Govt Calls for Public Comment on Gender Equality
10 January 2013 at 10:59 am
The Federal Government has called for public comment to help develop the next stage of its workplace gender equality reforms.
The Workplace Gender Equality Act was introduced to Parliament in November last year and will assist in closing the gender pay gap, which currently sees Australian women earning 17.5% less than men.
It will also mean that employers with 100 or more employees will be required to provide information against a standard set of gender equality indicators in their workplace from 2014.
The Acting Minister for the Status of Women, Jenny Macklin, said that the government is currently consulting on the specific reporting detail contained in the gender equality indicators.
"We are asking anyone with a special knowledge or interest in workplace gender equality to let us know their priorities," Macklin said.
“Measures of outcomes could include the number of men and women at different levels in an organisation, the proportion of employees using parental leave, occupations by gender and part-time work by gender.
"Other reporting matters could be about practical ways in which employers promote workplace gender equality."
Macklin said the consultation process and the development of the reporting matters will help increase understanding of what’s most important in improving gender equality in the workplace.
"It is critical that the reporting matters are useful to business and are able to drive improvements in workplace practices that support greater gender equality," she said.
"The new reporting framework will reduce the reporting burden on employers, as well as provide employers with invaluable information about their workplaces, their progress year by year and in comparison to their industry peers."
The issues brief is available online.
Written comments are invited by January 29, 2013. Submissions can be sent to women@fahcsia.gov.au.
Targeted face-to-face consultations are expected to commence early this year.
