Advancing Work–Life Equality and Justice in the Asia–Pacific: Insights from Australia

Australia is a nation with a strong individualistic culture and a history of gender norms firmly entrenched in law, the economy, and the household. The widespread entry of women into the labour force in the last half-century led to conflicts between work and family, particularly for mothers, and also the gradual introduction of corporate work–life programmes by the turn of the twenty-first century. Women’s patterns of labour force participation during the prime child-rearing years expanded slowly over time, partly due to an increasing prevalence of part-time work, and delayed and limited childbearing. Since 2008, substantial changes in Australian law included the introduction of paid leave for new parents and ultimately for caregivers, the right-to-request flexible work arrangements, and employment protections for a variety of categories, including LGBTIQA + individuals, pregnant or breastfeeding mothers, family or carer’s responsibilities, and paid family and domestic violence leave. These laws were intended to reduce discrimination against women in the workplace, but the net effect may have been to entrench women’s part-time employment even more firmly. The effects of the rapid, and perhaps lasting, expansion of hybrid work arrangements for knowledge workers around the COVID-19 pandemic on gender equity remain unclear. That and other possibilities for progress are discussed in conclusion.