2018 leaders in workplace gender equality announced

21 February2018: The Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) has today announced the listof 2017-18 WGEA Employer of Choice for Gender Equality (EOCGE) citationholders.

Arecord 120 organisations have received the citation this year, which recognisesemployer commitment and best practice in promoting gender equality inAustralian workplaces.

WGEADirector Libby Lyons said the steady growth in the list indicated that the businessbenefits and competitive advantage gained by improving gender equality in Australianworkplaces were becoming ever more widely recognised.

Trends amongthis year’s recipients include:

entrenchingorganisation-wide flexible work

programsto support women into leadership

tailoredparental leave policies to support use by both women and men

initiativesto attract women into male-dominated roles

supportingmen’s caring responsibilities

robustanalysis and correction of gender pay gaps

"Iam particularly delighted to see some of the innovative and excitinginitiatives by our EOCGE citation holders covering, amongst other things, flexibility,paid parental leave, supporting women in leadership and addressing gender paygaps," said Ms Lyons.

"WGEAdata shows there is continuing momentum and progress towards gender equality inAustralian workplaces. However, it also highlights the accountability gapbetween having a policy or strategy in place and being held accountable fordelivering results.

"Leadershipand accountability are essential if real progress is to be made in shifting theentrenched gender divisions in Australian workplaces. That is why the work ofour EOCGE citation holders is so important. It is only through more employers showingthis type of leadership and accountability that we will see the pace of real changeincrease.

"Icongratulate all the 2017-18 citation holders for their commitment to andrecognition of the many benefits improved gender equality can bring to theirbusiness. These employers are setting the benchmark and the pace for otherAustralian workplaces to follow."

2017-18 EOCGE citation holdersrange from small professional services firms to very large organisationsincluding universities and banks, with male-dominated, female-dominated andmixed industries represented.

"It is encouraging to see some newcitation holders this year in fields as diverse as engineering, manufacturing, insurance,IT and entertainment," said Ms Lyons.

"Each industry and each business hasits own gender equality challenges. We are confident that all our citationholders are driving change in their own organisations as well as playing aleadership role to promote gender equality across their industries and in thewider community."

About the citation

The WGEA Employer of Choice for Gender Equality (EOCGE)citation is designed to encourage, recognise and promote active commitment toachieving gender equality in Australian workplaces.

The EOCGE citation commenced in 2014, replacing thepredecessor citation, the EOWA Employer of Choice for Women. The citation isstrategically aligned with the WorkplaceGender Equality Act 2012 (Act), reflecting the change in focus of thelegislation to promote and improve gender equality for both women and men,while recognising the historically disadvantaged position of women in theworkplace.

The EOCGE citation is a voluntary leading practice recognitionprogram that is separate to compliance with the Act.

Criteria for the citation cover leadership, learning anddevelopment, gender remuneration gaps, flexible working and other initiativesto support family responsibilities, employee consultation, preventing sex-basedharassment and discrimination, and targets for improving gender equalityoutcomes. Criteria are strengthened each year to reflect best practice.

Prerequisites will continue to be strengthened year-on-yearto drive continued progress.

Newprerequisites for 2017-18 focus on strengthening accountability about flexiblework.

About the Workplace Gender EqualityAgency

The Workplace Gender Equality Agency is an Australian Governmentstatutory agency charged with promoting and improving gender equality inAustralian workplaces. More information is available at www.wgea.gov.au ---