What more could business be doing to secure gender equality?

Like any great tale about a journey, there is always good news and bad news, or rather “not so good news”. The story so far in our journey towards gender equality is no different. Being the eternal optimist, I’ll start with the good news. Gender equality is moving in the right direction in Australia’s workplaces.

Our data now shows that 70% of Australian employers now have strategies or policies to support gender equality and promote flexible work. Additionally, over the last five years, we have seen a strong increase in employer action to address gender equality. As employers have taken action, gender equality outcomes have improved and the gender pay gap has declined. There has also been solid and steady growth in the number of women moving into management roles. Women now comprise 39.1% of all managers, with 43.3% of manager appointments going to women.

But our data also clearly shows that Australian business could be doing more:

• Accountability is crucial in achieving change. We know this from the last two Gender Equity Insights Reports produced in partnership with the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre.
• Access to parental leave has stalled. More than half the employers who report to the Agency do not provide any paid primary carer’s leave in addition to the government scheme.
• Most senior roles, especially at the CEO level, are still dominated by men. The 2019 BCEC Report found that women will not reach parity at CEO level until 2100.
• There has been practically no improvement in the number of women around our boardroom tables.