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Reporting is important to evaluate how we are meeting our obligations under the Gender Equality Act 2020 (Vic) and to assess the impact of our Gender Equality Action Plan (GEAP). Reporting helps us to promote gender equality in our policies, programs and services and achieve workplace gender equality.
Reporting requirements
The progress report must include:
- what policies, programs and services were subject to a gender impact assessment and what actions we have taken as a result of the gender impact assessment
- our progress in relation to the workplace gender equality indicators
- our progress in relation to the measures and strategies set out in our Gender Equality Action Plan.
2021–23 reporting period
Implementation of the Gender Equality Action Plan is over a four-year period. The department conducted a workplace gender audit as at June 2023 to help us track our progress, prepare our progress report, and identify where we need to focus our future actions in our implementation plan.
The department submitted the first Gender Equality Progress Report in February 2024 to the Public Sector Gender Equality Commissioner. The report was deemed compliant with the Act in September 2024.
Key points
1 – Gender impact assessments
Gender impact assessments (GIAs) are designed to help organisations think critically about how policies, programs and services will meet the needs of people with different gender identities and other diversity characteristics.
The purpose of GIAs is to create better and fairer outcomes and make sure all people have equal access to opportunities and resources.
The department has taken actions to improve how we prepare and use GIAs including:
- designing and delivering GIA training to department staff
- establishing a GIA central depository
- developing decision making tools to support employees to understand when a GIA is required
- updated the department's briefing templates to include guidance on GIA requirements.
For the 2021–23 reporting period, the department completed 74 Gender impact assessments.
2 – Workplace gender equality indicators
Gender composition of the total workforce:
- Overall, the total gender composition of the department workforce has remained the same as in the 2021 report, with 77% women, 23% men and <1% non-binary/self-described.
- The gender composition of the executive workforce has similarly remained stable, with men (30%) continuing to be overrepresented in more senior and leadership roles (proportionate to the total workforce gender composition).
- While the proportion of women in the executive workforce has decreased by 1% since the 2021 audit (to 68%), there has been an increase by 1% (to 2%) in the number of executive employees who indicated that they prefer not to share their gender identity or who self-describe their gender.
Gender composition by employment type:
- The 2023 data indicates that the proportion of all employees engaged in full-time ongoing roles has decreased by 7% (67% in 2021 and 60% in 2023) as well as the proportion of all women employed in full-time ongoing roles by 7% (65% in 2021 and 58% in 2023).
- The percentage of all women employed in part-time ongoing roles remained stable (18% in both 2021 and 2023) whereas the percentage of all men in part-time ongoing roles decreased (from 7% in 2021 to 3% in 2023).
Intersectional workforce data/composition:
- In both the 2021 and 2023 audits there was an underrepresentation of: (1) younger age groups (under 24 years of age), and (2) older age groups (over 55).
- The People Matter Survey results from 2023 indicate that more respondents:
- disclosed disability status (8.9% in 2023 vs 6.4% in 2021)
- identified as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person (2.5% in 2023 vs 2% in 2021)
- identified as transgender, non-binary or gender diverse (1.0% in 2023 vs 0.4% in 2021).
The department's Executive Directions Board has increased in size from 2021 (from 13 to 17 members). Of the Board members in June 2023, 12 (71%) were women and 5 (29%) were men. The gender composition of the Board was therefore less representative of the total department workforce gender composition, compared to the June 2021 baseline report in which the Board reflected the total workforce composition of 77% women.
Note that the Executive Directions Board gender composition as at the time of submission of this report (February 2024) reflects the gender composition of the total workforce as there are 13 women (76%) and 4 (24%) men, with one position vacant.
In 2023, the department's total median gender pay gap has remained stable at 0%. The median salaries for men and women were at the same pay point (noting that non-binary gender identity workforce data has been excluded due to a small cohort size).
The department's total mean salary gender pay gap has reduced from 4.2% in 2021 to 3.6% in 2023.
There has also been progress made in relation to median gender pay gaps identified by level to CEO. In 2023 all median gender pay gaps identified by level to CEO were zero or positive (in favour of women), whereas the 2021 data indicated that there were gender pay gaps present at the VPS 3 (1.9%), VPS 4 (0.7%) and equivalent levels, and within the SES 3 level (20.5%).
Total median gender pay gaps have persisted in older age groups, in full-time fixed term roles (7.9% in 2021 and 4.5% in 2023) and in casual roles (3.4% in 2021 and 6% in 2023). Additionally, the total median gender pay gap for full-time ongoing roles increased from 0% in 2021 to 1.7% in 2023.
