Women in the Community Sector Workforce

A recent report, Pay, Power and Position: Beyond the 2008 EOWA Census of Women In Leadership, from the Equal Opportunity For Women in the Workplace Agency and Macquarie University, identified that women are going backward in terms of getting senior company positions and directorships in Australia. Only 6 per cent of the top 3000 board positions, for example, are occupied by women in early 2009. The number of senior positions is significantly down on five years earlier. The study also found a 26 per cent-plus pay gap between men and women in senior roles.

Women have traditionally made up a high proportion of the Community Sector workforce, including senior positions. However, Com Management is finding this is changing in the more senior positions, but not for front line workers. We are also looking at the pay and promotion differences and would like your views.

Disability and Employment in the Not for Profit Sector

It is estimated that some 20 per cent of the Australian population of workforce age has a disability which can restrict involvement in the workforce. While Equal Employment legislation, employer education and of course the efforts of Not For Profit employment services have all done something to reduce the problem, there are still around 750,000 people receiving a disability pension. Yet research by Com Management indicates that less than 25 per cent of NGOs have policies which identify they will encourage people with disabilities to be employed by them and even fewer take a proactive role in actively employing them. This does not mean that many NGOs do not employ people with disabilities, but clearly there are not enough statements of intent and actions. If the Community Sector does not assist people with disabilities get employment what message could that send to the private sector? Best practice would dictate that every NFP Board should get a brief report at least yearly on the staffing of the organisation including their efforts, or at least a cost-benefit study, to employ people with disabilities.

Does your service have a policy regarding the employment of people with disabilities in the workplace? Is your workplace safety friendly? Indeed the concept could be extended to include aboriginal people, people from the CALD community and other disadvantaged groups. Or do you think your clients do not like to be helped by such people?

Budget 2009

What did you think about the 2009 Federal Budget? Does it meet the needs of the Community Sector? What about your particular area?

Social Networking

The potential uses of social networking for community organisations are only slowly being realised. Social networks such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter organise and create digital meeting places without the need for intensive planning and at a fraction of the cost of traditional institutional methods. For example, the American Red Cross has a Facebook page which has over 52,000 members who write comments, display their photographs, and generally demonstrate their support. The Red Cross in turn writes about its activities, invites people to events and posts updates and photos. There is also an application on Facebook called ‘causes’ which allows people to donate to a charity or not for profit organisation.

Clay Shirkey in The London Telegraph online states that ‘technology, specifically the web, is helping individuals, groups and communities come together in aid of social change ... [and] ... thanks to the internet people are now connecting en masse and coordinating a civic tsunami in defence of their beliefs and passions’. He believes digital access allows large groups of like-minded people to come together and collaborate without the need for management and infrastructure. He cites the success of President Obama’s internet campaign where everything from volunteers, donations and getting people out to vote on the day was through the net.

Social networks provide a ready audience for spreading the word and effecting social and political change. Shirkey’s recent book, Here Comes Everybody: How Change Happens When People Come Together discusses changes that are occurring in the way social groups function and the possible impact this may have on society. A review of the book appeared in The Australian on the 4th April 2009.

Community sector organisations need to keep an open mind and look at the tremendous marketing and advocacy opportunities of social networks. Organisations need to think about ways to use social networks as well as blogs and interactive websites as fundraising, activist and political tools. These applications provide a very inexpensive way to raise the profile of your organisation by encouraging digital meeting places where you can spread your mission and vision. Do not close your mind to the possibilities of social networking.

There will be an article on how to manage the increasing use of social networks in your workplace in the next edition of Australian Community Management magazine.

Do you have ideas you would like to share on how a community organisations can effectively use social networks and websites to, for example, raise their profile, increase awareness, attract volunteers and raise funds?

Is Gossip Good?

A recent article in the Sydney Morning Herald recommended the use of the 'office gossip network'. It stated that 'experts' consider office gossiping to be a healthy activity, almost like 'informal communication' and useful to understand your environment. It almost dignified gossip by giving it the status of networking.

It is true that every workplace has some level of informal information sharing. Sometimes 'off the record' comments can be beneficial, good information; while comments of no benefit are regarded as gossip. One person's gossip is another person's useful information.

The problem is, if you believe that some gossip is good, where do you draw the line? When does a piece of information pass from just plain interesting to gossip? Does it have to do with the motivation of the person passing on the piece of 'interesting information'? Does all gossip undermine your credibility at work? Or does it help you cope with your environment?

Welcome

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