It’s been over 100 years since the first IWD and we’ve come a long way in creating gender equality – but we still have a long way to go. In 2020, gender inequalities continue to limit the ability of both men and women to be respected and to contribute at work and at home.
Gender
The business benefits for achieving gender equity in the workplace are well documented by both research organisations, government and by leading practice employers. In this section, you will find the following resources to help you manage this important diversity dimension.
DCA Research
Inclusion@Work Index 2019-2020
How inclusive are Australian workplaces for a diversity of employees, and how has this changed over time? What impact does inclusion have on performance and wellbeing? The 2019-2020 Inclusion@Work Index surveyed a nationally representative sample of 3,000 Australian workers to find out.
She's Price(d)less - 2019 update report
She’s Price(d)less is the third in a series of reports that uses econometric modelling applied to data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey to unpack the factors that contribute to the gender pay gap.
Change At Work
For well over thirty years, initiatives designed to improve diversity and inclusion (D&I) have been a priority for organisations – but are the plethora of D&I initiatives actually creating the organisational change they aspire to?
Let’s Share the Care
DCA's Let’s Share the Care at Home and Work report, timed to coincide with Mother’s Day on 12 May 2019, is a call to action to end the gender pay gap by enabling women and men in Australian families to ‘share the care’ more equitably.
D&I 101 - Conducting a Diversity Survey
DCA's Guide to Conducting a Diversity Survey - How to ask your employees about their diversity.
Myth Busting Sexual Harassment at Work
Using evidence to debunk myths and assumptions around sexual harassment in the workplace.
Cracking the Glass-Cultural Ceiling
DCA's latest report explores why so few culturally diverse females reach top leadership positions in Australia and what organisations can do to better recognise the skill and ambition of culturally diverse female talent.
Engaging men on gender equality
There is heightened interest in engaging men in the gender equality process. Drawing on the latest evidence and experience, this landmark report offers a set of recommendations for how organisations can engage men effectively to achieve gender equality at work.
Inclusion@Work Index 2017-2018
The DCA-Suncorp Inclusion@Work Index 2017-2018 is a landmark study, providing the first-ever national benchmarks for Australian workplaces in regards to the age, cultural background, disability status, gender, Indigenous background, religion, sexual orientation and gender identity of workers.
Capitalising on Culture and Gender in ASX leadership
In this landmark research, Diversity Council Australia and Deakin University, with the financial support of CPA Australia, tracked the extent of cultural diversity among women in leadership in ASX companies from 2004 to 2015.
WordsAtWork - Building inclusion through the power of language
DCA has developed a new Words At Work campaign for workplaces to show how inclusive language can improve workplace culture and drive productivity.
The Economics of the Gender Pay Gap
Recent public debate reveals widespread lack of community understanding about pay equity – what it is, why it exists, and what can be done to address it – as well as a tendency to minimise or explain away the gender pay gap in Australia through reference to ‘women’s choices.’
Older Women Matter
DCA research has found that older women (defined as 45 years plus) represent a sizeable and growing segment of the labour force but Australian organisations are failing to fully harness their skills and talents.
Men Get Flexible!
Although not new, men and flexibility is currently a ‘hot’ topic driven by the increasing number of dual-earner families, intensified fathering expectations and growing recognition that flexible work can generate positive outcomes for men, women, families and organisations.
Other Research
Women Collaborating with Men: Everyday Workplace Inclusion
This report presents evidence about the impact of unintentional gender bias on career progress. The report suggests how to involve men in working with women on gender issues and provides practical suggestions on what can be done to create a more inclusive working environment.
From Girls to Men: social attitudes to gender equality in Australia
A recent study by the 50/50 by 2030 Foundation has explored the generational attitudes of men and women to issues of gender equality and empowerment.
Insights into Sexism: Male Status and Performance Moderates Female-Directed Hostile and Amicable Behavior
In an online video game, lower-skilled male players are more hostile towards female players due to a female threat in a male-dominated social hierarchy.
The Unintended Consequences of Maternity Leaves: How Agency Interventions Mitigate the Negative Effects of Longer Legislated Maternity Leaves
New mums who keep in touch with their workplace while on maternity leave are more hireable and less likely to experience unconscious bias, research shows.
