Search

Gender equity and the empowerment of women is a significant international issue. Successful adult education programs are vital to enhance women's situation. Lessons learned from a personal development program provided for thousands of women are analysed. The program is conducted by community service providers in Australia and internationally, with an Australian evaluation reported here. The three phase evaluation included 500 participants, with pre- and post-tests for a sample of 161, structured phone interviews with 53 and third-party observations from six organisations. The value includes multiple measurements over time, in a thorough evaluation with mixed methods, along with policy and practice implications. Key adult learning issues canvassed include the role of empowerment, adult education and transformative learning. Key findings included that women's self-esteem, emotional intelligence, purpose and mobilisation increased, with the latter evident in vocational outcomes and social connection. Some women expressed interest in facilitating the program for other groups. As one facilitator observed 'the program really empowers women to tap into their own gifts and talents'. Lessons learned encompassed improvements to the program including sustainable social networks, since for these women purpose in life and mobilisation were intertwined with social connection and helping other women.

Quantitative methods and secondary data informed by critical realism and a feminist standpoint provide a contemporary snapshot of academic gender ratios in Australian universities, along with historical data, for the entire population of interest. The study is set in the context of the well-researched, worldwide gendered nature of higher education and focuses on female academics in teaching due to the teaching-research status divide and systemic changes such as managerialism that bring teaching into the limelight. Findings reveal that women's overall status continues to improve, albeit slowly. For example, parity in the teaching professoriate may not be achieved until 2033. Apparent gains are patchy in that women tend to be confined to "bad" jobs as casual teachers and males still constitute a large majority of the academic professoriate. Overall, the increasing numbers of women mask segmentation and marginalisation. The pipeline and critical mass theories are useful explanations for this gender imbalance. The main policy recommendation is to create and privilege ongoing, teaching specialist roles.

Higher education institutions are under pressure to produce employable graduates who are required to contribute to the sustainability of strong economic growth and development. As such, the onus is on the higher education sector to present graduates to the labour market who are both work ready and have attained employability. This article contributes to the discussion surrounding the employability of graduates by: enhancing understanding and discussing contemporary evidence and debate around employability; showing the genesis, influence and synthesis of the major models associated with employability; summarising the boundaries and barriers to graduate employment; and exploring the determinants of employability from the employer's perspective. Importantly, the article summarises the contemporary theoretical bases of employability in the one place. Recommendations are made regarding further research and the need for further theoretical contributions.

Gender implications of nationally competitive teaching awards were examined to determine whether women receive sufficient accolades, given their dominant position in university teaching. Quantitative methods and secondary data provided objective analysis of teaching awards for Australian universities, for an 18-year data set with 2046 units of analysis. Results indicate that women were over-represented in lower-level citations and under-represented in higher-level awards. Women did not dominate, particularly the highly prestigious Prime Minister's award, where men constituted 65%. Policy and management implications include that universities could review the gender balance in their teaching award processes and set goals as internal support is a springboard to national awards. Groups of the same gender could be encouraged to work together at the highest levels to overcome individualistic, competitive barriers. National teaching award applications could be gender blind, at least for the higher levels. There are no clear trends towards a better gender balance, possibly because there has been a very limited gender spotlight on the awards at any level of policy and management.

The paper explores governance arrangements in non-state school in Australia, using 17 interviews in six schools. The focus is on board composition, structure and reporting. Useful contributions about innovative practice are identified. School boards may benefit from implementing more stakeholder engagement. Existing models of school boards from international state school literature, such as the democracy and trustee models, were useful for describing some aspects of non-state school governance, but a faith model is also suggested. Further research could operationalise governance elements to conduct a quantitative investigation with more schools and more informants. The paper adds to the expanding international literature on school governance by researching a country that has received little governance attention. The paper focuses on a significant area for school leadership: school boards in non-state schools. (Contains 4 tables.)

Women make up 65 per cent of the staff in Australian universities who do not perform academic work. While there is a growing body of research on women in senior management and the experiences of female academics in Australian universities, there is less literature on women working in the administrative stream, especially those in middle management. Using a national sample of 172 university female middle managers, the paper reports on issues for this under-researched cohort. Despite a prevailing Australian paradigm of equal opportunity and anti-discrimination, women commented on many instances of discrimination, masculine culture, inflexibility regarding their carer responsibilities, lack of recognition and opportunity and an academic/administrative divide that was gender inflected. A number of women also queried whether female managers should adopt masculine management styles. Despite indications from this research and the literature that gender issues are worse in other sectors, the numerous comments in this research paint a picture of continued male hegemony that devalues and marginalises administrative women's contribution in the management of Australian universities. (Contains 3 tables and 1 note.)

