Commission on the Status of Women Submission 
AWC Second Key Issues Consultation Project
The Impact of Life/Work/Family Balance Issues
on Women’s Health and Vice Versa
PROJECT AIMS
- Determine the life/work/family balance issues which impact on women’s health status.
- Determine how women’s health status impacts on life/work/family balance issues.
- Determine to what extent there is a reciprocal relationship between life/work/family balance issues and women’s health status.
- Investigate what family, community, social, economic and/or cultural changes and/or services may assist women in achieving a positive life/work/family balance and optimum health status in so far as there is a reciprocal relationship between the two.
- Pursue the above aims with respect to a cross section of all women in Australia but with a particular focus on grandparents, sandwich generation women (i.e., women with dependent children and caring responsibilities for other/extended family/friends) and older women carers thereby expanding on the research work already done by AWC in these areas.
BACKGROUND
In 2003 the Australian Women’s Coalition held a public forum raising the profile of the important role grandparents play in Australian families and communities, and the broad ranging issues of concern to them. At the forum and in the follow up to it the following re-occurring issues were raised:
- The vast majority of families have significant life/work/family stresses which result in life/work/family balance issues. Issues to do with juggling work and family commitments (including long and/or family unfriendly working hours and childcare), being time poor, worry about economic security, and lack family cohesion are all common.
- Many families report that life/work/family stresses have an impact on the health status of (some/particular) family members.
- Many families report that the life/work/family balance is so tenuously ‘balanced’ that the health status of (some) family members can impact on the family’s life/work/family balance.
- It is the women in many families who ‘bear the brunt’ of life/work/family stresses and balance issues, particularly in terms of their own mental and physical health.
In 2005 the Australian Women’s Coalition conducted a research project on the needs (met and unmet) of sandwich generation women (i.e. women with both caring responsibilities for dependent children as well as other/extended family members/friends), and older women carers. An extensive range of issues and recommendations came out of this research. Several of the main issues centred around life/work/family balance and women’s health, and the impact of the two on each other, particularly with respect to carers’ life/work/family balance and their health. These issues included:
- Recognition of the fact that most families have significant life/work/family stresses and/or balance issues and these are accentuated in families where there is a carer and someone (or more than one person) requiring care.
- The physical, emotional and financial demands of caring have a significant impact on the mental and physical health of carers.
- The health status of carers has a significant impact on their capacity to care and on both their own life/work/family balance and that of their family.
The prevalence of life/work/family balance issues for women and women’s health issues, as well as the relationship between the two, which came out of these two previous AWC projects, as well as the findings of AWC’s First Key Issues Consultation Project (June 2006 - see separate report), has led AWC to develop this Second Key Issues Consultation Project. The aim is to collect and consolidate more substantial data on the issues and the points at which they intersect, and to investigate possible family, community, social, economic and/or cultural changes and/or services which may contribute to greater life/work/family balance for women and optimum health status in so far as they impact on each other.
METHODOLOGY
The Australian Women’s Coalition has a membership of nineteen national women’s organisations, representing a large and very diverse range of women. The member organisations are:
- Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement Inc
- Australian Bosnian Women’s Cultural Association Inc
- Australian Church Women
- Australian Federation of Medical Women Incorporated
- Australian Local Government Women’s Association Inc
- Catholic Women’s League Australia Incorporated
- Conflict Resolving Women’s Network Australia Inc
- Council on the Ageing (COTA)
- Guides Australia Incorporated
- Mothers Union Australia
- Muslim Women’s National Network of Australia
- National Council of Jewish Women of Australia Limited
- National Council of Women of Australia Incorporated Limited
- Pan Pacific and South East Asia Women’s Association of Australia Inc
- Salvation Army
- Soroptimist International
- UNIFEM Australia Incorporated
- VIEW Clubs of Australia
- Zonta International – District 24 and District 23
Each member organisation will distribute the survey about life/work/family balance issues and women’s health, and the relationship between the two to a broad and extensive range of Australian women. Completed surveys are due in by 29 September 2006.
An analysis of the data will then be undertaken with AWC’s report on the Second Key Issues Consultation Project due to be completed by the end of November 2006.
Elizabeth Bennett
Research Officer
Australian Women’s Coalition
31 August 2006
2nd Key Issues Consultation
2nd Key Issues Final Report
Osteoporosis
Grandparenting
Sandwich Generation - Research Project Report
Trafficking
Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Women
Women and the Australian Constitution
