Employers of Choice for Gender Equality: 106 leading organisations recognised

The Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) has today announced the list of 2016 WGEA Employer of Choice for Gender Equality (EOCGE) citation holders.

Despite more rigorous criteria this year 106 organisations received the citation, up from 90 last year and 76 in 2014. WGEA Director Libby Lyons said the growing list indicated that the business benefits and competitive advantage gained by addressing gender equality in the workplace were becoming more widely recognised.

Trends among this year’s recipients include:

  • flexibility for all employees across an organisation
  • programs to support women into leadership and technical positions
  • tailored parental leave and return-to-work policies
  • supporting men’s caring responsibilities
  • robust analysis and correction of gender pay gaps.

“Employers increasingly recognise that equal participation by women and men at all levels of an organisation is good for workplace culture and performance,” said Ms Lyons.

“WGEA data shows there is progress towards gender equality in Australian workplaces, but it is too slow.

“It is only through more employers taking the initiative to promote gender equality in the workplace that we will see the pace of change pick up.

"That is why it is so encouraging to see more than 100 organisations meet the very high standard required to receive the WGEA Employer of Choice for Gender Equality citation this year.

"I congratulate all the 2016 citation holders for their commitment and recognition of the strong business case for gender equality. I hope to see continued growth in this community of leading practice employers."

2016 EOCGE citation holders range from small professional services firms to very large organisations including universities and banks, with male-dominated, female-dominated and mixed industries represented.

“It is encouraging to see some new citation holders this year in diverse fields including transport, engineering, manufacturing, insurance and law,” said Ms Lyons.

“Each industry has its own gender equality challenges. We hope all EOCGE citation holders can drive change in their own organisations as well as playing a leadership role to promote gender equality across their industries.”