by Matt Walsh
CANBERRA, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Australian women who stay at home to look after children are the "greatest untapped potential" in Australia, according to a report from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on Friday.
The OECD report said the Australian economy would also benefit "substantially" if that potential could be realized, with projections showing that economic growth could jump by 20 percent over 20 years if 'stay-at-home' mothers matched their male counterparts' workplace participation levels.
"There are potentially large losses to the economy when women stay at home or work short part-time hours," the OECD report said.
"One of the areas of greatest untapped potential in the Australian labor force is inactive and/or part time working women, especially those with children."
However, gender equality and employment expert, Dr Leah Ruppanner from the University of Melbourne didn't completely agree.
She told Xinhua on Friday that instead of looking at the raw data provided in the OECD report, it was important to understand "why (parents) were making the decision to stay at home".
She said a number of factors - not just a desire to stay home - had contributed to the low full-time participation rate, including the sky-high cost of childcare. She said compared to other OECD nations, Australia had an "exceptional" part-time work rate.
"Some childcare costs can run as high as rent in Australia," Ruppanner told Xinhua.
"That is why some parents choose to work part-time and care for their children part-time."
She said employers could also look toward a new model of measuring work "by efficiency instead of time", especially in industries that don't have set hours.
While it would be harder for hotel workers or those in hospitality to work to an efficiency model, Ruppanner said more "full-time work" could be achieved by office workers being set tasks efficiently throughout the day.
"We're having the wrong discussion (in terms of work participation)," she told Xinhua.
The OECD report also concluded that more Australian women aged 25 to 34 have university degrees compared to men (54 percent to 43 percent of men), but only 45 percent of 'stay-at-home' mums work part time.
The overall employment rate of Australian women aged between 25 and 54 was at 72.5 percent, and the report said it was "important for women's personal well-being and perceptions of their overall quality of life" to take up paid work.
The OECD report urged the Australian government to consider doing more to encourage young women to join or re-join the workforce as soon as possible (if they have young children) in order to avoid further draining the economy'.
Ruppanner agreed, telling Xinhua that the onus was not only on the government, but employers and the employees to discuss the best option for parents who are choosing not to participate in the workforce.
