Access to markets : does gender matter?

![CDATA[Women are completing university with undergraduate and postgraduate training at rates higher than ever before. They are also participating in the labour market in higher proportions than in the past, with the female participation rate in March 2011 standing at 58.6%. However, a gendered pattern of workforce engagement persists with 69% all part-time employees are women; 46% of women in paid work are e employed on a part-time basis, compared to 17% for men (ABS, 2011). In Australia, there have been a number of regulations and policy changes to further support women's participation in the workforce, including labour law decisions on equal pay, maternity leave and parental leave. Family provisions test cases illustrate also the capacity for regulation to impact in a collective and positive manner on women's paid employment. Despite improvement in women's access to paid labour market, gender pay inequity, particularly as it concerns the valuation of highly feminised work, has proven to be resistant to change ABS, 2011) This paper will discuss the key enablers to support women in the labour market and continued barriers contributing to participations and earning gap of women. It will conclude by providing direction for policy makers in addressing the participation and pay equity gaps.]]