Presented by the School of Social Science and School of Political Science and International Studies, UQ and the QUT Work/Industry Futures Research Program - A full summary of the Symposium and all Speaker Notes can be found here.
Convened by Dr Michelle Brady (UQ), Professor Gillian Whitehouse (UQ), Professor Paula McDonald (QUT) and Professor Greg Marston (UQ).
The impact of changing technology on employment is one of the biggest challenges societies will face in the 21st Century. While technological change is not new and there is no consensus among analysts about the ways in which current developments will impact on particular jobs and occupations, there is general agreement that robots, advanced AI and new employment platforms are significantly changing the nature of work and will continue to do so into the future. These major transformations offer opportunities for individuals and companies but also pose major social risks, including increased precarity, unequal wealth distribution and associated economic insecurity. Such risks need to be appropriately governed. Current social divisions and trends, including changing gender roles and demographic shifts such as an aging population, will also shape the patterns of risks and benefits. This symposium brings together major national and international social researchers (UK, USA, Sweden) to systematically examine how employment rights, risks and rewards are being redistributed and to reflect on the most appropriate systems of social support to protect against new and emerging risks.
New inequalities? The impact of the transformation of work on younger and older workers
Synopsis
Major social risks, including increased precarity, unequal wealth distribution and associated economic insecurity, disproportionally affect younger and older worker. Such risks need to be appropriately governed. In this session Professors Paula McDonald, Dan Woodman and Shelley Mallet will examine the experience of younger and older persons with internships, the views, hopes an experiences of young people in relation to paid work and the role of the vocational, education and training system.
Public lecture: Winners and losers and the future of work
Synopsis
This public lecture was hosted by the Queensland Government's Office of Industrial Relations. Professor Milkman was introduced by the Queensland Minister for Education and Minister for Industrial Relations, the Hon. Grace Grace MP.
In this public lecture Professor Ruth Milkman argued that the key threat on the horizon is not the “end of work” or mass unemployment, but rather the degradation of work and the disempowerment of workers.
Following the lecture there was a panel discussion with The Hon. Grace Grace MP Minister for Education and Minister for Industrial Relations; Beth Mohle (Queensland Nurses and Midwives Union), Dr Liz Hill (University of Sydney), Associate Professor Dan Woodman (University of Melbourne), and Professor Ruth Milkman (City University).
Gendered Social Relations and the Future of Work
Synopsis
Current social divisions and trends, including changing gender roles will shape how new paid work is created and distributed between men and women. In this session Professors Jill Rubery, Christine Williams, Marian Baird and Rae Cooper outline current gendered trends, experiences and expectations around the future of work to systematically examine how employment rights, risks and rewards are being redistributed.
Social support, social reproduction and the future of work
Synopsis
This session will reflect on the most appropriate systems of social support to protect against new and emerging risks in the context of changing gender roles and the changing nature of work. Professors Asa Lundqvist, Gillian Whitehouse, Greg Marston together with Associate Professor Kay Cook and Drs Michelle Brady and Robyn Mayes will examine the kind of social support needed to support equality including gender equality including a consideration of the role of the temporary migration system in social production.
