3. Background information
Importance of policies for balancing family and work
Diversity management policies and practices = more
people in employment + good reputations + greater worker
performance
Transparent and flexible policies = increased employee
commitment, motivation, productivity + lower turnover for
women
Policies to balance work and family reduce women’s
conflict
Balancing work and family = difficulty for women
engineers = career barrier
Source: Strachan et al. 2010; Wilkinson 2008; Strachan & French 2007; Ballout 2008; Lewis & Humbert 2010;
Ranson 2005; Teicher & Spearitt 1996 3
4. Women engineers in Australia
Lower levels of responsibility in organisations
Lower pay than male counterparts
Leave the profession in 7 to 10 years
=
Critical issue for women engineers’
retention and career development
Source: Bell 2009, Mills et al. 2008, APESMA 2007;
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5. Research question
How do engineering consultancies’ HR
policies and practices effect women
engineers’ careers?
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6. Methodology
Qualitative study
Critical Research Qualitative Data Analysis framework
• Collecting qualitative data
• Examining data
Insight
• Coding text noting organisational characteristics
• Categorising codes as organisational, substantive or theoretical
• Connecting data to understand text and identify textural element's relationships
Critique • Writing memos and creating displays looking at the data as a whole
• Developing critical relevant knowledge and practical understanding to enable change
Transformative • Provide new skills and new ways of operating
Redfinition
Document analysis – websites and EOWA reports
Semi-structured in-depth interviews: (1HR manager +
3 women engineers )× 3 engineering consultancies
Source: Alvesson & Deetz 2000, Ball 2011; Bickman & Rog 2009 Dumay & Lu 2010;
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7. Findings
Organisations do not use websites to promote policy
Masculinist culture alive and well!
Policy formulated differently in each organisation
Women engineers only know what they need to know
Maternity leave different for each company
Flexible work practices (used by men and women) =
working part-time;
flexible hours;
work at home ;
work remotely;
purchase additional leave
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8. Career barriers
Lack of childcare facilities and options
Employment gaps = perception of low organisational
and professional commitment
Working part-time = a juggle + difficult + needs a
position that is suitable = possibility of losing former
position
Part-time engineering managers
Lack of understanding – how will it work?
Lack of supporting processes
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9. Conclusion
Organisations need to provide childcare in some form
More research is needed to investigate part-time
engineering managers
Strategic organisational culture change needs to occur
9
10. References
Alvesson, M, & Deetz, S 2000, Doing critical management research, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA.
Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists & Managers [APESMA] 2007, ‘Women in the Professions Survey Report
2007’, Melbourne: APESMA, accessed 2 April, 2009 from
<http://www.apesma.asn.ay/women/survey/women_in_the_professions_2007.pdf>.
Ballout, HI 2008, 'Work-family conflict and career success: the effects of domain-specific determinants', Journal of
Management Development, vol. 27, no. 5, pp. 437-466.
Bell, S 2009, ‘Women in Science: maximising productivity, diversity and innovation’, Federation of Australian Scientific and
Technological Societies.
Bickman, L, & Rog, D.J 2009, The Sage Handbook of Applied Social Research Methods, Sage: Thousand Oaks, CA.
Dumay, JC, & Lu, J 2010, ‘Disclosing improvements in human capital: comparing results to rhetoric’, Journal of Human
Resource Costing & Accounting, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 70-97
Lewis, S, & Humbert, AL 2010, ‘Discourse or reality? “Work-life balance”, flexible working policies and the gendered
organization’, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, vol. 29, no. 3, pp. 239-254.
Mills, J, Mehrtens, V, Smith, E, & Adams, V 2008, ‘CREW revisited in 2007 the Year of Women in Engineering’, Engineers
Australia, viewed 1 April, 2010, <http://www.engineersaustralia.org.au>.
Ranson, G 2005, ‘No longer “One of the boys”: Negations with motherhood as prospect or reality, among women in
engineering’, The Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology, vol. 42, no. 2, pp. 145-166.
Strachan, G, & French, E 2007, ‘Equal Employment Opportunity – Disentangling promise from achievement’, in Proceedings
Gender, Work and Organisation: 5th Biennial International Interdisciplinary Conference, pp. 1-22, Keele University
United Kingdom.
Strachan, G, French, E, & Burgess, J 2010, Managing diversity in Australia, McGraw-Hill Australia, North Ryde, pp. xv-xxi
Teicher, J, & Spearitt, K 1996, ‘From equal employment opportunity to diversity management – the Australian
experience’, International Journal of Manpower, vol. 17, no. 4/5, pp. 109-133.
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