International Women's Day: Female Leadership - Residential Aged Care

5 Minute Read

In a sector dominated by female workers, it's surprising to learn most CEO roles in larger residential care organisations are held by men.

International Women's Day: Female Leadership in Residential Aged Care
© Danielle Robertson Consulting Pty Ltd t/as DR Care Solutions


Around 83.3% of aged care residential services workers are women[1]. While smaller residential care facilities are largely managed by women, when it comes to the larger operators, they are predominantly run by men.


Australia is said to be the only country in the world with a dedicated government agency measuring the progress of women in the workplace and promoting gender equality in the workplace with a raft of resources for employers.


It’s called the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA)[2] and it was established under the Commonwealth’s Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012. Under the Act, if an employer employs more than 100 workers, it must report its gender statistics and workplace equality initiatives to the WGEA annually.


Why? Well, not only is equality in the workplace “fair” and “the right thing to do”, employing women, particularly in leadership roles, is linked to productivity and economic growth.


The work of the WGEA in measuring female leadership in residential aged care came to my attention through the WGEA submission[1] (of September 2019), to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality & Safety (2018-2021).


In its paper, the WGEA shared leadership data on Australia’s residential aged care sector. To summarise, those residential care operators with:

  • Fewer than 250 employees were largely run by women; the latest WGEA statistics[3] (of 2021) show this has remained steady with a breakdown of 70.2% female CEOs to 29.8% male CEOs.

  • Between 250 and 1,000 employees, there was a roughly 50:50 gender split in leadership; this has remained constant in the 2021 WGEA statistics.

  • More than 1,000 or more employees the majority of CEO roles were held by men; with the 2021 WGEA statistics showing 36.6% female CEOs and 63.4% male CEOs.

 

So the plum jobs are going to males in a sector predominantly organised by females.


Taking a quick look at Australia’s top 20 residential aged care operators[4], despite recent female CEO appointments the percentage split (36.6%/63.4%), as of International Women’s Day 2023, remains the same.


Our top seven female CEOs


We celebrate these leaders of those top 20 operators[5] and note their appointment dates:

 

When can we expect change?


With other WGEA statistics showing that strategies to improve the pipeline of women leaders are being adopted within the sector – hopefully change will come soon.


For example, five years ago 70.7% of residential aged care operators had flexible working conditions. In 2021 this has jumped to 81.9%. In the same period of time, the number of operators with a gender equality strategy rose from 74.3% to 77.7%. Though the salary gap reduction has been glacial from a 24.5% gap in 2016 reduced to 22.8% in 2021[4].


We’ll continue to watch with interest and keep you informed.

 

Happy International Women's Day!

 


 

Needing care assistance for your loved one? Please feel free to call me, Danielle Robertson, at any time for an initial discussion on how to set up the right care, support and assistance at the right time and in the right place.
- Contact Danielle - For An Impartial & Confidential Conversation

 


Resources

[1] Royal Commission Into Aged Care Quality and Safety: Workplace Gender Equality Agency Responses
[2] Australian Government Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA)
[3] Australian Government WGEA Data Explorer
[4] Listing taken from KPMG's Aged Care Market Analysis 2022
[5] In order of size of operator, i.e. number of residential places.
[6] One of the currently two ASX-listed residential care operators.

 


 

Danielle Robertson

Danielle Robertson

Working with you and your support network to get the right care outcomes for you and your loved ones. Danielle Robertson is founder and CEO of DR Care Solutions, offering aged care and disability care concierge services and expertise on how to set up the right care, support and assistance for your loved one, at the right time and in the right place. Danielle's experience in the Australian care sector spans over three and a half decades. Now that's a lot of experience, wisdom and networks!