Universities should be developing female middle-managers for reasons of gender balance (Aitkin in "The Last Boilerhouse Address," Canberra University 2001), the skills shortage, pending mass retirements (Chesterman in "Not doable jobs? Exploring senior women's attitudes to leadership roles in universities." Women's Higher Education Network Conference, Bolton, 2004) and sustainable, post-bureaucratic organizations (Kira and Forslin in "J Organ Change Manage" 21(1): 76-91, 2008). Investigating the learning and development of women managers is timely. Research assumes that women in academe have the qualifications, experience and skills for management. Is this the case? The paper provides the first national demographic and development profile of women middle-managers in academic and the research-neglected administrative streams in Australian universities, with a sample of 342 women (46% response rate). Age is a particularly notable demographic with the majority of academics within 5-10 years of retirement. Nearly 60% of academics experienced few current development opportunities and their discipline-based qualifications did not prepare them for management. However, a greater number of administrative managers received relevant preparatory training. Once in their current management roles women experienced markedly fewer development opportunities. If higher education institutions are learning organizations, continuous learning should be evident (Watkins in "Adv Dev Hum Res" 7(3): 414, 2005). Our research shows this is far from the case.

This paper discusses the implications for managers' careers of the global financial crisis. It draws on empirical research during the last period of major job cuts. Evidence comes from a mail survey of over 1000 career histories of Australian managers, with a response rate of 44%. Changes to career satisfaction, job satisfaction, job security, expectations regarding future career moves and employability are reported for retrenched managers. The paper contributes a context for changes to managers' careers in terms of labour market structures and economic conditions. The main results are that following 1990s restructuring, job security was low and retrenched managers were less likely to have invested in their own employability, but paradoxically, exhibited more of the attitudes associated with employability. The paper is useful for careers practitioners to understand the impacts on managers experiencing job loss and to be aware of possible outcomes and actions required of individuals. (Contains 3 figures and 5 tables.)

