Gender Equity Insights 2024: The changing nature of part-time work in Australia

The ninth report in the BCEC|WGEA Gender Equity Insights series provides an in-depth analysis of the evolving nature of part-time work and implications of this change for the future of work in Australia, finding:

• Part-time roles dropped by 3.2 percentage points in the past two years
• A rise in flexible full-time and hybrid roles has enabled more employee choice
• The labour market is shifting, especially in women’s part-time and flexible work
• A need for action to prioritise gender equity across all job levels, not just management

The report identifies an important shift in how employees choose to engage in the workforce, as they increasingly seek flexibility and opportunities to tailor work schedules and locations to their needs, and calls on employers to develop a plan for action that normalises both flexible and part-time work, without career penalties.

Key actions for employers include to: 

• Normalise part-time and flexible work arrangements in the workplace
• Ensure workplace culture respects the time of employees who work to alternative hours by reinforcing the commitment that they are not expected to work outside their agreed hours
• Senior management should actively role-model flexible work, if they work to these arrangements
• Implement and maintain effective workplace policies and processes to guard against unconscious biases and systemic penalties against part-time employees
• Monitor patterns of flexible and part-time work, ensuring they do not carry career penalties in terms of performance, pay, and progression
• Invest in the development of skills and capabilities of managers and HR professionals to effectively manage a flexible workforce
• Explore hybrid and remote work options to attract and retain part-time employees who need flexibility in their work location.