Step 6: Develop strategies and measures

You must develop strategies and measures. You must document these in your GEAP.

Your strategies are the actions your organisation will take. They aim to improve gender inequalities. Strategies must address the 7 workplace gender equality indicators(opens in a new window) (and any other areas of gender inequality you identify).

Your measures assess the performance of your strategies. They show you how well your strategies are working. They help you see where you need to make changes to keep your GEAP on track.

6.1 How to develop your strategies (recommended)

Your strategies should:

address gender inequality on each of the 7 workplace gender equality indicators(opens in a new window). They will be for the lifecycle of your GEAP
be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound (SMART).⁶
target the underlying causes of gender inequality in your organisation (refer to step 2.2).
use an intersectional approach(opens in a new window) where possible. This will help you address any compounding forms of discrimination impacting your employees. It will make your gender equality strategies inclusive and targeted.

How many strategies

You must have at least one strategy for each indicator.

If you are performing well on an indicator, you should choose a maintenance strategy that will maintain your positive outcomes.

For example, your governing body may already have a balanced gender composition (indicator 2). A maintenance strategy would include an action that any change to the governing body will trigger a review of its gender composition to ensure it remains balanced.

Strategies with intersectional focus

Include strategies that address different experiences of inequality for different groups of people.

For example, you may have a balanced gender composition of the governing body (indicator 2). However, the governing body may not represent the diversity of the community you serve. Consider including strategies to improve this.

We suggest you use the following steps to develop your strategies:

Understand the underlying problems (refer to step 2(opens in a new window))

Analyse your workforce and employee experience data. Look at patterns and issues on the 7 workplace gender equality indicators.
Conduct additional research if needed. Use surveys, interviews, or review existing studies to understand the problems better.
Identify the underlying issues. Find the root causes of gender inequality in your organisation (refer to step 2.2).

Consult with staff about your audit results (and any other research) (refer to step 3(opens in a new window))

Engage with employees and employee representatives. Talk to your staff to understand deeper issues related to gender inequality. Their insights can help identify root causes (refer to step 3).

Refer to your vision and principles

Use your vision and the gender equality principles and gender pay equity principles to frame where you want to go. These help you make decisions and stay focused on your goals (refer to step 4).

Plan where you want to go by assessing current state and desired future state

Clearly define where your organisation is now, and where you want it to be in 4 years’ time (at the end of the lifecycle of your GEAP). Refer to WGEA’s policy and strategy guides(opens in a new window) for further guidance. Step 6.2 provides information on setting targets.
Outline the steps to move from the current state to the future state.
Decide what success will look like for your organisation. Ensure you can measure this.

Learn from others

Review other GEAPs and progress reports on the Commission’s reporting platform(opens in a new window). Look at what other organisations have done. Seek further advice from them (refer to step 1.4).
Review research and evidence. Use strategies that have worked in similar contexts. For instance, refer to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency’s Employer of choice for gender equality: leading practices in strategy, policy and implementation(opens in a new window).
Determine feasibility. Consider the strategies that worked in other contexts. Ask yourself whether the strategy is:
- appropriate – does it fit my purpose?
- replicable – is there enough detail about the strategy and its outcomes to replicate it?
- practical – is it feasible to implement this in my organisation?
- compatible – is the intervention appropriate for my organisation’s situation?

Develop strategies

Choose comprehensive strategies. Consider all parts of your organisation, like structure, culture, policies and practices.
Consider how these parts are connected. Strategies could focus on:
- addressing any data gaps you have in your workplace gender equality audit
- policies and processes
- communication and engagement
- education and training
- culture change
- leadership and accountability.
Ensure strategy options address intersectional gender inequality if possible.

Workplace Gender Equality Agency resources

Visit the Workplace Gender Equality Agency’s policy and strategy guides(opens in a new window) for further guidance on:

6.2 Set measures (required)

You must consider how your GEAP will help your organisation make measurable progress on each of the 7 workplace gender equality indicators(opens in a new window).

Measures will help your organisation:

assess how your strategies are performing
monitor the outcome and implementation of your strategies
your progress towards gender equality
track progress towards specific targets (refer to 6.3 Setting targets).

Performance measures

The performance measures will be used to assess your future progress against the indicators. They set out the minimum expectations for each indicator.

We strongly encourage you to use the performance measures developed by the Commissioner and her team. They will help you to understand your progress on each indicator. The table below sets out these measures. They also appear in the Guide on how to analyse your data.

The performance measures are outcome measures. Outcome measures show whether your strategies achieved your targets.

You might also want to consider using process measures. Process measures determine how well you implemented your strategies.

Using both types of measures helps you to understand what worked and what did not work with your strategies. It also helps you understand whether their success (or not) was because of the desired effect of your strategies (i.e. outcomes) and/or their implementation (i.e. process).