Higher education institutions are under pressure to produce employable graduates who are required to contribute to the sustainability of strong economic growth and development. As such, the onus is on the higher education sector to present graduates to the labour market who are both work ready and have attained employability. This article contributes to the discussion surrounding the employability of graduates by: enhancing understanding and discussing contemporary evidence and debate around employability; showing the genesis, influence and synthesis of the major models associated with employability; summarising the boundaries and barriers to graduate employment; and exploring the determinants of employability from the employer’s perspective. Importantly, the article summarises the contemporary theoretical bases of employability in the one place. Recommendations are made regarding further research and the need for further theoretical contributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gender implications of nationally competitive teaching awards were examined to determine whether women receive sufficient accolades, given their dominant position in university teaching. Quantitative methods and secondary data provided objective analysis of teaching awards for Australian universities, for an 18-year data set with 2046 units of analysis. Results indicate that women were over-represented in lower-level citations and under-represented in higher-level awards. Women did not dominate, particularly the highly prestigious Prime Minister’s award, where men constituted 65%. Policy and management implications include that universities could review the gender balance in their teaching award processes and set goals as internal support is a springboard to national awards. Groups of the same gender could be encouraged to work together at the highest levels to overcome individualistic, competitive barriers. National teaching award applications could be gender blind, at least for the higher levels. There are no clear trends towards a better gender balance, possibly because there has been a very limited gender spotlight on the awards at any level of policy and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to evaluate the extent and effectiveness of knowledge management (KM) in community service organisations (CSOs) in Australia. CSOs are focussed on support, care and encouragement, thereby improving the quality of life of many in the community. This study contributes to a wider acceptance and management of knowledge, from a national perspective, and assists CSOs to improve practice. Design/methodology/approach – KM theory and practice is expanded through a national online survey from 89 Australian CSOs, represented by 538 employees. CSOs, as a subset of not-for-profit organisations, were selected because they contribute significantly to the economy. Existing research generally relies on case studies, offering scope for wider quantitative research to address the gap. Findings – The extent and effectiveness of KM were moderate. KM was more extensive in CSOs with a formal KM policy. Face-to-face exchange of knowledge was the major transfer method. Recognition or other incentives are needed to encourage learning and disseminating new ideas. Research limitations/implications – Other CSOs and other countries could be included, along with very small CSOs. Practical implications – Shortfalls in practice were discovered. Recommendations should improve client service by enhancing the appropriateness, consistency, quality and timely delivery of assistance. This will aid CSO sustainability by maximising limited resources. The challenge is to harness informal learning for organisation-wide learning and for hard outcomes, such as reducing costs and competing for government funding. Originality/value – A synthesised large-scale survey integrates more elements of KM practice. Existing KM ideas are combined in new ways, applied in a fresh context, indicating elements of KM that are more significant in not-for-profit CSOs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ageing workforce has implications for skills retention and equity in construction and ageing of self-employed tradesmen. The aims here were to define older tradesmen and present their experience of ageing along with the implications for masculinity. Ageing, the ageing workforce and construction management informed this conversation about diversity and skills shortages, how tradesmen negotiate ageing, the way it is perceived and how it impacts on masculinity. A phenomenological research design, with 20, in-depth interviews from independent tradesmen was deployed. Older tradesman defined themselves by physical capacity to work, rather than chronological age. Self-initiated strategies increased longevity and consisted of work adjustments such as paying for extra labour and machines and scheduling less onerous work. If widely adopted, such accommodations for the mainstream construction workforce might shift the masculine culture of the industry for specific equity groups. There were numerous possibilities for alternative work, but many disadvantages were identified. Suggestions for the industry about retention included self-care and personalized work adjustments. Recommendations for individuals included proactively planning retirement, particularly in terms of superannuation and other non-housing investment alternatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lack of satisfaction with repatriation has been identified as one of the major causes for high turnover of employees returning from international assignments. Extant literature emphasises the importance of organisational training and mentoring, career advancement, and family and spouse support throughout expatriation and repatriation. In the current study we explored factors influencing Korean employees' and spouses' perceptions of expatriation and repatriation. The study involved semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 15 Korean expatriates and spouses, currently on assignment in Australia. The research is important in that, as Korea is Australia's fourth largest overall trading partner and Korean companies employ expatriates in managing their Australian operations, understanding factors which determine willingness of Korean expatriates to relocate to Australia is integral to Korean companies' position in the Australian economy. The findings provide three significant contributions. First, Confucian values affect Korean employees' willingness to expatriate and repatriate, in that their decision is largely influenced by requests from superiors. Second, Korean employees perceive that traditional expatriate training and mentoring are no longer as necessary given advances in technology. Third, Korean employees' decisions to expatriate and repatriate are affected by perceptions of impact on their children's education. The research highlights aspects particular to Korean expatriation and in so doing provides potentially valuable insights into Korean values regarding, and approaches to, international work. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The paper explores governance arrangements in non-state school in Australia, using 17 interviews in six schools. The focus is on board composition, structure and reporting. Useful contributions about innovative practice are identified. School boards may benefit from implementing more stakeholder engagement. Existing models of school boards from international state school literature, such as the democracy and trustee models, were useful for describing some aspects of non-state school governance, but a faith model is also suggested. Further research could operationalise governance elements to conduct a quantitative investigation with more schools and more informants. The paper adds to the expanding international literature on school governance by researching a country that has received little governance attention. The paper focuses on a significant area for school leadership: school boards in non-state schools. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Women make up 65 per cent of the staff in Australian universities who do not perform academic work. While there is a growing body of research on women in senior management and the experiences of female academics in Australian universities, there is less literature on women working in the administrative stream, especially those in middle management. Using a national sample of 172 university female middle managers, the paper reports on issues for this under-researched cohort. Despite a prevailing Australian paradigm of equal opportunity and anti-discrimination, women commented on many instances of discrimination, masculine culture, inflexibility regarding their carer responsibilities, lack of recognition and opportunity and an academic/administrative divide that was gender inflected. A number of women also queried whether female managers should adopt masculine management styles. Despite indications from this research and the literature that gender issues are worse in other sectors, the numerous comments in this research paint a picture of continued male hegemony that devalues and marginalises administrative women's contribution in the management of Australian universities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the implications for managers' careers of the global financial crisis. It draws on empirical research during the last period of major job cuts. Evidence comes from a mail survey of over 1000 career histories of Australian managers, with a response rate of 44% . Changes to career satisfaction, job satisfaction, job security, expectations regarding future career moves and employability are reported for retrenched managers. The paper contributes a context for changes to managers' careers in terms of labour market structures and economic conditions. The main results are that following 1990s restructuring, job security was low and retrenched managers were less likely to have invested in their own employability, but paradoxically, exhibited more of the attitudes associated with employability. The paper is useful for careers practitioners to understand the impacts on managers experiencing job loss and to be aware of possible outcomes and actions required of individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses various reports published within the issue including one by Roslyn Cameron on career development theory and human resource development, another by Teresa Marchant on human resource management, and by Peter Miller on job security.