Gender Inequality: Perceptions of Fairness and Justice

In this chapter, we consider gender inequality from a social justice framework. The chapter considers gender inequality in paid and unpaid work in relation to distributive, procedural and interactional justice, discussing why this inequality is often perceived to be fair. We then look at whether similar perceptions exist in relation to paid work, focusing on the experience of Australian mothers and their return to work following childbirth. We focus on mothers’ perceptions of the fairness and justice of the flexibility arrangements they often enter into when they return to work. Most mothers view their workplace flexibility arrangements as fair, consistent with a distributive justice framework. Many women also place great importance on interactional justice, particularly in their experiences in negotiating flexibility.