Latest news with #UNWomenAustralia
West Australian
21-07-2025
- Business
- West Australian
Workplaces urged to back equality and diversity efforts
Australian workplaces have made considerable progress on gender equality and job quality but experts say some sectors are falling short on senior representation of women and gendered segregation. As humanitarian crises and foreign aid cuts threaten women's organisations amid a global backlash against gender equality, UN Women Australia is calling on leaders to foster inclusive and resilient workplaces. "Global instability is leading to the de-prioritisation of humanitarian causes, including gender equality and diversity, equity and inclusion, as governments and organisations redirect resources to immediate crises," chief executive Simone Clarke told AAP. "Economic pressures are causing cuts to equity-focused roles and programs, while rising job insecurity and political polarisation are undermining inclusive workplace cultures." While there has been progress and efforts to close the gender pay gap and better value work in highly feminised essential sectors, there is room to do more. The gender pay gap sits at 21.8 per cent for total remuneration, but this does not make sense given the high levels of education of women, Australian Centre for Gender Equality and Inclusion at Work director Rae Cooper said. "We have significant care gaps where women do the great majority of unpaid care - we need to focus on ways to boost men's contribution here," she said. "Affordable, accessible and high-quality care is a must if we want to get to a gender equal economy and society, so moving to a model of universal early childhood education is critical." Professor Cooper will speak at a UN Women Australia panel event on leading with resilience. She said Australia was at the top of international league tables, with a highly qualified and educated female workforce, but there was more to do. "To build resilient, inclusive and productive workplaces, Australia must continue its trajectory to foreground gender equality and job quality across the economy," she said. "We are still not there on strong representation of women in senior and strategic roles and gendered segregation, where jobs and whole sectors are dominated by one gender, is still a problem, so careful attention to these matters is critical."
Perth Now
21-07-2025
- Business
- Perth Now
Workplaces urged to back equality and diversity efforts
Australian workplaces have made considerable progress on gender equality and job quality but experts say some sectors are falling short on senior representation of women and gendered segregation. As humanitarian crises and foreign aid cuts threaten women's organisations amid a global backlash against gender equality, UN Women Australia is calling on leaders to foster inclusive and resilient workplaces. "Global instability is leading to the de-prioritisation of humanitarian causes, including gender equality and diversity, equity and inclusion, as governments and organisations redirect resources to immediate crises," chief executive Simone Clarke told AAP. "Economic pressures are causing cuts to equity-focused roles and programs, while rising job insecurity and political polarisation are undermining inclusive workplace cultures." While there has been progress and efforts to close the gender pay gap and better value work in highly feminised essential sectors, there is room to do more. The gender pay gap sits at 21.8 per cent for total remuneration, but this does not make sense given the high levels of education of women, Australian Centre for Gender Equality and Inclusion at Work director Rae Cooper said. "We have significant care gaps where women do the great majority of unpaid care - we need to focus on ways to boost men's contribution here," she said. "Affordable, accessible and high-quality care is a must if we want to get to a gender equal economy and society, so moving to a model of universal early childhood education is critical." Professor Cooper will speak at a UN Women Australia panel event on leading with resilience. She said Australia was at the top of international league tables, with a highly qualified and educated female workforce, but there was more to do. "To build resilient, inclusive and productive workplaces, Australia must continue its trajectory to foreground gender equality and job quality across the economy," she said. "We are still not there on strong representation of women in senior and strategic roles and gendered segregation, where jobs and whole sectors are dominated by one gender, is still a problem, so careful attention to these matters is critical."
The Advertiser
12-05-2025
- Business
- The Advertiser
Gender diversity in workplaces could help boost profit
Harnessing the benefits of diversity and inclusion within Australian workplaces amid global pushback could boost company profits and improve conditions. That's the verdict of the chief executive of UN Women Australia, which will launch a pioneering leadership network on Tuesday to help address the gender and diversity gap. Diversity and inclusion programs have come under attack overseas, including in the US, where President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to end what he has described as "discrimination programs". However, a group of leaders in Australia is instead looking to reap the benefits. "We see an absolute willingness by Australian companies and organisations to really face into what it means to be an Australian entity - we have a culture of a fair go," UN Women Australia's Simone Clarke said. "I'm confident, based on the conversations that I have on a regular basis with our partners, there is an absolute undeniability that people value diversity in the workplace - that there is an opportunity to it." The leadership network unites influential leaders from industries across Australia to foster collaboration and share evidence-based strategies to tackle persistent gender inequality. Australian women currently earn 78 cents for every dollar a man earns - an average annual difference of $28,425, Workplace Gender Equality Agency data shows. And despite progress across employers, 79 per cent of workplaces still have gender pay gaps outside the five per cent range. That's where the leadership network comes in. It aims to bring UN Women's global insights to Australian workplaces, companies and academia to better understand gender inequality and its impacts on profitability and pay gaps. "By having a broad cross-sector network, we hope to lift the capability of a range of actors in this space," Ms Clarke said. Companies with higher proportions of female board members or senior executives are 27 per cent more likely to financially outperform those with lower proportions, according to UN Women Australia. Those with diverse executives are 21 per cent more likely to experience above-average profitability. Ms Clarke rejected characterisations of diversity in the workplace as "men versus women". "It's really about balancing out the playing field, but also providing diverse views, because we know in that diversity, we see better results," she said. Harnessing