What is Workplace Equality and Respect?

Workplace Equality and Respect is an evidence-based approach and can guide you to embed gender equality in your workplace and prevent sexual harassment and other forms of gender-based violence including domestic and family violence.

The process

The Workplace Equality and Respect process walks you through four key steps you can take to assess your business, identify priority areas and implement actions to embed gender equality.

No two businesses are alike, so it also allows you to select different initiatives or focus on different areas based on your unique needs.

Workplace Equality and Respect: How-to guide

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This process includes:

readiness assessment
project planning
benchmarking and diagnostics
action planning and review.

With these elements in place, you will be ready to implement change.

The standards

Workplace Equality and Respect is framed around five standards:

Commitment
Conditions
Culture
Support
Core business

If businesses promote a culture of equality and respect across these areas, they can address the drivers of gender-based violence.

Workplace Equality and Respect

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Gender equality is good for business

The benefits for business leaders

be an employer of choice, attracting and retaining staff
strengthen culture and improve productivity and business performance
build your own, and your business’ reputation as a leader for positive change
mitigate risk of harm to employees and litigation against your business
meet staff and consumer expectations that businesses act on gender equality

Workplace gender equality is associated with a range of positive outcomes for individual businesses and for the national economy.

Increased organisational performance

The annual Gender Equality at Work report, which considered the performance of ASX200 companies, states that companies with greater diversity among their management and directorships are less volatile and sustain better than average performance on a range of metrics. It found:

Companies with female chairs had the best performing yearly share price changes.
Female CEOs had revenue increases above the market average.
Companies or organisations with female CFOs were in line with or above the market average on all metrics assessed.

When workplaces are equally appealing to women and men, organisations have access to a larger talent pool. Employees value positive workplace cultures and environments that offer gender equality policies and practices, flexible working arrangements and support for employees with family and caring responsibilities.

— Workplace Gender Equality Agency, 2016.

Enhanced organisational reputation

Working to change the social and structural conditions that drive violence is good for business as it builds trust and loyalty and enhances the workplaces reputation by showing leadership on issues the community cares about.