Ninety companies across Australia are now considered to be employers of choice for both genders, according to a new list announced by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency today.
This is the annual list that any smart organisation would want to be a part of, and it’s good news that the number of accredited employers has increased from 76 in 2014 to 90 in 2015. This figure has grown despite a more rigorous citation process. It shows that a commitment to promoting gender equality is becoming more mainstream across large Australian workplaces.
And according to WGEA, a number of positive trends are emerging that demonstrate a desire to create policies that don’t just support (and potentially alienate) ‘working mothers’, but aim to promote a systematic cultural shift for gender diversity.
Such best practices include increased pay transparency, offering better paid parental leave and caring provisions for fathers, a more strategic focus on flexibility, targeted recruitment campaigns and a cultural shift to outcomes-based working, rather than time spent in the office.
But while the list covers a strong mix of employer types, some industries are certainly better represented than others.
The major banks all make the list, as do a high number of law firms, universities, tobacco and gambling companies. Technology companies don’t feature strongly, while some of our largest employers still don’t make the cut. Notable omissions include BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Macquarie
To achieve the citation, organisations must demonstrate how they’re addressing a number of benchmarks for gender equality including: women in leadership; learning and development; gender pay gaps; flexible working; employee consultation; sexual harassment prevention, targets and discrimination.
From the list below, it seems achieving a WGEA citation is not only the domain of large organisations with a significant diversity spend. Although there are 60+ compulsory and voluntary questions in WGEA’s 31-page questionnaire, a number of small organisations have managed to successfully make the list.
See the full list of WGEA Employers of Choice for Gender Equality below:
1. AECOM Australia Pty Ltd
2. Alcoa of Australia Limited
3. Allens
4. Allianz Australia Services Pty Limited
5. American Express Australia Limited
6. AMP Limited
7. ARC@UNSW>
8. Arup Pty Limited
9. Ashurst Australia
10. ASX Limited
11. Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited
12. Australian Catholic University
13. AustralianSuper
14. B & McK Services Trust
15. Baker & McKenzie
16. Bankwest
17. Baxter Healthcare Pty Ltd
18. Becton Dickinson Pty Ltd
19. Benetas
20. Callista Software Services Pty Ltd
21. Caltex Australia Limited
22. Carsales. com Limited
23. Citigroup Pty Limited
24. Clayton Utz
25. Commonwealth Bank of Australia
26. Corrs Chambers Westgarth
27. Credit Union Australia Ltd
28. Curtin University of Technology
29. Deakin University
30. Deloitte Australia
31. DLA Piper Australia
32. EY
33. Genworth
34. GHD Services Pty Ltd
35. Gilbert + Tobin
36. Griffith University
37. Henry Davis York
38. Holding Redlich
39. HSBC Bank Australia Limited
40. Jacobs Group (Australia) Pty Ltd
41. K&L Gates
42. King & Wood Mallesons (Australia)
43. KPMG Australia Services
44. Lauriston Girls’ School
45. Lend Lease Corporation Limited
46. Little Company of Mary Health Care Limited
47. Maddocks
48. McCullough Robertson Lawyers
49. mecwacare
50. Mercedes-Benz Financial Services Australia Pty Ltd
51. Mercedes-Benz Australia/Pacific Pty Ltd
52. Merck Sharp & Dohme (Australia) Pty Ltd
53. Mercy Health
54. Minter Ellison
55. Mirvac Projects Pty Ltd
56. Monash University
57. National Australia Bank Limited
58. Norton Rose Fulbright Australia
59. Origin Energy Limited
60. Peoplebank Australia Limited
61. PepsiCo
62. Philip Morris Limited
63. PwC
64. Queensland Country Credit Union Limited
65. Queensland University of Technology
66. SAP Australia Pty Ltd
67. Shell Australia
68. St Barbara Limited
69. St Michael’s Grammar School
70. Stockland
71. Suncorp
72. Swinburne University of Technology
73. Tabcorp Holdings Limited
74. TAL Services Limited
75. Teachers Health Fund
76. Teachers Mutual Bank Limited
77. Telstra Corporation Limited
78. The University of Newcastle
79. ThoughtWorks Australia Pty Ltd
80. Transurban Limited
81. UBS AG
82. University Of Canberra
83. University Of Technology Sydney
84. University of Wollongong
85. UOW Enterprises
86. VMware Australia Pty Ltd
87. Warrigal
88. Western Sydney University
89. Westpac Group
90. YWCA Canberra
This article originally appeared in Women’s Agenda.
Angela Priestley is the publisher and founding editor of Women’s Agenda. She’s an author, journalist and passionate advocate for workplace gender equality and diversity. Her first book is Women Who Seize the Moment.
