Kate Ellis’s commitment to EOWA. Why the $11.2 million investment is not enough.

The Australian Minister for the Status of Women, Kate Ellis, recently announced $11.2 million funding to update and properly resource the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency (EOWA). For politicians, there are times when it’s worth trumpeting an initiative and times when it’s not. In this case, I believe that overall, the government would have been well served by keeping under the radar with this one. Why? My analysis follows. Please note; the opinions expressed in all my blog posts are my own and do not reflect Australian Businesswomen’s Network policy or perspective. On a positive note, the announcement indicates that the Gillard government now appears to have recognised the need to implement as part of its equity agenda the policy position that workplace inequities suffered predominantly by women due to their interrupted work patterns will continue, until interrupted work patterns become mainstream across Australia’s workforce. Targets, quotas, reporting requirements and changes of terminology are only band aid solutions – while they might temporarily cover up the symptoms, they won’t cure the disease. Accordingly, I find it very encouraging that according to the Minister, “The agency will have a new focus on women and men, particularly in relation to caring responsibilities and pay equity.” Also, in an era of excessive red tape, reporting and regulation (identified by ABN members as a significant public policy issue for small business owners), part of the funding will be used to invest in the EOWA’s IT capacity, so that reporting can be done on line, saving employers time and money. So far, so good. But the devil is in the detail and when we examine the quantum of funding allocated to this initiative, we find that Minister Ellis’ rhetoric about business and working women benefiting from this “boost from the Australian government” is vastly overshadowed by one fact – that the $11 million the government has allocated to workforce equity is a mere 0.00003% of its total estimated expenditure for 2011-2012 – not even a minimal drop of tokenism in the bucket of indirect discrimination. With this degree of importance placed on the EOWA and mainstream women’s workplace issues by the Gillard and previous governments, no wonder the agency is languishing under “a quarter-century old framework” that is only now, according to Minister Ellis, in line for “updating and proper resourcing.” No wonder that the media release reminds us that the agency only has an “educative and advisory role” – with such limited funding, much of which will be doubtless be spent on outsourced IT consulting services and rebranding strategies – there’s not much else it can do. No wonder this particular tiger won’t have the teeth to force employers to act equitably, instead, having its powers limited to deploying mobile teams to provide advice and assistance to “businesses who (sic) request it,”  and improving business’ access to “improved support and advice online… electronic tools, resources and live support.” Very disappointing and, in my opinion, a kick in the teeth for voters in the workforce who need real, quantifiable and strong government support to carve a new corporate culture in which women and men can enjoy equitable, flexible, working conditions with no adverse impact on their chosen career path.