Workplace gender equality indicators

Reporting on progress in relation to the workplace gender equality indicators will:

Help the Commissioner to assess your organisation's compliance with the requirement to make 'reasonable and material progress' on the gender equality indicators; and
Help you determine if the strategies and measures in your GEAP have translated into measurable change. This information will assist you to further develop and tailor your GEAP strategies and measures.

To meet workplace gender equality indicator progress reporting obligations, please use the progress report template and refer to worksheet 3 Indicators.

What you need to do

Required

Complete your progress audit and analyse the data.
Demonstrate your progress against each indicator.

Recommended

Refer to and draw on the Commissioner’s recommendations to guide the analysis of your progress audit data.
Identify and discuss any of the factors that have affected your organisation's progress in relation to the workplace gender equality indicators.

Requirements

Requirement 1

Complete your progress audit and analyse the data.

Before completing worksheet 3 Indicators in the progress report template, you need to first undertake a progress audit. A 'progress audit' requires you to demonstrate your progress in relation to the workplace gender equality indicators by collecting, comparing and submitting updated information to the Commissioner.

Progress audit 2023 guidance can be found on the Commissioner’s website. It will assist you to collect the recommended information and submit your progress audit data and compare it with your 2021 workplace gender audit results.

Requirement 2

Demonstrate your progress against each indicator

Following your progress audit, you will need to indicate if your organisation has made progress against each indicator. You will then need to explain why changes (or lack of changes) in your data either do or do not represent progress. You must complete the following sections of the template against each of the indicators listed in column B:

In column C, select ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to indicate whether your organisation has made progress against a workplace gender equality indicator.
In column D, explain why you believe changes in your data do or do not represent progress against each indicator.

In your explanation, you should refer to any quantitative changes in the data between your previous workplace gender audit and your progress audit. You may also wish to refer to qualitative changes you have observed.

Recommendations

Recommendation 1

Refer to and draw on the Commissioner’s recommendations to guide the analysis of your progress audit data.

Your progress audit includes a range of data that you will need to analyse and discuss in your progress report. You may wish to refer to the Commissioner’s recommendations about what data to consider analysing under each of the indicators. You can find these recommendations in the accordion at the bottom of this page.

These recommendations will help you understand if you have made progress against the indicators. They may also assist the Commissioner in their assessment of your progress. Please note, the below approaches are suggestions only and are not intended to be prescriptive.

For each indicator, you are encouraged to:

compare the data collected in your previous workplace gender audit and your progress audit. Then, consider whether your results show progress against each indicator;
comment on any notable changes;
discuss specific and relevant data from your previous audit and your progress audit to support your self-assessment as to whether you have made progress;
identify and discuss any areas where inequality appears to have notably increased; and
where practicable, consider whether progress is consistent across intersecting forms of disadvantage and discrimination. This includes in relation to Aboriginality, age, disability, ethnicity, gender identity, race, religion, sexual orientation, and other attributes.

For more detailed advice on how to analyse your audit data, the Commissioner encourages you to review the below guidance note prepared for the 2021 workplace gender audit.

Analysing your workplace gender audit results - Guidance note

PDF 1.41 MB

Recommendation 2

Identify and discuss any of the factors that have affected your organisation's progress in relation to the workplace gender equality indicators.

Defined entities must make ‘reasonable and material progress’ in relation to the workplace gender equality indicators.

The Commissioner must take the following factors into account when determining whether a defined entity has made reasonable and material progress:

the size of the organisation, including the number of employees
the nature and circumstances of the organisation, including any barriers to making progress
requirements that apply to the organisation under any other Act, including an Act of the Commonwealth
the organisation’s resources
the organisation’s operational priorities and competing operational obligations
the practicability and cost to the organisation of making progress; and
genuine attempts made by the organisation to make progress.

Your are encouraged to use the drop-down in columns E-K of the template to indicate whether or not you believe one or more of the factors above has affected your organisation’s progress against each indicator. Column L of the template allows you to discuss the factors that you have applied to each indicator. If you selected multiple factors, you may discuss each separately, or in general terms.

Commissioner's recommendations for analysis

Indicator 1: Gender composition of all levels of the workforce

In demonstrating progress in relation to indicator 1, you are encouraged to:
- Reflect on the gender composition at the top level, middle levels, and entry level of your organisation.
- Consider any notable changes and whether these changes indicate increased or reduced gender diversity in your organisation.
Indicator 2: Gender composition of governing bodies

In demonstrating progress in relation to indicator 2, you are encouraged to consider:
- any notable changes in the gender composition of your governing body.
- whether these changes indicate increased or reduced gender diversity of your governing body.
Indicator 3: Equal remuneration for work of equal or comparable value across all levels of the workforce irrespective of gender

In demonstrating progress in relation to indicator 3, you are encouraged to:
- Reflect on where the most concerning pay gaps were within your organisation in your previous workplace gender audit, and whether those gaps changed between your previous workplace gender audit andin your progress audit.
- Reflect on how you are addressing pay inequality, including reflecting onconsidering any changes to your median and mean base and total remuneration pay gaps across your organisation.
Indicator 4: Sexual harassment in the workplace

In demonstrating progress in relation to indicator 4, you are encouraged to:
- Review your employee experience survey data from 2021 and 2023 in relation to sexual harassment and consider whether:
  - the percentage of people reporting the experience of sexual harassment has decreased;
  - whether the percentage of employees who say they have made a formal report of sexual harassment to the organisation has increased; and
  - whether any other employee experience data in relation to sexual harassment has changed.
- Consider formal reporting of sexual harassment in your workforce data between 2021 and 2023. Are there any notable changes? If so, how do you explain these? An increase in formal reports may demonstrate increased confidence in your organisation’s ability to respond appropriately to complaints. Reviewing formal reports in conjunction with your employee experience data will help you to understand this.
- Consider your GEAP strategies and measures aimed at:
  - preventing sexual harassment;
  - ensuring complainants feel safe to disclose;
  - improving your complaints handling process; or
  - other sexual harassment strategies.
- Reflect on complainants' satisfaction with your organisation's handling of complaints in both workforce and emploiyee experience survey data.
Indicator 5: Recruitment and promotion practices in the workplace

In demonstrating progress in relation to indicator 5, you are encouraged to:
- Consider the gender balance for hiring and promotion across all levels of your organisation.
- Reflect on where there may have been concerning gender imbalances in your previous workplace gender audit data and discuss whether you have made progress towards equality in areas of recruitment, promotion, training, secondment and higher duties opportunities, and exits.
- Consider any notable shifts in responses to relevant questions in your employee experience data between your previous workplace gender audit and your progress audit.
Indicator 6: availability and utilisation of terms, conditions and practices relating to:

family violence leave;

flexible working arrangements; and

working arrangements supporting employees with family or caring responsibilities
In demonstrating progress in relation to indicator 6, you are encouraged to:
- Consider gaps in availability or uptake by different genders of leave and flexible working opportunities that were identified in your previous workplace gender audit at any level of your workplace (entry level, middle management, and senior leaders in your defined entity) and reflect on whether those gaps have been reduced.
- Reflect on whether your parental leave policy is gender-equal and consider how your organisation is working to overcome organisational barriers to men's update of parental leave.
- Consider any notable shifts in responses to relevant questions in your employee experience data between your previous workplace gender audit and your progress audit.
Indicator 7: Gender segregation within the workplace

In demonstrating progress in relation to indicator 7, you are encouraged to:
- Reflect on whether there were any professions or roles within your organisation that were particularly gender-imbalanced in your previous workplace gender audit, and comment on whether you have observed improvements in the data from your progress audit.

Updated 29 August 2023