Sydney, 22^nd August, 2012: A paper released today by Regus, the world’s largest provider of flexible workspace, confirms there will be an influx of female talent over the next few years as more female university leavers prepare to enter the workforce. In three years, 70% of graduates will be female, underlining that businesses and governments need to address the gender inequality gap in the workplace, and consider solutions such as flexible working.

Author of the white paper report, Meeting the future of work, John Blackwell, said: “Males have historically dominated the workforce in terms of the number of workers and their seniority. However, with females set to be the majority of tertiary educated employees entering the workforce, it is time to close the gender inequality gap for good. Women are increasingly going to challenge the male dominance of the workplace, and they will seek out organisations that support the female worker and enable them to fulfil their career aspirations.”

The new report, supported by Regus polled over 25,000 professionals globally at the outset of 2012 (with approximately 750 respondents from Australasia). It shows that for older staff, 72% of the worldwide workforce is male. For Generation Y workers, (those under the age of 35 years), the gender gap is smaller with nearly half of workers being female (48%).

From both older and Gen Y workers however, men are still on top when it comes to management roles. Only 24% of Gen Y managers in the workforce are female (76% of managers are male), despite the fact females enter the workforce with higher educational qualifications than males. In fact, 41% of females hold a bachelors level degree compared to 35% of males, and women are leaving university five to six points higher in academic achievement than their male counterparts.

Australia Country Head for Regus, Jacqueline Lehmann, said: “If organisations want to harness the talent of female workers, a number of steps need to be taken but perhaps the simplest and most effective one is to implement flexible working. A flexible work policy could mean offering shorter commute times with the options of being able to work from different locations, such as from home or a local business centre, as well as flexibility with their hours. This will allow all staff – but particularly women with family commitments – to be more happy and productive in their jobs.

“Gender disparity is an issue that Australia and the world have been facing for a long time, but now, with more women set to be entering the job market, the question of how organisations can harness the potential of their female employees is more significant than ever,” she said.

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