the benefits of diversity and inclusion within Australian workplaces amid global pushback could boost company profits and improve conditions. That's the verdict of the chief executive of UN Women Australia, which will launch a pioneering leadership network on Tuesday to help address the gender and diversity gap. Diversity and inclusion programs have come under attack overseas, including in the US, where President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to end what he has described as "discrimination programs". However, a group of leaders in Australia is instead looking to reap the benefits. "We see an absolute willingness by Australian companies and organisations to really face into what it means to be an Australian entity - we have a culture of a fair go," UN Women Australia's Simone Clarke said. "I'm confident, based on the conversations that I have on a regular basis with our partners, there is an absolute undeniability that people value diversity in the workplace - that there is an opportunity to it." The leadership network unites influential leaders from industries across Australia to foster collaboration and share evidence-based strategies to tackle persistent gender inequality. Australian women currently earn 78 cents for every dollar a man earns - an average annual difference of $28,425, Workplace Gender Equality Agency data shows. And despite progress across employers, 79 per cent of workplaces still have gender pay gaps outside the five per cent range. That's where the leadership network comes in. It aims to bring UN Women's global insights to Australian workplaces, companies and academia to better understand gender inequality and its impacts on profitability and pay gaps. "By having a broad cross-sector network, we hope to lift the capability of a range of actors in this space," Ms Clarke said. Companies with higher proportions of female board members or senior executives are 27 per cent more likely to financially outperform those with lower proportions, according to UN Women Australia. Those with diverse executives are 21 per cent more likely to experience above-average profitability. Ms Clarke rejected characterisations of diversity in the workplace as "men versus women". "It's really about balancing out the playing field, but also providing diverse views, because we know in that diversity, we see better results," she said. Harnessing the benefits of diversity and inclusion within Australian workplaces amid global pushback could boost company profits and improve conditions. That's the verdict of the chief executive of UN Women Australia, which will launch a pioneering leadership network on Tuesday to help address the gender and diversity gap. Diversity and inclusion programs have come under attack overseas, including in the US, where President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to end what he has described as "discrimination programs". However, a group of leaders in Australia is instead looking to reap the benefits. "We see an absolute willingness by Australian companies and organisations to really face into what it means to be an Australian entity - we have a culture of a fair go," UN Women Australia's Simone Clarke said. "I'm confident, based on the conversations that I have on a regular basis with our partners, there is an absolute undeniability that people value diversity in the workplace - that there is an opportunity to it." The leadership network unites influential leaders from industries across Australia to foster collaboration and share evidence-based strategies to tackle persistent gender inequality. Australian women currently earn 78 cents for every dollar a man earns - an average annual difference of $28,425, Workplace Gender Equality Agency data shows. And despite progress across employers, 79 per cent of workplaces still have gender pay gaps outside the five per cent range. That's where the leadership network comes in. It aims to bring UN Women's global insights to Australian workplaces, companies and academia to better understand gender inequality and its impacts on profitability and pay gaps. "By having a broad cross-sector network, we hope to lift the capability of a range of actors in this space," Ms Clarke said. Companies with higher proportions of female board members or senior executives are 27 per cent more likely to financially outperform those with lower proportions, according to UN Women Australia. Those with diverse executives are 21 per cent more likely to experience above-average profitability. Ms Clarke rejected characterisations of diversity in the workplace as "men versus women". "It's really about balancing out the playing field, but also providing diverse views, because we know in that diversity, we see better results," she said. Harnessing the benefits of diversity and inclusion within Australian workplaces amid global pushback could boost company profits and improve conditions. That's the verdict of the chief executive of UN Women Australia, which will launch a pioneering leadership network on Tuesday to help address the gender and diversity gap. Diversity and inclusion programs have come under attack overseas, including in the US, where President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to end what he has described as "discrimination programs". However, a group of leaders in Australia is instead looking to reap the benefits. "We see an absolute willingness by Australian companies and organisations to really face into what it means to be an Australian entity - we have a culture of a fair go," UN Women Australia's Simone Clarke said. "I'm confident, based on the conversations that I have on a regular basis with our partners, there is an absolute undeniability that people value diversity in the workplace - that there is an opportunity to it." The leadership network unites influential leaders from industries across Australia to foster collaboration and share evidence-based strategies to tackle persistent gender inequality. Australian women currently earn 78 cents for every dollar a man earns - an average annual difference of $28,425, Workplace Gender Equality Agency data shows. And despite progress across employers, 79 per cent of workplaces still have gender pay gaps outside the five per cent range. That's where the leadership network comes in. It aims to bring UN Women's global insights to Australian workplaces, companies and academia to better understand gender inequality and its impacts on profitability and pay gaps. "By having a broad cross-sector network, we hope to lift the capability of a range of actors in this space," Ms Clarke said. Companies with higher proportions of female board members or senior executives are 27 per cent more likely to financially outperform those with lower proportions, according to UN Women Australia. Those with diverse executives are 21 per cent more likely to experience above-average profitability. Ms Clarke rejected characterisations of diversity in the workplace as "men versus women". "It's really about balancing out the playing field, but also providing diverse views, because we know in that diversity, we see better results," she said.
