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• Employment sectors and status of women employed
• Task areas in which women are employed
• Association of employees with farming
• Hours worked
• Child-care provisions

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3.5 Survey of Women employed in rural businesses

For an overview of the employment patterns of women in rural towns a survey of 100 businesses in 13 towns was undertaken as part of this study. The towns were selected from those with populations of between 1,000 and 10,000. They are Kerikeri, Kawakawa, Waipawa/Eltham, Te Kuiti, Bulls, Wairoa, Thames, Carterton, Alexandra, Waimate, Westport, Temuka and Cromwell.

Businesses were selected to provide a wide range of business types. These were then grouped into sectors. The survey achieved a 77% response rate. Within these 77 businesses, 492 women were employed either full-time or part-time. The numbers returned from each sector were as shown in the table below:

	Business	No. of Businesses
	Sector	Surveyed
	Agricultural Services	20
	Agricultural/Horticultural
	Production and Manufacture	8
	Retail/Hotel/Restaurant	16
	Finance/Insurance/Property	18
	Trades and Construction	6
	Manufacturing (non-agricultural)	2
	Other Services	7
	Total	77

Employment sectors and status of women employed

Each business was asked how many male and female staff they employed and the number of women in management and supervisory positions. The following table shows that the percentages of women employees was highest in the finance, insurance and property sector (67% of total workforce) and in the retail, hotel, restaurant trade (55% of total workforce). In keeping with national trends, few were employed in trades and construction. In all sectors, the number of women employed in management positions was low. The retail/hotel/restaurant trade and those employed in the ‘other services’ group (which included secretarial, photographic services, printers, copywriting, radio stations and newspapers) had the highest percentage of women in management positions.

Task areas in which women are employed

Women tend to be concentrated in the traditional task areas of manufacturing, administration and clerical work, service and sales. Among the businesses surveyed there were low numbers of labourers and even fewer in management and in professional or technical positions (see the above table). One employer wondered if women themselves were limiting their employment opportunities:

In a recent recruitment drive, all administration applicants were female, whilst only 10% of consultancy applicants were female. Would it be fair to assume that women themselves are still electing to stay in traditional roles?

Association of employees with farming

Ninety-one women employees were farm residents. The survey results indicated a tendency for women from farms to seek employment in rurally-based industries. Of those firms surveyed, 33% of the women employed in rural services and 24% of women employed in agricultural/horticultural manufacturing industries are currently residing on farms. Of those who lived on farms (including orchards) 20 were farmers, 56 lived with farmers, eight lived with parents who were farming, two were partners of farm employees and five lived on rural life-style blocks.

Hours worked

The following table shows the hours women were employed by sector. Almost 50% were employed less than full-time. This is consistent with national data on women’s employment trends. The number of women in the hotel and retail trade largely accounts for the relatively high number of women in part-time employment. Of the 96 women employed in the retail/hotel sector, 56 were employed part-time. One employer commented on this trend:

Child-care provisions

Businesses were asked how many of the women they employed had school-aged children (the questionnaire should also have included pre-school children, but this was unfortunately missed).

The table shows that of those 77 businesses surveyed, only 31 had child-care provisions. (The child-care provisions included in the questionnaire were as basic as flexible working hours and extra leave for sick children). The finance, insurance and property sector had the highest percentage of businesses with child-care provisions. Hotel and restaurant businesses were the next most likely providers. The table also shows that there is little relationship between the participation of women with young families in the workforce and the provision of child-care employment conditions.

Those businesses based on the manufacturing of agricultural and horticulture products were by far the most likely to employ women with school-aged children, yet were one of the three industries least likely to offer child-care provisions. The percentage of businesses in the trades and construction industries which offered child-care provisions were significantly less than for those other industries surveyed.

The types of child-care provisions offered and the number of businesses across sectors which have adopted each type of provision are shown in the table below. Of the 77 firms asked if they had received any requests for additional child-care provisions 76 had not. The one request received was for a company creche.

Employers’ attitudes towards women as employees was overwhelmingly positive. By far the majority said their educational qualifications, ability and experience were good. Eight firms had adopted active recruitment policies to increase the number of women employees.

Employers also made positive comments on women’s practical mindedness, their preference for part-time work, their stability, genuine interest in their jobs and, specifically, their ability to sell real estate well. General satisfaction with women as employees was indicated by the total lack of performance-related reasons for women leaving. The most common reasons given for women leaving were as follows:

Other employment opportunities		37 firms
Leaving the area		29 firms
Child-rearing		28 firms
Redundancy		5 firms

In spite of the appreciation of female employees, only 30 of the 71 firms who answered this question said they offered child-care employment provisions. In small towns where agency-provided child-care would be minimal or non-existent, employer-provided assistance can be expected to be an important factor in the encouragement of women with children into the work force. It is also likely to affect strongly the opportunities for women to aspire to management and supervisory positions.

Experience in the United States is showing that ‘family friendly’ workplaces which provide childcare result in greater staff retention and stability, less sick leave taken, greater loyalty and commitment, and productivity. The resulting savings in costs means a greater competitive edge for the company.

Contact for Enquiries

Rural Affairs Coordinator
Sector Performance Policy
MAF Policy
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
PO Box 2526
Wellington
NEW ZEALAND

Phone: +64 4 894 0675
Fax: +64 4 4 894 0745
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