WILES Decadal Commemorative Event

Mural Hall, Parliament House Australian Customs Service

Tuesday 24 November, 2009

First, may I acknowledge the traditional owners of the land we meet on – and pay my respects to their elders, both past and present.

On behalf of the Government we are here to commemorate an important Government initiative that Minister Vanstone started 10 years ago. It is said of good policy that it lives beyond its Government and its Minister. This program is an example of good policy that this Government happily inherits.

Women play a vital role in our workforce and, through their determination; women have been a driving force in the advancement of conditions for themselves and others.

As at August 2008, just over five million women were employed in the Australian labour force, representing 45 per cent of the total labour market. Within the Australian public service, interestingly women represent 57 per cent of the general workforce and 37 per cent of the Senior Executive Service.

However, women have not always been so well represented in law enforcement.

As I am advised that in 1915, the New South Wales Police Department advertised two positions for female police. Almost 500 women applied. It was a tough interview process. Two applicants, Lillian Armfield and Maud Rhodes were chosen and subsequently sworn in as the first police women in Australia.

At the time that they were appointed, Lillian and Maud were required to sign an indemnity releasing the Police Department of any responsibility for their safety and they wore civilian clothes, as they were not issued a uniform. Their service was recorded on a separate seniority list until 1965, when women gained full police status and the title of Special Constable was ultimately and properly dropped.

I am pleased that times have changed for women in law enforcement. Today, we see women playing an active role in operational areas and holding senior positions, contributing significantly to the future direction of law enforcement in this country.

Despite their valuable and lengthy contribution in the workplace, women in law enforcement continue as we know to face a number of barriers. They include:

The Rudd Government has been working hard to improve the lives of Australian women and their families since taking office in December 2007.

The Government is working to address challenges for women through three key priority areas. One of these priority areas—especially relevant to women in law enforcement—is to ensure that women’s voices are heard at all levels of decision-making.

In June of this year, my colleague the Minister for the Status of Women, the Honourable Tanya Plibersek, announced a Review of the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Act 1999.

The purpose of the Review is to examine the effectiveness and efficiency of the Act, in promoting equal opportunity for women.

One of the Review’s key objectives is to consider how the government can support employers to remove barriers to equal employment opportunity, with a view to improving outcomes for both women and business.

The government has also given its support to the first Federal test case on equal pay under the new Fair Work industrial relations system. This is a major step forward for women on low incomes in particular.

So what have we done as a labour market to encourage the retention and recruitment of more women into the workforce?

During a recent graduate recruitment campaign run by the global aluminium production company Alcoa, the company employed the following headline for their advertisement:

It said: “Your biggest job isn’t always at work.”

Their advertisement focused on what the company believed was their distinct advantage as an employer – a concern for staff successfully balancing a career with life outside of work.

In the Australian public service today, 20 per cent of women work under flexible part-time arrangements. To support women’s caring responsibilities, many agencies have well equipped family and carer facilities onsite and some agencies provide access to full-time childcare facilities. So things have improved but they have a long way to go.

A recent publication issued by the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs highlights the reasons for decline in the number of women in the Australian labour force. The publication, titled Women in Australia 2009, shows that the main drivers of the dip in labour force participation of women aged between 25 and 44 years are; caring for children and other caring and household responsibilities. These are real issues for women in law enforcement and their effect, given the impact on the economy, is real for employers and the Government.

It is important that both the private and the public sector recognise the unique obstacles faced by women and implement strategies to encourage women to remain in the workforce for as long as possible.

Flexible working practices such as family friendly workplace policies, values driven culture, openness to encouraging women, and a focus on people and innovation may influence the decision of women to continue to contribute to the workforce.

In further recognition of the role that women play in the workplace and in the community at large, the year 2010 has been named the Year of Women in Local Government. The purpose of this initiative is to raise awareness and inform the local government sector on the value and contribution of all women who are employed, elected and involved in that tier of government.

In further support for the 2010 Year of Women in Local Government, the Prime Minister announced last month that the Government will provide almost $500,000 in funding for a range of projects to help improve the participation of women in the nation's Local Government councils and shires.

However, there is still an under-representation, as I said, of women in senior roles in law enforcement. There is an improving trend but still a way to go to reflect the community at large. This is inconsistent with the ideal that the composition of the public sector should reflect the composition of the community it serves.

It is important that initiatives such as the WILES program are established, an initiative of Minister Vanstone ten years ago, and it is important that we are here today to continue to provide further opportunities for women in law enforcement and regulatory agencies.

We are here tonight to recognise the WILES program—especially designed to help redress this imbalance in representation—enabling women to realise their potential for career advancement through the guidance and advice of well-placed and experienced mentors.

I’m pleased to be here for the 10th anniversary celebrations of the Women in Law Enforcement Strategy and thank you for your commitment to this program.