Companies who are ’employers of choice’ for both men and women

Ninety companies across Australia are now considered to be employers of choice for both genders, according to a new list announced by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency today.

This is the annual list that any smart organisation would want to be a part of, and it’s good news that the number of accredited employers has increased from 76 in 2014 to 90 in 2015. This figure has grown despite a more rigorous citation process. It shows that a commitment to promoting gender equality is becoming more mainstream across large Australian workplaces.

And according to WGEA, a number of positive trends are emerging that demonstrate a desire to create policies that don’t just support (and potentially alienate) ‘working mothers’, but aim to promote a systematic cultural shift for gender diversity.

Such best practices include increased pay transparency, offering better paid parental leave and caring provisions for fathers, a more strategic focus on flexibility, targeted recruitment campaigns and a cultural shift to outcomes-based working, rather than time spent in the office.

But while the list covers a strong mix of employer types, some industries are certainly better represented than others.

The major banks all make the list, as do a high number of law firms, universities, tobacco and gambling companies. Technology companies don’t feature strongly, while some of our largest employers still don’t make the cut. Notable omissions include BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Macquarie

To achieve the citation, organisations must demonstrate how they’re addressing a number of benchmarks for gender equality including: women in leadership; learning and development; gender pay gaps; flexible working; employee consultation; sexual harassment prevention, targets and discrimination.

From the list below, it seems achieving a WGEA citation is not only the domain of large organisations with a significant diversity spend. Although there are 60+ compulsory and voluntary questions in WGEA’s 31-page questionnaire, a number of small organisations have managed to successfully make the list.

See the full list of WGEA Employers of Choice for Gender Equality below:

1. AECOM Australia Pty Ltd

2. Alcoa of Australia Limited

3. Allens

4. Allianz Australia Services Pty Limited

5. American Express Australia Limited

6. AMP Limited

7. ARC@UNSW>

8. Arup Pty Limited

9. Ashurst Australia

10. ASX Limited

11. Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited

12. Australian Catholic University

13. AustralianSuper

14. B & McK Services Trust

15. Baker & McKenzie

16. Bankwest

17. Baxter Healthcare Pty Ltd

18. Becton Dickinson Pty Ltd

19. Benetas

20. Callista Software Services Pty Ltd

21. Caltex Australia Limited

22. Carsales. com Limited

23. Citigroup Pty Limited

24. Clayton Utz

25. Commonwealth Bank of Australia

26. Corrs Chambers Westgarth

27. Credit Union Australia Ltd

28. Curtin University of Technology

29. Deakin University

30. Deloitte Australia

31. DLA Piper Australia

32. EY

33. Genworth

34. GHD Services Pty Ltd

35. Gilbert + Tobin

36. Griffith University

37. Henry Davis York

38. Holding Redlich

39. HSBC Bank Australia Limited

40. Jacobs Group (Australia) Pty Ltd

41. K&L Gates

42. King & Wood Mallesons (Australia)

43. KPMG Australia Services

44. Lauriston Girls’ School

45. Lend Lease Corporation Limited

46. Little Company of Mary Health Care Limited

47. Maddocks

48. McCullough Robertson Lawyers

49. mecwacare

50. Mercedes-Benz Financial Services Australia Pty Ltd

51. Mercedes-Benz Australia/Pacific Pty Ltd

52. Merck Sharp & Dohme (Australia) Pty Ltd

53. Mercy Health

54. Minter Ellison

55. Mirvac Projects Pty Ltd

56. Monash University

57. National Australia Bank Limited

58. Norton Rose Fulbright Australia

59. Origin Energy Limited

60. Peoplebank Australia Limited

61. PepsiCo

62. Philip Morris Limited

63. PwC

64. Queensland Country Credit Union Limited

65. Queensland University of Technology

66. SAP Australia Pty Ltd

67. Shell Australia

68. St Barbara Limited

69. St Michael’s Grammar School

70. Stockland

71. Suncorp

72. Swinburne University of Technology

73. Tabcorp Holdings Limited

74. TAL Services Limited

75. Teachers Health Fund

76. Teachers Mutual Bank Limited

77. Telstra Corporation Limited

78. The University of Newcastle

79. ThoughtWorks Australia Pty Ltd

80. Transurban Limited

81. UBS AG

82. University Of Canberra

83. University Of Technology Sydney

84. University of Wollongong

85. UOW Enterprises

86. VMware Australia Pty Ltd

87. Warrigal

88. Western Sydney University

89. Westpac Group

90. YWCA Canberra

This article originally appeared in Women’s Agenda.