They can also help you explain your findings to the Commissioner and key stakeholders.⁷

Example of outcome and process measures for indicator 1: gender composition of all levels of the workforce

Target: To achieve gender equal representation across the organisation (for instance, minimum 40% women, minimum 40% men and the remaining 20% mixed genders, including people of self-described gender).

Measures

Performance measures (these relate to outcomes):proportion of women, men and gender diverse people represented across the organisation
Additional measures (these relate to process):
- proportion of role advertisements using gender-neutral language
- proportion of exit interviews conducted.

Strategies

Review and update policy on role advertisements, including to remove gendered language, list salary range, and list flexible work and reasonable adjustments available.
Improve turnover and retention processes, including exit interviews and employee network group engagement.

Commentary

Collecting outcome measure data will tell you if you have achieved (or are on track to achieve) your goal.
Collecting data on the 2 process measures will tell you whether the strategies were properly implemented. If:
- only a small number of your role advertisements use gender-neutral language, and
- only a small number of exit interviews are conducted, and
- you have no change to your outcome.

this may indicate your strategies were not implemented effectively and therefore did not achieve the intended outcome.

Why did the Commissioner and team choose these performance measures?

We chose them because:

they are the minimum data points needed to determine whether your strategies are working. They help you understand where to start
they help you focus on the most important measures
they are simple and straightforward measures that are easy to talk about with your stakeholders
you already collect data on the measures as part of your audit. Therefore, there is no extra work to use the measures
they support you and your stakeholders to see connections between these obligations.

You do not have to use the performance measures. However, the measures are practical and provide a benchmark to measuring change.

You can use your own measures in addition to the performance measures.

Your organisation may not have data against all the performance measures from 2023 and 2025. This will not impact your compliance.

If you do not currently collect data against one or more of the performance measures, consider a strategy to collect this data in future.

What are the two types of outcome performance measures?

There are 2 types of measures:

Critical measures are the minimum measures. These are the benchmark for your progress. You may achieve compliance without using them. However, the Commissioner wants you to use these measures
Supplementary measures are recommended for duty holders. Use the supplementary measures to better understand and assess gender inequality issues in your organisation.

The performance measures are pre-filled in the GEAP template.

These measures are the minimum expectations for your GEAP.

How will the performance measures be used?

The Commissioner will use the measures to assess your progress in 2 years’ time.

You can use additional measures if you are more progressed in your gender equality journey.

If you do not use the performance measures developed by the Commissioner, the Commissioner will determine whether the alternative measures you use are appropriate and adequate.

Refer to the guide on how to analyse your data.

To view the performance measures in full, visit Performance Measures(opens in a new window).

6.3 Setting targets (recommended)

Targets help you make progress on the indicators.

They are the measurable change or outcome you seek.

Setting targets helps:

focus your efforts
indicate whether your strategies are on track
decide if you need to change your strategies.

Targets should be:

aspirational but achievable
measurable
time-bound
related to outcomes.

To set targets you should:

use your current audit data as a baseline to monitor, compare and assess progress. This can also help to determine whether your targets are realistic.
describe the direction you want to achieve. This includes ‘to reduce’ or ‘to improve’.
reflect the final state, not the change needed to get there.

Use the format: ‘By when, who/what will experience what type of change, by how much’.⁸

For example:

Your audit data identifies a problem: ‘In 2025, the pay gap between men and women, was 10.0% in favour of men (mean total remuneration)’.
The target could be: ‘By 2030, our pay gap between men and women will have reduced by 50%’.

Principles for setting targets

The Workplace Gender Equality Agency(opens in a new window) (WGEA) has useful resources to help organisations to set targets. In its publication ‘How to set gender diversity targets’, WGEA sets out the principles of target setting:

clarity – set clear targets with timelines to ensure progress can be measured
small steps – consider setting interim goals and measures as steps towards a longer-term goal. This will focus immediate efforts and encourage momentum, while enabling the organisation to monitor progress
control – ensure managers can influence the metrics and have appropriate control over your strategies and initiatives to achieve the targets
realistic – set targets that can be achieved. This requires a thorough analysis of all barriers, and the support needed to achieve them
accountability – create managerial accountabilities and rewards. This includes linking remuneration or career progression to achieving targets.

WGEA also states that organisations should:

gain leadership commitment to gender equality and targets
be strategic with gender equality work by aligning it to broader organisational goals, plans and priorities
engage and regularly communicate with key stakeholders. This includes working with groups such as employees, employee representatives and governing bodies to set targets (you could do this during consultations)
set clear accountabilities to deliver gender equality outcomes
set up internal systems to collect data (which will help you report on progress to the Commissioner) and embed targets into organisational processes
review and prepare your organisational culture and systems for change

For further guidance on setting gender equality targets, visit:

6.4 Documenting your strategies and measures (required)

You must include at least one strategy per indicator.

