Abstract
In Australia, both the prohibition of sex discrimination in employment and the promotion of equal employment opportunity have a legislative base. At the federal level, the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (SDA) proscribes both direct and indirect discrimination in the workplace. While the SDA purports to promote the equality of men and women, the measure of compliance is an individual one that is only really tested when a complainant lodges a formal complaint. The Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Act 1999 (EOWA) is, like its predecessor the former Affirmative Action (Equal Opportunity for Women) Act 1986 (AAA), aimed at promoting equal employment opportunity (EEO) and eliminating discrimination in nongovernment organisations of more than 100 employees. The emphasis is on selfregulation and compliance is measured only in terms of the preparation of an equal opportunity program as evidenced by the submission of an annual report.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) (1994): Equality before the law: Justice for women report. No 69 Parts I & II. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia.
Bacchi, C. (1996): The politics of affirmative action: Women, equality and category politics. London: Sage.
Charlesworth, S. (1999): Working mums: The construction of women workers in the banking industry. In: Journal of Interdisciplinary Gender Studies 4 (2). pp. 12–28.
Charlesworth, S. (2001): In the shadows of the law: Sex discrimination in the Australian banking industry (Doctoral thesis). Melbourne: School of Law & Legal Studies, La Trobe University.
Charlesworth, S./I. Campbell/B. Probert (2002): Balancing work and family responsibilities: Policy implementation options. (A Report for the Victorian Department of Premier and Cabinet and the Department of Innovation Industry and Regional Development). Melbourne: Centre for Applied Social Research, RMIT University.
Dickens, L. (1992): Anti-discrimination legislation: Exploring and explaining the impact on women’s employment. In: Legal intervention in industrial relations: Gains and losses. Ed: W. McCarthy. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell.
Dickens, L. (1999): Beyond the business case: A three-pronged approach to equality action. In: Human Resource Management Journal 9. pp. 9–19.
Edelman, L./J. Lande/H. Erlanger (1993): Internal dispute resolution: The transformation of civil rights in the workplace. In: Law & Society Review 27. pp. 497–534.
Gaze, B. (2000): The costs of equal opportunity. In: Alternative Law Journal 25. pp. 125–130.
Gibson, R. (1997): ANZ pays for “sexist” jibes. In: The Age (Melbourne) 9 September 1997:A5.
Human Rights Australia (1992): Report on review of permanent exemptions under the Sex Discrimination Act 1984. Sydney: Australian Government Printing Service.
HREOC (Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission) (2002): Valuing parenthood: Options for paid maternity leave. Sydney: Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.
Hunter, R. (1992): Indirect discrimination in the workplace. Annandale, NSW: Federation Press.
Hunter, R. (1998): Sex discrimination legislation and Australian legal culture. In: Women & the Law. Ed. A. Thacker. Geelong: Deakin University Press.
Hunter, R/R. Ingleby/R. Johnstone (1995): Thinking about the law. Perspectives on the history, philosophy and sociology of law. St. Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin.
Independent Committee Review (1998): Unfinished business: Equity for women in Australian workplaces. (Final Report of the Regulatory Review of the Affirmative Action - Equal Opportunity for Women Act 1986. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia.
Junor, A./K. Barlow/M. Patterson (1993): Service productivity: Part-time women workers and the finance sector workplace. (Equal Pay Research Series Number 5 Equal Pay Unit, Department of Industrial Relations). Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia.
Metz, I. (2001): Gender discrimination in Australian banks. In: Australian Banking & Finance Law Bulletin 17 (6). pp. 85–90.
Ronalds, C. (1998): Discrimination law and practice. Leichardt, NSW: Federation Press.
Still, L. (1997): Glass ceiling sticky floors: Barriers to the careers of women in the Australian finance industry. Sydney: Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.
Sullivan, B. (1990): Sex equality and the Australian body politic. In: Playing the state: Australian feminist interventions. Ed: S. Watson. Sydney: Allen & Unwin.
Thornton, M. (1997): Deconstructing affirmative action. In: International Journal of Discrimination and the Law 2. pp. 299–315.
Thornton, M. (1998): Equal rights at work. In Australian feminism: A companion. Ed. B. Caine. Melbourne: Oxford University Press.
Thornton, M. (2000): EEO in a neo-liberal climate. Keynote address presented at the 2000 Interdisciplinary Gender Studies Conference‚ NSW 30 June. Newcastle: University of Newcastle.
Williams, J. (2000): Unbending gender: Why work and family conflict and what to do about it. New York: Oxford University Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2003 Westdeutscher Verlag/GWV Fachverlage GmbH, Wiesbaden
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Charlesworth, S. (2003). Paying the price: The cost of the equal employment opportunity in the Australian banking industry. In: Pasero, U. (eds) Gender — from Costs to Benefits. VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-322-80475-4_16
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-322-80475-4_16
Publisher Name: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften
Print ISBN: 978-3-531-14061-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-322-80475-4
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive