The Gender Equality in Working Life Research Initiative

Professor Rae Cooper AO, Director

The Director of the initiative is Rae Cooper AO, Professor of Gender, Work and Employment Relations at the University of Sydney Business School. She is President Elect of the International Labor and Employment Relations Association (ILERA) and has published over 70 articles and chapters on employment relations, workplace policy and aspects of women's working lives. Professor Cooper was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2019 recognition of her contributions to Australian higher education and her impact on workplace policy and practice. She has undertaken numerous collaborative research projects within an array of industry sectors for some of Australia's most well-known organisations including the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD), the Human Rights Commission, the Australian Council of Trade Unions, the Law Society of NSW and she has worked as an advisor to key multi-lateral organisations, including the OECD and International Labour Organisation (ILO). Through these collaborations and her experience as a non-executive director and strategic advisor to industry and government, she is known for her clever and grounded approach. Professor Cooper is a globally recognized leader in the gendered dimensions of the workplace, and an expert in collaborative research programs that incorporate an evidence- based approach with world leading practice to identify practical, data-driven policies that achieve positive change.

Visit Rae's academic profile.

Associate Professor Elizabeth Hill, Deputy Director

Elizabeth Hill is Associate Professor in political economy at The University of Sydney and co-convenor of the Australian Work and Family Policy Roundtable. She is a leading researcher on the future of women, work and care in Australia and the Asia region, and has collaborated on research into gender equality, work and care with leading national and international institutions, including the International Labour Organisation and UN Women.

Visit Elizabeth's academic profile.

Charlie Hock

Charlie Hock is a Research Officer for the GEWL Research Initiative. She joined the team after working at UNSW and UTS in both project management and research capacities. Charlie has recently completed master's in human Rights at the University of Sydney, and also has qualifications in forensic psychology and gender studies.

Visit Charlie's staff profile.

Amy Tapsell

Amy Tapsell is a Research Officer for the GEWL Research Initiative. Amy has worked as a Research Officer at the University of Wollongong, and more recently, worked as a Health Planning Officer for NSW Health. She has completed a B.A. in Psychology and a Master of Public Health in Health Promotion.

Meraiah Foley

Meraiah Foley is a researcher specialising in gender inequality at work, with specific focus on women's experiences working in male-dominated occupations, the gendered dimensions of workplace technological change, and how the concepts of merit and meritocracy shape inequality at work. Meraiah has published extensively in highly ranked journals, including Human Relations, Gender, Work & Organization, and the Journal of Industrial Relations.

Visit Meraiah's academic profile.

Frances Flanagan

Dr Frances Flanagan is a Sydney Fellow and Lecturer in Work and Organisational Studies at the University of Sydney. With an interdisciplinary background in history and law, her research considers the intersection of labour, environmental change, gender and technology.

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Suneha Seetahul

Dr. Suneha Seetahul is an applied microeconomist specializing in gender, labour and development. She holds a PhD from the Bordeaux School of Economics and was a 2021 World Bank Africa Fellow. Her current research focuses on gender inequalities in the labour market, gender norms, household gender dynamics and nutrition, social protection and climate change.

Visit Suneha's academic profile.

Ariadne Vromen

Professor Ariadne Vromen is the Sir John Bunting Chair of Public Administration, a position co-funded by the Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG) and the Crawford School, at ANU. As a member of Crawford's Policy and Governance Department, and Deputy Dean (Research) for ANZSOG, she focuses on research leadership and strategy to foster excellence in impactful and applied research.

Ariadne's research interests are diverse, and include: citizen engagement, digital politics and governance, women and the future of work, policy advocacy, and young people and politics.

Visit Ariadne's academic profile.

Briony Lipton

Dr Briony Lipton is a Visiting Research Fellow in the Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG) in the ANU Crawford School. Her research examines the relationship between organisational structures, practices, policies, and workplace cultures and how they shape women’s experiences in the workplace, their employment and career progression.

Visit Briony's academic profile.

Sydney Colussi

Sydney is a Research Associate in the Discipline of Work and Organisational Studies at the University of Sydney Business School and is a convenor of The Body@Work Project. Her research focuses on the relationship between gender equality, paid work and reproductive health across the life cycle.

Laura Good

Laura Good is a PhD candidate in Work and Organisational Studies at the University of Sydney Business School. Her PhD research explores the gendered dimensions of skill within the retail industry. It seeks to understand how new technologies are re-shaping the skills profile of the industry and the implications of this for both workers and employers.

McCaye Nixon

McCaye is a PhD Candidate in the Discipline of Work and Organisational Studies at the University of Sydney Business School. Under the supervision of Professor Rae Cooper and Dr Meraiah Foley, her doctoral thesis offers a gendered analysis of how power is understood and accumulated in the legal profession.

Talara Lee

Talara Lee is a PhD candidate with an interest in gender, workplace relations and the future of work. Talara is undertaking a PhD on gender inequality in the legal profession, with a particular focus on the role of the client in shaping legal careers, which employs a mixed-method approach to data collection on designing gender equality into the future of work in the law.

Ethan Gannon

Ethan's research investigates how "empty-nester" mothers experience gendered responsibilities for unpaid caring labour at different points in their lives, from family formation into mature age.

Agatha Court

Agatha Court is a PhD student in Work and Organisational Studies at the University of Sydney Business School. Her PhD research is focused on gender inequality in male-dominated industries, in particular the inequalities experienced by early career professionals.

• ARC Discovery Project, 2022-2024. Chief Investigators: Elizabeth Hill, Rae Cooper, Ariadne Vromen, Meraiah Foley. Title: “Understanding gender inequality in the post-pandemic future of work”.

This project examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis on the working futures of young women and men in three advanced market economies where the pandemic hit with varying degrees of severity. Young people have experienced the greatest upheaval of all workers, and the impact has been gendered. Recovery strategies will have lasting consequences for women’s and men’s working futures. The project will produce macro-level mapping of post-pandemic national work/care regimes, and micro-level survey data on young people’s experience of and attitudes to the future of work in Australia, the UK and Japan, to deliver insights on the gendered economic and social impact of the pandemic and inform a more inclusive global recovery. (Project ID: DP220100657)

• ARC Future Fellowship, 2022-2026. Chief Investigator: Rae Cooper. Title: “Smashing Glass Walls: Building gender equality in male-dominated jobs”.

This project investigates gender segregation, which is a remarkably resilient problem in the Australian labour market, despite women's increasing labour force participation and strong educational attainment. It examines this problem with a focus on women’s careers in very male-dominated occupations. In these contexts, women enter in low numbers, find it difficult to progress, and face extremely hostile working environments. Adopting a career stage, a worker- and industry-engaged, and a comparative design, the project will generate new insight into where and how sustainable careers for women are challenged in these contexts. This knowledge will inform strategies to build gender equality in jobs at the heart of the economy. (Project ID: FT210100356)

• ARC Linkage Project, 2020-2023. Chief Investigators: Rae Cooper, Ariadne Vromen, Meraiah Foley. Title: “Designing Gender Equality into the Future of Work”.

This project aims to investigate how women and men understand and experience the changing nature of work and their hopes and fears for the future. This project expects to generate new knowledge about the gendered dimensions of workplace change using an innovative and engaged research design that focuses on retail and the law, two areas where women are increasingly dominant but which are located at distinct ends of the labour market. Expected outcomes of this project include an enhanced and coordinated capacity to build gender equality into the future of work. This should provide significant benefits such as better living standards for individuals and families and improved profitability and productivity for businesses. (Project ID: LP190100966)

• ANROWS Sexual Harassment Research Program, 2022-2024. Chief Investigators: Rae Cooper, Elizabeth Hill, Meraiah Foley, Briony Lipton. Title: “Understanding and addressing sexual harassment in the Australian Retail Sector”

This project will investigate how employees and managers in the Australian retail sector understand, experience and manage sexual harassment at work. This research will inform targeted actions to address and prevent sexual harassment in retail workplaces through collaboration with key sector stakeholders.

• JMI Policy Challenge Grant 2022 - 2023, Chief Investigators: Rae Cooper, Elizabeth Hill, Talara Lee, Charlie Hock. Title: “Forging a gender equitable future of work in NSW"
  
  This project will translate an extensive body of established research into new, evidence-based principles to support the NSW Government in building a gender-equal future of work. It aims to provide evidence to integrate gender equality into recovery policies and long-term economic planning, and develop innovative gender-responsive policymaking that will boost productivity, economic growth, and the well-being of all people in NSW.


