WORKFORCE
THE CHANGING WORKFORCE In the last decade, the optometry workforce has become more feminised and younger, while in ophthalmology women are demanding greater representation and recognition. RHIANNON BOWMAN meets the women striding forward.
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s a graduate, independent New South Wales optometrist Ms Yang Wang never envisaged a career that would allow her to run a successful business with a young family. But as her career has progressed, she’s come to appreciate the fulfilment she continues to get from her work, while managing perhaps her most important job – motherhood. “Optometry is an ideal career for raising a family, partly because you can plan work around family. The hours are generally nine to five, no late nights, and it’s relatively stress-free,” Wang, the mother of a two-year-old child, says. “And it’s rewarding, especially when you can establish patient contact for life.” Today Wang – the owner and principal optometrist at Eyecare Plus Corrimal – can count herself among the majority in an Australian optometry workforce that is increasing in size, becoming more female and younger. Aged between 30 and 34, she is one of 533 female registered optometrists in Australia, the largest age group, second only to the 25-29 cohort, which has 805
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