Are you up to speed with new gender reporting rules?

From April 1 the requirements of the new Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 Act will be fully operational, and there are a number of changes employers must be aware of and ready to implement.

Employers with 100 or more employees will be required to report on more than 50 topics under six critical areas of workplace gender equality, called gender equality indicators (GEIs):

1. The gender composition of the workforce


2. The gender composition of governing bodies of relevant employers – the term ‘governing body’ is broad, and means a board of directors, trustees, committee of management, council or other governing authority of the employer.


3. Equal remuneration between women and men


4. The availability and utility of employment terms, conditions and practices relating to flexible working arrangements for employees and to working arrangements supporting employees with family or caring responsibilities


5. Consultation with employees on issues concerning gender equality in the workplace


6. Any other matters specified by the Minister in a legislative instrument
   
   Under this indicator, the Minister has the flexibility through a legislative instrument to specify other gender equality matters. These may relate to the updated employment matters, which reflect areas of historical disadvantage experienced by women in the workplace and are defined as:
    

• the recruitment procedure and selection criteria, for appointment or engagement of persons as employees


• the promotion, transfer and termination of employment of employees


• training and development for employees


• work organisation including flexible working arrangements


• conditions of service of employees including equal remuneration between women and men


• arrangements for dealing with sex-based harassment of employees in the workplace arrangements for dealing with pregnant, or potentially pregnant employees and employees who are breastfeeding their children


• arrangements relating to employees with family or caring responsibilities.

According to the parliamentary announcement by federal status of women minister Julie Collins late last month, the new reporting obligations aim to provide employers with the information to better understand the gender equality characteristics of their workplaces and at an aggregate level “inform policy development and provide an improved understanding of the experiences of women and men in Australian workplaces”, Collins said. She added that for the first time, the reports will contain actual data including the number of women and men in a workplace, what roles they fill and how much they are paid. “These are the things that really count in terms of measuring the experiences of women and men in Australian workplaces,” Collins said.

Key HR Takeaway

The consequences of failing to meet the new obligations are serious for some employers - in addition to being “named and shamed” by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, those who fail to report are barred from tendering for federal government work and some state government projects, and will not be eligible for some Commonwealth government grants.