Older Women's Career Development and Social Inclusion (Report‪)‬

This paper considers women's career development and the potential contribution of career development theory, research, practice and policy in advancing a social inclusion agenda. In particular, the paper focuses on the career development of women aged 45 and over, the benchmark used to describe mature-age workers, and an age after which it becomes more difficult for people to re-enter the workforce once they have left it (Commonwealth of Australia, 2001). In this regard, the situation of older women may be more difficult than that of their male counterparts for a range of reasons including their complex career trajectories, which may include broken employment patterns, part-time employment and inequality in the workforce (Australian Government Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency, 2008; Bimrose, 2008). In the contexts of an ageing population and labour market shortages, the labour market penalties incurred by older women warrant consideration. Career development policy and service provision in Australia and internationally have maintained a focus on supporting young people to move from school and into the workforce. But there is growing recognition in Australia and internationally that adults may also benefit from career development support. The lack of provision of such support has been criticised (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2002, 2004). Such support is in keeping with the principles of the Australian Government's social inclusion agenda (Australian Government, 2008). This paper first provides an overview of women's career development with an emphasis on older women. Then, within the context of career development's long-held values related to social justice and Australia's social inclusion agenda, the paper considers possible career development responses in terms of theory, research, practice and policy.