AGED CARE WHERE SEXISM AND RACISM WALK HAND IN HAND
The royal commission’s final report highlighted the extent of abuse and devaluation of women in residential aged care. As Kathy Eager and Anita Westera explain, for the abuse to stop, systemic change is required. e’ve heard a lot of horror stories in recent months about women being abused. It seems each new day brings yet another news item where a man (and they are invariably males) has used his position of power and influence to denigrate and abuse a female colleague, student, partner, acquaintance, client or worker. We thought we’d come a long way,
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in terms of equal rights, opportunities, respect . . . But the last few months have highlighted just how misguided we’ve been. There has been widespread condemnation of these situations and their perpetrators. And rightly so. Around the same time these highprofile sexual assaults started making headlines another report was published, the substance of which also highlighted the extent of abuse and devaluation of (predominantly) women: the aged care royal commission’s final report. You may recall it received a brief window of media attention after being released by the prime minister, together with the health and aged care ministers, at short notice on a sunny Sydney day following a week of high speculation regarding the historical rape allegations against a current cabinet member. The final report was titled Care, Dignity and Respect, the antithesis of the interim report which had been titled Neglect. In the months since, there has been significant public outrage, debate and national demonstrations regarding the
16 | Inner Sydney Voice | Spring 2021 | innersydneyvoice.org.au
rights, opportunities and wellbeing of Australian women. Members of parliament have been stood aside, and a major reshuffle within the federal coalition cabinet has resulted in an alltime high number of women sitting within the inner sanctum. These are all welcome changes. However, none are likely to impact on the one sector of society where women are the most vulnerable — the aged-care sector. Women’s work As is widely acknowledged, the agedcare sector is underfunded and so are the staff who work in it. Like childcare, aged care is traditionally ‘women’s work’. Women represent 87 percent of workers in the residential aged-care sector and 89 percent of workers in the homecare sector. Men represent just 12 percent of registered nurses in aged care and 14 percent of personal care workers. It is no wonder pay rates are so low. No one could seriously argue that funding and pay rates would be so low if aged care was traditionally ‘men’s work’.
