BUSN20016: Research in Business- Factors Affecting Female Career- Research Report Assignment

Internal Code: MAS7383

Research Report Assignment:

Task: Problem Statement The dominance of male employees in the rail industry in Australia has been well documented (Van Barneveld & Jowlett, 2005; Wallace, Lings, & Cameron, 2012; Wallace et al., 2010). According to the Rail Track Association of Australia (2015), as of 2014, women only make up approximately 17% of the Australian rail workforce, up from 15% in 2006 (Brennan et al., 2009), and although there are gains over the past decade, the industry still lags behind the national average of 46.2% female representation (WGEA, 2016). The contribution that female employees make to the performance of firms has been related to increased work team performance and improved engagement and financial gains (Yan & Liwen 2012; Perryman, Fernando, & Tripathy 2016), however evidence suggests that the degree of this efficacy is industry specific (Ali, Kulik, & Metz, 2011) and is only facilitated when additional moderating variables are present (Dwyer, Richard, & Chadwick, 2003). Metro Trains Melbourne (MTM) is the private metropolitan rail service provider charted by the Victorian government to manage and deliver safe and reliable suburban rail services to the people of Victoria, Australia. MTM’s diversity and inclusion policy encourages the career development of women in their organisation, however despite this, current female applicants only represent approximately 1 in 3 of all external applications at MTM, with the lowest rates being in operations and engineering roles (R. Christianson, interview, March 20, 2017). MTM recognises that the lack of female interest in rail industry careers is impacting on their long-term workforce planning strategy. They are seeking innovative ways to increase the quantity and quality of female candidates to career paths offered at MTM, especially in engineering and rail operations (services) roles. 2. Aim and objectives This research proposal aims to investigate the significance of an increased female employee representation on MTM’s business performance goals, and to establish the factors that are deterring female career interest to positions within the Australian rail industry. The objectives are to: • Determine the current rate of female participation in rail; • Examine the benefits of increased female participation on MTM’s business; objectives; • Examine the factors that influence the low rates of female applicants to positions/careers in the rail industry, and; • Develop strategies for MTM to help increase the attractiveness of careers for women in rail industry. A brief methodology To accurately assess the variables effecting the attraction of women to careers in rail and to assess their impact on MTM, this study has chosen mixed methodology to conduct this study. • Literature Review – to assess the current issues effecting the rail industry in Australia, which may include the economic situation, the performance of women in the workplace, and factors external to rail. Sources will include government data, rail industry association reports, academic journals, and other relevant publicly available reports. • Data collection –Secondary data will be collected from government and industry sources and advocacy groups. • Interviews – To support the findings from the secondary data, this study will also conduct key stakeholder interviews with Melbourne Metro, Advocacy group and female staff . Combined with key findings, these will assist in the discussion on the development of future workforce planning strategies. 4. Secondary data and data analysis methods As mentioned earlier, this study will mainly use secondary data from the Victorian government and MTM database, which would be available online. In particular, demographic characteristics of all staff of MTM, workplace flexibility and safety data such as flexibility in work schedule, occupational health and safety data and literature will be collected from MTM website and from their annual report. After collecting all data, all variables such as demographic characterises, workplace safety indicators and flexibility will be structured in an Excel sheet and then a correlation analysis will be conducted to find the relationship between attraction variable such as safety and flexibility and demographic variable such as gender and age groups.