(a) Changing nature of work and work arrangements In 1984, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data still distinguished between ‘all females’, ‘married females’ and ‘notmarried females’ in its employment statistics. Statistics from the time highlight how significantly the world of work has changed in contemporary society.53 In March 1984, 94% of all men in the workforce were employed full-time, while the female workforce participation rate was 46.2%.54 The notion of the male breadwinner was strong and workers were less likely to move between jobs or have multiple employers. In contrast, in September 2019, 80.9% of all men in the workforce were employed full-time,55 while the female workforce participation rate was 58.1%.56 Work arrangements have also changed over time.57 Temporary or agency work, part-time or on-call work, labour hire, independent contracting and other forms of ‘non-standard employment’ are now common.58 This is particularly prevalent in the so-called ‘gig’ or ‘sharing economy’, enabled by the rise of digital platforms and marketplaces such as Uber, Airbnb, Deliveroo and Airtasker.59 The Commission was told about the types of work people do in the casual and gig economy, across a range of industries, as well as the way work is contractually organised.60 The 2018 report of the Senate Select Committee on the Future of Work and Workers noted that ‘at the core of gig economy work is the idea that workers are not employees, they are instead independent contractors’.61 As discussed in more detail in Section 3.5, ‘People who experience sexual harassment in the workplace’, people employed in non-standard employment arrangements or vulnerable workers can face a number of barriers when it comes to reporting incidents of sexual harassment. For example, it may be challenging for a victim of sexual harassment working under these types of arrangements, such as labour hire or gig economy workers, to identify an employer, a workplace or personnel who are responsible for safety or human resources. The Commission also heard that workers on temporary, labour hire, contract, casual or non-ongoing arrangements were reluctant to complain to avoid their contracts not being renewed or being assigned fewer hours of work.62 This may place workers at higher risk of experiencing sexual harassment.63 For example, women, migrant workers and young people commonly work in these types of arrangements in sectors where high levels of sexual harassment occur. Rates of union membership have also significantly decreased since the introduction of the Sex Discrimination Act. In 1982, 49% of employees were members of a trade union.64 By 2016, this had reduced to 14.5%.65 Respect@Work: National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces • 2020 • 75