Hakim insists that there is now a substantial body of research which shows that ‘women who work part-time differ systematically from women with full-time jobs, in their work orientations and labour market behaviour’ (Hakim 2000:101). Our findings, at the very least, cast doubt on this conclusion.

8.5 The findings on aspirations for work are reinforced by comments from the young women on marriage, children and relationships in the sense that marriage does not appear to be seen as a career in itself. When questioned on what appealed to them about marriage or a permanent relationship, the women's answers clustered around the ideas of tradition and social legitimacy, stability for children and the notion of companionship and emotional support. None of the women spoke of financial support as a reason for the appeal of marriage. It seems that they see their work as providing financial security and their relationship as providing companionship, stability for themselves and their children and, importantly, emotional support.

Aspirations and Social Class

8.6 A much more complex picture emerged when we disaggregated the respondents in both S1 and S2 by dividing our respondents into areas marked by low and high-income households. On almost every significant issue, there were clear and patterned differences in responses to questions on aspirations. The different attitudes to work coupled with aspirations to very different kinds of work and strategies to deal with combining work and children indicate that there is something deeper, more structural operating here that is entrenched and stable over time. In her most recent book, Hakim states:

8.7 Most studies find that the polarisation trend cuts across social class and income groups, indicating that socio-economic factors are no longer dominant, at least not for the sexual division of labour. (Hakim 2000: 127)

8.8 In this study, we have found it to be the most significant marker of difference. In this the study is consistent with recent work by Poole and Langan-Fox (1990), Burris (1991), and Andres et al (1999), but not with the study by Looker and Magee (2000). These results are also consistent with the literature on social class, which focuses on the connections between poverty and the distribution of life chances. Bourdieu (1977), for instance, has theorised the centrality of the education system in reproducing class inequalities. This approach is supported by the statistical analysis of social mobility by writers such as Goldthorpe (1980) and Gallie (1988), who demonstrate that the chances for entering secure, well paid, ‘middle class’ jobs are much higher for the sons, and to a lesser extent the daughters, of middle class parents than for the children of working class parents. To these general findings on class obstacles to social mobility has been added detailed statistical analysis by Gregory and Hunter (1995) on inequalities among Australian neighbourhoods. These authors have found that living in a low status neighbourhood can have a detrimental effect on employment or level of participation in the labour market. In this context, it is possible to see the lower occupational aspiration levels of the young women from the low-income areas as realistic in relation to their overall life chances. Yet, at the same time, the aspirations of the young women from the low-income areas are still higher than the current female participation rates in professional occupations. Clearly these general findings and the findings for effects of class have serious political and policy implications for areas as diverse as, child-care, workers rights, higher education, equity programs and superannuation. They indicate that we are far from the utopia of late modernity, and that further policy development and legislation will be necessary if we are to ameliorate the effects of patriarchy and class on the lives of women in the context of globalisation.

Critique of ‘Preference Theory’

8.9 Our findings on the aspirations of a group of young women as a whole, in addition to the effect of class on those divided into high and low income households, contradict the key tenets of preference theory, in particular the concept of the heterogeneity of women developed and proposed by Hakim to explain labour market segregation. Rather than finding vertical boundaries between women who are divided (and have different interests) through early-formed commitments to work and family, we have found (at least for this stage of their lives) that the most significant division among the women is horizontal - social and economic class. In addition to casting doubt on the methodological adequacy of preference theory, these findings alert us to some fundamental problems with the theory. These problems relate to the reliance of the theory on the idea of free-floating preferences that apparently exist outside relations of social power. Interestingly, power can be seen operating in the historical processes that resulted in what Hakim conceptualises as the five great changes in society and the labour market which started in the 20th century and which have produced a qualitatively different and new scenario of options and opportunities for women. ^[1]

8.10 Yet, crucially, it appears that for Hakim outside of these great historical events free individual decision-making takes over when it comes to women's preferences, which theoretically and practically take place in a power vacuum or alternatively are determined by the unseen hand of varying levels of the male hormone, testosterone (Hakim 2000:282). Without a concept of power that is inherent in the process of preferment and choice (Lukes, 1974), power operates exclusively outside human agency and history becomes merely the context and backdrop for human action rather than its substance and outcome (Connell, 1983).

8.11 In order to achieve an explanatory theory that is both useful and also sociological, account must be taken of social context and the social inter-penetration of gender, personality formation and class relations and the resulting pre-dispositions toward various choice and preference options. It must be capable of producing a sociological explanation that allows for the exploration and analysis of the operation of power at the level of individual choice. Such a theory, which is beyond the scope of this paper, would also need to avoid the traps of structural determinism, on the one hand, and voluntarism on the other. It would need to be able to account for ‘invention within limits’ (Bourdieu quoted in Connell, 1983:145), or, to paraphrase Marx, it would need to account for the capacity of the young women to make history, but not necessarily in conditions of their own choosing.