Award Restructuring and Clerical Work: Skills, Training and Careers in a Feminized Occupation

Abstract

Clerical workers are the largest single occupational grouping in Australia, and they are predominantly female. For most women, clerical work has meant poor pay, low status, few career prospects and little recognition of their skills. This paper looks at the potential of award restructuring to improve women's employment opportunities in this occupation. In particular it examines the restructuring of the Victorian Commercial Clerks' Award, and analyzes the obstacles that lie in the way of its translation into real benefits for female clerical workers. Comparisons are drawn with developments in public sector award restructuring. The paper looks at the structure of clerical employment in the private sector, and the implications of its distribution across all industries—the predominance of small firms and the absence of industry-based career paths. It goes on to apply a feminist perspective to the key issues of skill, training and careers in clerical work, arguing that it is essential to any analysis of the actual outcomes of award restructuring in this area. The paper concludes that award restructuring is an inappropriate mechanism for improving skills and career paths in such afeminized occupation. The paper uses data from a survey of clerical employees in a wide range of workplaces to illustrate the argument. The potential of award restructuring to address unequal pay among male and female clerks through the process of reclassifying women's skills is also considered. Finally, the significance of the low level of unionization among private sector clerical employees is discussed, raising further doubts about the real benefits of award restructuring.