Algorithmic Bias? An Empirical Study into Apparent Gender-Based Discrimination in the Display of STEM Career Ads
Despite explicit intentions to be gender neutral, a Facebook ad for STEM careers was shown more often to men than women, potentially due to economic forces and competition among advertisers
Mckinsey (2017) Delivering through diversity
This report from McKinsey research reinforces the link between diversity and company financial performance—and suggests how organizations can craft better inclusion strategies for a competitive edge.
Intersectionality Matters: Guide to engaging immigrant and refugee communities to prevent violence against women
The Intersectionality Matters Guide aims to help people and organisations develop violence prevention approaches, strategies and activities in a way that meaningfully engages immigrant and refugee communities.
The Pursuit of Gender Equality: An Uphill Battle (OECD, 2017)
Countries need to do much more to close gender gaps worldwide, according to a new OECD report.
Case Studies
Indigenous women making their mark as tradies
A national Indigenous recruitment service is successfully placing Aboriginal women into a typically male-dominated workforce through an intensive traineeship.
WPP AUNZ has announced a target of 50:50 gender distribution in senior leadership roles across the company by 2021.
WPP AUNZ has announced a target of 50:50 gender distribution in senior leadership roles across the company by 2021.
ARTC recruitment of women into male-dominated jobs
The recruitment drive was deliberately aimed at getting women into non-traditional roles such as signal installers, and was part of the company's effort to improve diversity and capability by drawing from a wider pool of candidates.
Medibank's FamilyFlex policy (parental leave)
All eligible prospective parents are able to take 14 weeks of paid leave within the first 24 months of their child's life.
Flexible parental leave at Deloitte
From March 2019, Deloitte Australia is offering 18 weeks paid leave to all new parents that can be taken over three years, broken up in a range of flexible ways to suit each family’s unique needs.
Gender equity at Woolworths
As part of their 2020 corporate strategy, Woolworths is placing focus on increasing female leadership and removing salary wage gaps.
Challenging mindsets – Flexibility at Woolworths
Woolworths' innovative approach to flexibility to reduce turnover for female staff.
QinetiQ boosts paid parental leave conditions
QinetiQ boosts paid parental leave conditions and scraps qualifying period for primary care-givers.
News
COVID-19 is exacerbating existing inequalities and will widen the gender pay gap
Media releases
25 Aug 2020
As we prepare to mark Equal Pay Day on 28 August, Diversity Council Australia (DCA) is calling for a renewed focus on the gender pay gap as COVID-19 exacerbates inequalities for women.
DCA welcomes the announcement of fully subsidised childcare for essential workers
Media releases
02 Apr 2020
Diversity Council Australia has today welcomed the Government’s announcement that childcare would be fully subsidised for essential workers.
DCA responds to Respect @ Work report
Media releases
05 Mar 2020
DCA congratulates the Sex Discrimination Commissioner on the important and thorough examination of the issue of sex-based and sexual harassment at work in the report Respect@Work tabled this afternoon in parliament.
Perspectives
This International Women’s Day, let’s challenge stubborn social norms
Opinion pieces
06 Mar 2020
This International Women’s Day, DCA wants to challenge all gender inequalities, and the stubborn social norms that restrict all of us based on our gender.
Submission: Religious Discrimination Legislation - Second Exposure Draft 2020
Submissions
29 Jan 2020
DCA strongly supports individuals being protected from discrimination and harassment because of their religious belief and we proactively support our members in creating workplaces where religious belief is afforded the same dignity and respect as other attributes of a person’s identity.
Why workplaces need to deal with domestic violence
Blog
18 Nov 2019
Marking the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, observed November 25, we explore the importance of domestic violence policy in the workplace.
Coming events
08 Dec 2020
DCA's WebEx investigates the findings of the National Working Family Survey and explores masculinity and gender equality
Date and time are subject to change and will be confirmed closer to the event.
Webcasts from past events
09 Sep 2020
Adopting an intersectional approach to gender equality helps us understand how other diversity dimensions can overlap with gender to compound disadvantage and discrimination.
06 Aug 2020
Post COVID-19, many workplaces are thinking about how they are going to organise and structure their work practices moving forward. Not since post war time have organisations had such an opportunity to revolutionise the way workplaces conduct their business.