Prime employers for women Diageo, AECOM, Vodafone and BD are included within the prestigious list of 2018-19 WGEA Employer of Choice for Gender Equality (EOCGE) citation holders.

The citation, run by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) in Australia, recognises employer commitment and best practice in promoting gender equality in Australian workplaces.

Diageo Australia Managing Director, David Smith, says: "I’m so proud of this citation and the recognition it brings of our sustained focus on gender diversity. We’ve worked hard to implement programs and policies to support greater gender equality and embed a culture of inclusiveness.

"Creating a work environment with a diverse mix of people, where everyone feels totally comfortable to be their authentic selves, not only makes Diageo a great place to work that attracts the very best talent, it inspires everyone to give their best and enjoy it. This in turn drives brilliant performance, it’s a win-win.”

Diageo depends on having diverse talent with a range of backgrounds, skills and capabilities in each of the 180 countries in which it operates. This is important in order to reach the company’s ambitions and to reflect its broad consumer base.

The business views diversity as one of the key enablers to help the organisation to grow.

Diageo Australia was assessed along the following WGEA criteria: leadership, learning and development, gender remuneration gaps, flexible working policies, employee consultation, preventing sex-based harassment and discrimination, and targets for improving gender equality outcomes.

Companies recognised across a wide spectrum of industries

In addition to Diageo, citation holders range from small professional services firms to very large organisations across a wide spectrum of industries.

One company in the engineering field to have been recognised is AECOM – which has earned a total of six EOCGE citations through delivering great results from its policies.

AECOM has put unique contract structures into place, including school term-only contracts and a ‘no start or stop time’ option to make the work-life balance for parents simpler to manage.

AECOM Chief Executive Todd Battley adds: “We’ve targeted 50 per cent women in our graduate intake by 2020. We hit 49 per cent last year.”

Meanwhile, Vodafone entered the list for the information media and telecommunications industry.

Medical technology company Becton, Dickinson and Co (BD) is another impressive employer to have made the cut.

To view the full list of companies which have received EOCGE citation, click here.

Gender equality gives organisations competitive advantage

With substantial growth in the number of recipients, WGEA Director Libby Lyons says Australian employers are realising that gender equality is not just good for business, but gives organisations a competitive advantage.

“More organisations are introducing strategies and policies to ensure women and men are equally valued and rewarded in their workplaces. Gender equality has become an important focus for Australian employers,” says Libby.

“These leading employers know the importance of achieving gender equality for their employees and for their business and are implementing leading-practice measures to do so.”

Trends among the recipients include: entrenching flexible work across the organisation, programs to support women into leadership, tailored parental leave policies, initiatives to encourage a return to work after a career break, supporting caring responsibilities, setting targets to achieve gender-equal graduate recruitment intakes, and robust analysis and correction of gender pay gaps.

About the EOCGE citation

The WGEA Employer of Choice for Gender Equality (EOCGE) citation is designed to encourage, recognise and promote active commitment to achieving gender equality in Australian workplaces.

The citation launched in 2014, replacing the EOWA Employer of Choice for Women, and is strategically aligned with the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012, reflecting the change in focus of the legislation to promote and improve gender equality, while recognising the historically disadvantaged position of women in the workplace.

The EOCGE citation is a voluntary leading practice recognition program that is separate to compliance with the Act.

Join a prime employer with a focus on gender equality

If the idea of joining a company which truly values gender equality, and is working hard to achieve and maintain the balance, appeals to you, check out some of the opportunities on offer from Diageo, AECOM, Vodafone and BD today.

Find out more