Using the template

Use the GEAP template to document your strategies and measures.

This section of the template is organised by the 7 workplace gender equality indicators(opens in a new window).

An additional table is provided for strategies that fall outside of the indicators.

If you choose not to use the GEAP template, you must include strategies and measures for promoting gender equality in the workplace.

These should be based on the results of the workplace gender audit(opens in a new window). You should group them by the workplace gender equality indicators(opens in a new window). This will help us to assess compliance of your GEAP.

If your organisation does not have a governing body

If your organisation does not have a governing body, you do not need a strategy for this indicator. Please state this in your GEAP.

If you have not identified a gender equality problem for an indicator

If you have not identified a gender equality problem for one or more of the indicators, you should still include a maintenance strategy. This makes sure you do not lose what has been achieved.

For example, your governing body may already be gender balanced and diverse. In this instance, you could include a strategy to monitor its composition. This could be at regular intervals or points of turnover. This is called a maintenance strategy.

In addition, you could include a strategy to build the capacity of the governing body to lead on gender equality. This is called an extension strategy.

Completing the GEAP template

Explanation

Part E of the template is for your audit data analysis, strategies and measures.
Section 11 is standalone. This is because the underlying causes of gender inequality likely relate to multiple indicators. Analyse your audit data against each indicator first (in section 12) before you identify the underlying causes of gender inequality in section 11.
Section 12 is organised by the indicators. You can use the additional (optional) table for any additional strategies that do not relate to the indicators. (You can delete this table if you do not need it).
Analyse your audit data and describe the underlying causes of gender inequality. This demonstrates your understanding of the gender inequality problems at your organisation. Audit data is quantitative evidence. While underlying causes is qualitative evidence. These sections also show how you have linked the problems to your proposed solutions through your strategies. Using your audit data is essential as, over time, it will help you to understand whether your efforts are working (or not).

Instructions to complete part E

In section 11, describe the underlying causes of gender inequalities. Do this by:

using the ‘but why?’ technique to help you uncover the underlying causes related to each workplace gender equality indicator (refer to step 2.2).
drawing findings from your consultation (refer to step 3).
drawing findings from further evidence-based research.

In section 12, for each indicator:

Analyse audit data. Describe the gender inequality problem(s) using your audit data against the performance measures. Explain why it is a problem. Consider supporting your answer by:
- discussing where you have not made progress in your last GEAP (if applicable) to address in this GEAP
- including a problem statement to summarise your analysis (refer to step 2.2)
- describing additional data sources used to understand the problem
- highlighting any gaps in your data and your plan for building data collection
- outlining key insights from using intersectional analysis
Measures are what you will measure to assess the performance of your strategies. They help you to understand what data to keep track of. They tell you whether you need to change or adapt your strategies. This is set at the indicator level, not the individual strategy level. Refer to step 6.2 for further guidance. To set measures:
- use the performance measures. These are pre-filled in the GEAP template.
- use additional measures if you are more progressed in your gender equality journey. Refer to guide on how to analyse your data.
Target(s) are the numerical goals that you set based on your measures. Targets identify where you want to be compared with where you are now. They use your audit data. Set targets at the indicator level, rather than the strategy level. Refer to step 6.3 for further guidance. To set targets:
- use descriptive words like ‘reduce’ and ‘increase’
- use current audit data as a starting point. Use previous audit data (if applicable) and evidence-based research to assess whether your targets are realistic
- make targets ambitious but achievable.
  - Example target: By 2030, reduce the organisation-level gender pay gap (using mean base salary) between men and women by 50%.
Strategy is the specific action you will take to make reasonable and material progress against each of the 7 workplace gender equality indicators(opens in a new window), and any other gender equality priorities for your organisation. Include 1 strategy per row. You can add rows if you need to. Refer to step 6.1 for guidance on how to develop strategies.
Responsible refers to the role or team responsible for implementing each strategy. This ensures accountability. It also ensures the work can continue during times of organisational change. Do not identify employees by name. This will be a public document. Ensure you maintain employee confidentiality and privacy.
Timeline refers to when the activities will be completed within the life cycle of your GEAP. Include start and completion timeframes or just completion timeframes.
Related to other indicators – some strategies may relate to other indicator(s). Use this column to indicate what strategies relate to other indicators.
- For example, a strategy placed under promotions (indicator 5) might also reduce the gender pay gap (indicator 3). Therefore, you would mark ‘3’.

If you have other strategies that do not fit with the indicators, use the optional ‘additional areas of focus’ section to include them. For example, this may include strategies on cultural change, communication and broader gender equality issues. Delete this additional table if you do not need it.

How-to guides

Developing strategies using a comprehensive approach, including strategies on:
- policies and processes
- communication and engagement
- education
- data gaps and measuring change
- gender pay equity principles
Applying an intersectional lens to your strategies and measures
Prioritising your strategies with low resourcing

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