The recent ISSA Cleaning & Hygiene Expo was all about keeping up with the latest products and trends — and that extended to the panel discussions, which examined how the broader industry is changing. Gender equity was a hot topic across several panels, with participants reflecting on how the traditionally male-dominated cleaning and restoration industries have evolved to be more female-friendly.

Rochelle Lake, head of marketing B2B at Essity Australia, said she had seen first-hand how far the industry had come. 

“When I first started, paid maternity leave just wasn’t available,” Lake said.

While there is now a greater understanding of the career impact of parenthood — with flexible working options becoming more common — many challenges women face are still poorly understood, leading to them dropping out of the workforce.

“We see 10 percent of women stop work when they have severe menopause symptoms.”

Education is key, Lake said, adding she had been heartened to see that men are beginning to show more interest in understanding issues that might only affect women. Recent research by Libra revealed that 42 percent of men had a limited understanding about how periods and menopause impact women at work, but 56% would like to understand better.

There has also been a change in behaviour relating to sexual discrimination and harassment, which is thankfully becoming less prevalent.

“It’s just not cool to do that these days, and if you’re going to do it, you’re going to get called out about it.”

Dr Jennifer Semple, senior manager of sustainability and education programs at Accord, said while there are now more women working in the cleaning and hygiene industry, the upper levels continue to be dominated by men.

“Most companies have women within them, but at that top level, there’s only really a few which have the female leader,” Semple said.

She added women in senior roles often find it challenging because success in those positions is often built on extensive networking — which often means socialising with large groups of men.

“This industry is very relationship-driven on the whole and it is much harder work for women. There’s frustration that comes with being a woman at that level and making those connections with this traditionally male-dominated environment.”

Brodie West, the first female president of the Restoration Industry Association, said she felt the restoration industry had turned a corner.

“More than 30 percent of businesses now have gender parity, which is amazing to see, and more than 90 percent of businesses employ more than 25 percent women,” West said.

This progress was reflected in the association’s management committee.

“We have 50 percent female representation at the management level, so that’s really positive.”

Lake said younger generations are driving a culture change within the industry, as they tend to expect workplaces to be more diverse and inclusive. When companies respond to that expectation, they attract workers who are happy to stick around.

“The more inclusive you are, the more supportive you are of your workers in general, and that builds loyalty,” Lake said.

Donna Willmette, national key account manager at Rapid Group Co-Operative, said building a more diverse workplace doesn’t just have benefits for the employees. Having more women on the leadership team can help companies take a more innovative approach.

“I think it’s really important to have that diversity in the decision-making room,” Willmette said.

“If you want to get ahead in business these days, you got to keep evolving and changing, and you need diversity to do that, because it’s not about doing the same things you’ve always done.”

Photo by Giorgio Trovato on Unsplash.