• Investment NSW Boosting Business Innovation Program, 2023 - 2023. Chief Investigators: Rae Cooper, Elizabeth Hill, Suneha Seetahul, Charlie Hock. Title: "Improving workforce participation of women on the Central Coast: A qualitative study of what women want & need for a productive future at work."
  
  This collaborative research project will provide research insights to inform action, advocacy and investment in women’s labour force participation on the Central Coast and will identify key barriers and interventions among women not participating in the workforce, provide qualitative insights into barriers and enablers, and provide key recommendations to improve women’s economic opportunities and productivity in the Central Coast City.
  
  This project is proudly funded by the NSW Government. 
  

GEWL Research Insights Seminar: Gender Equality and Industrial Relations

On August 16th, 2022, GEWL convened an in-camera seminar with leading academic researchers with key public servants and policy advisors to discuss key issues, actions, and risks in relation to gender equality and industrial relations in the coming year.

Presenters 

• Professor Rae Cooper AO, Professor of Gender, Work and Employment Relations 
  and Director of GEWL (University of  Sydney)
• Associate Professor Meg Smith, Deputy Dean, School of Business (University of 
  Western Sydney)
• Emeritus Professor of Political Science, Gillian Whitehouse (University of 
  Queensland)
• Distinguished Professor of Gender, Work & Regulation, Sara Charlesworth (RMIT 
  University) 

GEWL Research Insights Seminar: COVID-19 and the Future of Early Childhood Education and Care

On June 23rd, 2022 GEWL held an in-camera seminar with leading academics and key stakeholders from the sector, government and civil society to discuss the Covid-19 impact on ECEC and future research directions. 

Presenters

• Professor Jennifer Tomlinson: Jenny is Professor of Gender and Employment Relations and Co-Director of the Centre for Employment Relations, Innovation and Change (CERIC) at Leeds University Business School, University of Leeds
• Associate Professor Kate Hardy: Kate is Associate Professor in Work and Employment Relations at the Centre for Employment Relations Innovation and Change (CERIC) at Leeds University Business School, University of Leeds
• Dr Dan Leach-McGill, Policy and Government Relations Executive, Early Childhood Australia
• Julia Davison, CEO Goodstart Early Learning
• Helen Gibbons, Executive Director, Early Education, United Workers Union

