Workplaces are more than just places where we clock in and out: they’re communities. Like any community, they thrive when people feel safe, respected and treated equally. Creating that type of environment takes intention, effort and appropriate policies and practices. On the 19th November 2025, Our Watch is partnering with the Diversity Council of Australia to present on this very topic, and you can foster greater gender equality, safety and respect in your workplace. You can RSVP to the session here.
Let’s look at how we can build environments where everyone (regardless of gender, experience and identity) feels valued, heard and empowered.
Understanding the drivers of work-related gender-based violence
Sexual harassment, gender-based discrimination, and other unwanted behaviours based on staff members identities and experiences come about where women are viewed as ‘less than’ and disrespected. The drivers of these types of behaviours are:
- Gender inequality and power imbalances; unequal distribution of power, resources, and opportunities between genders,
- Condoning of violence; when violence against women is excused, trivialised, or blamed on the victim,
- Rigid gender stereotypes; harmful beliefs about what it means to be a man or woman, including expectations of male dominance, aggression, and female subservience, and;
- Men’s control over decision-making; the belief that men should control decisions in both private and public life, including within the workplace, limits women’s independence and autonomy.
- Male bonding over denigrating women; sometimes manifesting as ‘locker-room talk’, or commentary on women’s attractiveness or sexual activity.
Learn about the link between gender inequality and violence against women. For more about the drivers of gender-based violence, read Change the Story, Our Watch’s evidence-based framework for the prevention of violence against women.
Why do workplaces need to prevent gender-based violence?
It’s not just about being the ‘right thing to do’; preventing gender-based violence (such as sexual harassment, discrimination, gender-based harassment, and workplaces which are ‘hostile on the basis of sex’) is not only important from a culture perspective, but it is now a legal requirement for workplaces under the Sex Discrimination Act to undertake all ‘reasonable and proportionate steps’ to prevent workplace gender-based violence from occurring.
It also creates more profitable and productive workplaces. Workplaces which are more gender equal, and retain diverse staff on their leadership teams and Boards have repeatedly shown to out-perform similar workplaces with homogenous leadership and teams. You are also more likely to innovate, have a more humanised culture, and retain great talent.
Safety: More than just physical
Psycho-social safety means ensuring that people feel comfortable speaking up, sharing ideas, and being themselves without fear of embarrassment or retaliation. It also means a workplace that is, as far as possible, free from workplace behaviours that cause stress, anxiety or other mental health issues. Psycho-social safety is the foundation of trust and innovation, and boosts retention, productivity and reputation.
Here’s some ideas on how to foster psycho-social safety in your workplace:
- Encourage open dialogue. Create spaces where people can voice concerns or offer feedback without judgment.
- Make reporting easy, anonymous and confidential. Whether it’s harassment, discrimination or bullying, people need to know they can report issues safely and that action will be taken. They need to know that they will be taken seriously and that their complaint will be handled delicately. Your reporting will be more accurate if you have an anonymous option (you can engage third parties to oversee this).
- Train for empathy. Go beyond compliance checklists, use real-life scenarios and emotional intelligence training to help people understand the impact of their behaviour, and model the types of behaviours that you want to see.
Don’t forget physical safety can have different risks for men, women and non-binary people. Gendered risks to physical safety should be considered in inclusive facilities (like gender-neutral restrooms), travel policies and protocols for handling harassment, whether it happens in the office, online, at a different worksite or a client dinner.
Respect: It’s in the everyday moments
Respect isn’t just a value on a poster; it’s something we show in the way we speak, listen and interact every day. Often, it’s the little things that make the biggest difference.
- Use inclusive language. Swap out gendered terms like “guys” or “manpower” for “team” or “crew”. It’s a small shift with a big impact.
- Normalise sharing pronouns. Sharing pronouns in email signatures or meetings helps create a culture where everyone’s gender identity is respected.
- Be mindful in meetings. Notice who gets interrupted or overlooked. Step in and say, “Let’s hear them finish.”
- Who does what? Take note of who does certain roles or tasks (such as taking minutes, organising social events or fundraisers, cleaning the kitchen, etc.) and take steps to ensure that these are spread across genders and seniority levels
Respect also means recognising that people experience the workplace differently. A woman of colour, a trans man, a person with disability or a non-binary colleague may face unique barriers at work. Listening and learning from those experiences is key to building a truly inclusive culture.
Learn more about how to centre marginalised voices at work.
Gender equality: Beyond the paycheck
Yes, equal pay matters. But, gender equality goes deeper -; it’s about equal access to opportunities, leadership and decision-making.
Here are some ways to shift the dial:
- Review promotion and performance data. Are people of all genders advancing at the same rate? If not, ask why, and fix it.
- Support flexible work. Caregiving responsibilities still fall disproportionately on women. Offering flexible schedules, remote options and parental leave (and encouraging men to take parental leave) helps level the playing field.
- Create mentorship and sponsorship opportunities. Pair emerging talent with experienced leaders and make sure those pairings reflect gender diversity.
Representation matters too. Who’s in the room when big decisions are made? Who’s shaping the future of your organisation? If it’s mostly men, it’s time to rethink who gets a seat at the table.
Culture change takes time
No one becomes inclusive overnight. Culture change is a journey, not a checklist. It takes consistency, humility and a willingness to learn (and unlearn).
- Start with data. Use surveys, feedback, interviews, focus groups, and metrics to understand where things stand, and where they need to improve.
- Lead from the top. Culture change is most effective when it is driven from and modelled by the senior leadership team. They set the tone for the rest of the organisation.
- Celebrate progress. Share wins, like increased gender diversity or improved inclusion scores, but also be honest about what still needs work.
- Make inclusion everyone’s job. Empower employee resource groups, add metrics to the KPIs on inclusion measures for senior leaders and make sure managers are trained to lead with empathy.
Remember: culture isn’t what you say, it’s what you tolerate. If someone makes a sexist joke and no one speaks up, that silence becomes part of your culture. The behaviours you walk past, is the behaviour that you implicitly endorse.
Final thoughts: Lead with curiosity and courage
Creating safe, respectful, and gender-equal workplaces isn’t about perfection; it’s about progress. It means being brave enough to challenge outdated norms, curious enough to keep learning, and compassionate enough to centre the voices of those most impacted.
So ask yourself: what kind of workplace do you want to be part of? One where people survive, or one where they thrive?
Come along to Diversity Council of Australia’s webinar with Our Watch on Preventing Gendered Violence at Work as part of Inclusion@Work Week from 12.30pm – 2pm AEDT on Wednesday 19th November. You can hear from practitioners from Our Watch and DCA about how to foster safe, respectful, and equal workplaces, along with access to tools and templates to help you on the journey
Additional resources
You can also access more information, toolkits, and resources at the Our Watch Workplaces website.
Alisha Taylor-Jones is the Workplace Implementation Lead at Our Watch; running programs to prevent violence against women in workplaces settings, with a current focus on small business. Alisha has led projects with large Australian organisations across the construction, telecommunications, and retail sectors, and managed mentoring and leadership programs for women across male-oriented sectors. Alisha has a Masters in Gender and Development, and over 15 years of experience working with government, universities, TAFEs, NGOs, and corporate businesses to foster gender equality, and inclusive leadership.