Women and Work in Asia and the Pacific: Experiences, challenges and ways forward

Working women everywhere face discrimination. Inequality and lack of inclusion is reinforced through regulation, policy, behaviours and attitudes. Although there has been progress in some countries, gender equality at work has yet to be achieved by any nation.

This in-depth study examines the challenges faced by working women, their families and communities in ten countries throughout Asia and the Pacific: Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia, Japan, China, Cambodia, India, Sri Lanka, Fiji, Pakistan and the Philippines. Informed by the work of senior academics, policy-makers and community group representatives, and with a foreword by Elizabeth Broderick AO, independent expert, for the Working Group on Discrimination Against Women and Girls, United Nations Human Rights Council, working women’s experiences are described and analysed within a framework of four themes: demography, globalisation, technological development and sustainability.

Drawing on this wide range of qualitative and quantitative evidence, the authors set out recommendations for co-ordinated and context-sensitive responses specific to each country to improve the working lives of women and girls.

Professor Jane Parker specialises in employment relations and human resource management. She is an associate fellow of the Industrial Relations Research Unit (University of Warwick), a member of the International Labour and Employment Relations Association (ILERA) Executive Committee, and co-directs Massey University’s People, Organisation, Work and Employment (MPOWER) Group. Jane has led many national and cross-national projects and consultancies, including for the International Labour Organization, Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, UK ESRC and Eurofound. She is a co-editor in chief of Labour and Industry, an editorial board member of Human Relations and Employee Relations, and an associate editor of the Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance. She holds a PhD (Industrial Relations) from the University of Warwick.

Rae Cooper AO is a professor of gender, work and employment relations at the University of Sydney Business School and is an Australian Research Council future fellow. She is director of the University of Sydney Gender Equality in Working Life (GEWL) Research Initiative. Rae is president elect of the International Labour and Employment Relations Association (ILERA) and is an executive member of several Australian industrial relations bodies. She has published widely in relation to work, industrial relations policy and women’s working lives. Rae is known for her collaboration with labour market stakeholders, having collaborated on research projects with key organisations, including industry groups and businesses, governments at the state and national levels, and with unions and union peak councils. Rae has significant experience as a member and chair of government and community sector boards and committees.

Dr Noelle Donnelly is a senior lecturer at Victoria University of Wellington Te Herenga Waka, where she researches gender and workplace issues including pay inequity, flexible work, job quality and employee voice. She is a lead researcher with the Centre for Labour, Employment and Work (CLEW), co-editor in chief of Labour and Industry: A Journal of the Social and Economic Relations of Work and an editorial board member of the International Journal of Human Resource Management. Noelle is the current president of the Association of Industrial Relations Academics in Australia and New Zealand (AIRAANZ). She holds a PhD in industrial relations from the University of Warwick.

Dr Marian Baird AO, FASSA is a professor of gender and employment relations, head of the Discipline of Work and Organisation Studies, and co-director of the Women and Work Research Group at the University of Sydney Business School in Australia. She is an internationally recognised scholar in the fields of industrial relations and women and work over the life cycle. Her research has a policy focus, and she has contributed to the development of government and company policies on maternity and parental leaves, flexibility, discrimination, and the ageing workforce.