Blog » Organisations Leave Themselves Exposed To Equal Opportunity Complaints

The 2009 EOWA Survey of reporting organisations shows that while almost all organisations have formal procedures for dealing with sex-based harassment in the workplace just over half provide training to staff (59.1%) and even less provide training to managers (55.4%).

“This is an interesting finding especially in light of recent widely reported cases of sexual harassment claims in Australian workplaces” Ms Steele said.

Over half (50.8%) of organisations reporting to EOWA now provide paid maternity leave to employees, an increase from 48.9% the previous year. Not all women in these organisations will have access to the provision but many will benefit from the federal government’s universal paid maternity leave scheme which is planned to come in to effect in 2011.

The survey also shows that despite widespread agreement that steps ought to be taken to close the gender pay gap, less than half of all organisations reporting to EOWA conduct a gender pay equity analysis - widely regarded as the first step in addressing the problem.

Released in Canberra by Minister for the Status of Women, Tanya Plibersek, the EOWA Survey on Paid Maternity Leave, Sex-based Harassment Initiatives and the Gender Pay Gap, sponsored by Alcoa, shows that over a third of all people responsible for submitting a report to EOWA (37%) believe a gender pay gap exists in their organisation.

Figures released from the Australian Bureau of Statistics last week showed that the gender pay gap now stands at 17.5%. The gap is widest in the Finance and Insurance (30.4%) and smallest in Government Administration and Defence (7.1%).

While some of the gender pay gap can be explained by demographic and labour market variables (eg age, access to training and qualifications) Macquarie University researcher, Ian Watson, recently estimated that as much as 70% of the gender pay gap is due to discrimination.

Interestingly, organisations on the 2009 EOWA Employer of Choice for Women citation list have an average pay gap of 10.9%, significantly lower than the overall industry gap.

Mairi Steele, Acting EOWA Director says “addressing pay discrimination is fundamental to achieving equality at work. However from EOWA’s experience it’s clear that the complexities of the problem are not yet fully understood by Australian business.”

“A gender pay audit is a very effective way for an organisation to uncover a gender pay gap and begin to address it. The fact that women are concentrated into certain occupations and in low paying positions are key causes of the gap and not excuses for it”.

“Businesses can access a free Pay Equity Audit Tool available on the EOWA website which is designed to help them identify any pay gaps, analyse the possible causes and take steps to address any issues.”

On September 1, EOWA will participate in the Equal Pay Day campaign to help the Australian public and businesses better understand the causes of pay inequity. This date illustrates the number of extra days many women have to work after the end of the financial year to earn the same as men.

Be the first to comment!

Posting comments on blogs is currently restricted to Friends of Ask Her.

Friends of Ask Her Login         Join Now! It's free membership   Forgot password?

Our blogs are enabled.
A Gravatar is a Globally Recognised Avatar image that follows you from site to site appearing beside your name when you do things like comment or post on a blog. Avatars help identify your posts on blogs and web forums, so why not on any site?
If you would like to have one, visit Gravatar.