Intersectional gender pay gap
Although the total median gender pay gap within the Aboriginal workforce (comparing Aboriginal women and Aboriginal men, including executives) persisted in 2023, detailed analysis of the 2023 data indicates that:
- Aboriginal women and Aboriginal men each have a higher total median salary than the total median salary of all department women and all department men.
- Gender pay gaps between Aboriginal women and Aboriginal men by position classification exist only within lower classification roles, whereas gender pay gaps are positive (in favour of Aboriginal women) within higher value roles.
In 2023, 27 formal complaints of sexual harassment were made. Most complaints were made by women (25 of 27), and they all related to external clients.
Despite improvements in collecting and monitoring sexual harassment reports, low rates of reporting and help-seeking behaviour continue to be an issue. This is evidenced by the gap between the 3% of all department respondents to the 2023 People Matter Survey who reported experiencing sexual harassment, and the actual reporting rates. In the 2023 People Matter Survey, 4% of women respondents reported experiencing sexual harassment (an increase from 3% in 2021 and 2022).
People Matter Survey data also indicates that diverse employees continue to be disproportionately impacted, with higher rates of sexual harassment experienced by respondents who identified:
- as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person (9% in 2023, compared to 2% in 2021)
- a person with disability (7% in 2023, compared to 9% in 2021)
- a gay, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, asexual person or person who uses a different term (6% in 2023 compared to 4% in 2021).
In 2023:
- the gender composition of employees recruited or promoted remained the same and reflects the gender composition of the total workforce (76% women)
- of the permanent promotions 78% were women (data was unavailable during the 2021 baseline audit)
- the gender composition of employees on higher duties remained stable (78% women in 2021 and 80% women in 2023)
- 73% of exits were women, indicating a lower proportion of women left the department relative to the 77% of the total workforce who are women.
Data from the 2023 People Matter Survey indicates lower confidence in fair recruitment and promotion decisions for staff who identified their gender as non-binary/other and staff with disability compared to all department staff and women.
In 2023, 86% of employees who accessed flexible work were women, 13% were men and less than 1% were people with non-binary/gender diverse identities (data was unavailable during the 2021 baseline audit).
More employees accessed carer’s leave in 2023 than 2021 (2,987 vs 2,577), with the gender proportions of leave takers approximating the department's total gender composition (78% women).
There was an increase in family violence leave takers (27 in 2023 compared to 18 in 2021) and greater gender diversity in this group (one man and one non-binary employee compared to 100% women in 2021).
Gendered segregation within the department's workforce reflects the systemic issue of overrepresentation of women in social services/'caring' roles, particularly within the Child Protection Practitioner workforce. In 2023, women continue to be overrepresented in these occupations: women comprise 65% of family support worker roles and 65% of the total Child Protection Practitioner roles.
In 2023:
- women were also overrepresented within community and personal service roles (comprising 81% of this workforce)
- women continued to be underrepresented in managerial roles (comprising 72% of this workforce in 2021 and 74% in 2023)
- clerical and office support roles continued to be occupied primarily by women, however it is noted that these comprise a small proportion of the department's workforce.
3 – Gender equality action plan implementation
The department's Gender Equality Action Plan (GEAP) has four key focus areas with 21 strategies and 72 implementation actions that have been developed and launched. All action items are either ongoing, in progress, or complete.
Summary of key achievements:
- The design, development and launch of a new Aboriginal Women in Leadership FastTrack Program and Diverse Women in Leadership FastTrack Program.
- Ongoing commitment to internship and employee pathway programs for young people, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, graduates, people from refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds and people with disability.
- New guidance material developed to support the department to implement special measures provisions in recruitment.
- New employee support program established to assist staff and leaders through key life stages that may impact on career progression (including parental leave, caring responsibilities, and menopause).
- The department Board maintained and communicated a commitment to gender and intersectional equality.
- Gender pay equity dashboards established to enhance transparency.
- New annual workforce diversity survey established.
- New Leading with Impact leadership development program launched – mandatory for all non-executive leaders; incorporates inclusive leadership principles and practices.
- Gender impact assessments (GIAs) embedded through incorporating them into budgeting processes and briefing templates, and the design and delivery of GIA training and resources.
- The department's Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Framework implemented to complement the Gender Equality Action Plan (GEAP).
- Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee established to govern GEAP and D&I Framework implementation.
- Gender Equality Community of Practice and Diverse Staff Community of Practice created to support GEAP and D&I Framework implementation.