• IRS NSW Webinar, IRS, 4 April 2023. Professor Rae Cooper AO resented findings from latest GEWL data releases on what women want from work now, current challenges they face, and developments we have seen  to address these issues.
• Treasury Conference, Australian Government Treasury, 'Greedy jobs, labour market institutions and the gender pay gap,' Canberra, 4 April 2023. Joint presentation Professor Rae Cooper AO and Kristen Sobeck (Australian National University)
• Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Policy Partnership, Panel Presentation on Women and the Economy (PPWE), Palm Springs, California (Virtual), 23 February 2023, Panel presentation by A/ Professor Elizabeth Hill  
• IRSQ, IRSQ Annual Breakfast, Brisbane, Queensland 21 February 2023, Presentation by Professor Rae Cooper AO 
• Aware Super, Aware Super Women's Event, Sydney, NSW, 16 February 2023, Presentation by Professor Rae Cooper AO
• Flexibility at Work Post Covid, 19 October 2022. Presentation by Professor Rae Cooper AO 
• KPMG, NSW Economics Gender Responsive Budgeting Panel, 18 October 2022. Presentation by Professor Rae Cooper AO 
• National Farmer's Federation, 12 October 2022. Flexibility at work post-Covid. Presentation by Professor Rae Cooper, AO 
• Industrial Relations Society of Tasmania, 7 October 2022. What do young women want from work now (and how do we meet their needs)? Presentation by Professor Rae Cooper, AO
• Senate Inquiry into Work and Care, 7 October, Expert Evidence, Presentation by A/ Professor Hill
• Revenue Summit, Parliament House, 6 October 'Revenue for Public Services', Presentation by A/ Professor Hill
• Jessie Street Trust, 15 September, The Future of Work. Presentation by A/ Professor Hill 
• Social Science Week Webinar, 14 September, “First 100 Days: Politics, Policy and Reform under the Albanese Government”Presentation by A/ Professor Hill 
• International Labor and Employment Relations Association (ILERA), Building blocks for a gender equitable post-covid future of work, ILERA European Conference, Sept 10, 2022 
• Sydney Policy Lab, 31 August 2022, "Policy Options: Women and Insecure Work", Presentation by A/ Professor Hill
• NSW Investment Workshop, 31 August 2022, "NSW Government Strategy for Women in Innovation Precincts" Presentation by A/ Professor Hill
• Senator Walsh Jobs & Skills Public Panel, 30 August 2022, "No Economy without the Care Economy", Contributing Panel Member A/ Professor Hill
• Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), 7 July 2022, “Pandemic, she-cession and the Great Exhaustion”, OECD Podcasts, Presentation by Professor Cooper
• Committee on the Economic Development of Australia (CEDA), 29 June 2022. A/Prof Hill contributing panellist "Shaping our workforce of the future: policy, practice and problem-solving - State of the Nation"
• Diversity Council Australia (DCA), 28 June 2022, “Embedding Equitable Flexibility”, Presentation by Professor Cooper
• Health Services Union (HSU) Women’s Conference, 14 June 2022. Presentation by A/Prof Hill "Great Bloody Hurdle"
• Gender and Cultural Studies Seminar, 10 June 2022. Presentation by Prof Cooper & A/Prof Hill "Gender equality, the future of work, careers, care OCVID-19 and the whole dam lot"
• The Future of Work: Challenges of Regulation for the Albanese Labor Government, 2 June 2022. Webinar by A/Prof Hill: "A gender equal future of work: challenges of regulation"
  
• NSW Treasury, 6 April 2022 “What Women Want from Work now’, Presentation by Professor Cooper
• Champions of Change Coalition, Health leaders group, 31 March 2022. Keynote by Prof Cooper: “Gender equity at work now: Applying a gender lens to the post-pandemic future of work”
• NSW Treasury, Women’s Economic Opportunities Review, 30 March 2022. Panel presentation by Prof Cooper and A/Prof Hill: “What women want at work: research findings and recommendations”
• Industry Super Australia, 22 March 2022. Presentation by A/Prof Hill: “How making childcare cheaper can help close the gender super gap”
• UGL International Women’s Day event, 8 March 2022. Keynote by Prof Cooper: “What do women want from work now?”
• Industry Super Australia, 8 March 2022. Presentation by Prof Cooper: “Gender equality at work post covid”
• Gender and Sexuality at Work Conference, University of Melbourne, 15 February 2022. Keynote by Prof Cooper: “Building Back Fairer? Applying a gender lens to the post-pandemic future of work”
• Committee for Sydney, Sydney Summit, 7 February 2022. Keynote by Prof Cooper: “From weary and whiplashed to participating and productive”
• Chief Executive Women Circle, 31 January 2022. Keynote by Prof Cooper and A/Prof Hill: “Building a gender equitable economic recovery: The research evidence”
• ACTU Superannuation Trustees forum, 9 November 2021. Presentation by Prof Cooper: “Gender Lens Investing: What is it, why do we care?”
• OECD Forum Network, 22 October 2021. Presentation by A/Prof Hill and Prof Cooper: Deep dive on the gendered pandemic and a gender equitable recovery”
• Women in Super National Roadshow, 13 October 2021. Keynote by Prof Cooper and A/Prof Hill: “Women, Work & Economic Security: COVID-19 & the Plan for a Gender Equal Recovery”
• Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA), 7 October 2021. Presentation by A/Prof Hill: “GROWING MINDS, GROWING ECONOMY: CHILDCARE AND THE WORKFORCE” https://events.ceda.com.au/Events/Library/Past-Events1/LS211008
• The Social Policy Institute at the Crawford School of the ANU, 23 July 2021. Keynote by A/Prof Hill: “COVID-19, Gender and Work: Policy, Risk and Opportunities for a gender responsive recovery”
• ILERA World Congress, 24 June 2021. Keynote address by Prof Cooper: “Gender Equality at Work: Where are we now, where to next? (after COVID-19)”