Stockland continues to raise the bar on gender equality
Stockland has been named as an Employer of Choice for Gender Equality (EOCGE) for 2020 by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) for the sixth consecutive year.
Stockland Managing Director and CEO, Mark Steinert said WGEA had this year raised the bar even higher by further strengthening the eligibility criteria.
“We are tremendously proud that Stockland was one of 119 organisations, including one of only six companies in our industry, to have met WGEA’s rigorous standards for an EOCGE citation this year,” Mr Steinert said.
“Achieving gender equality remains a pressing and fundamental social, cultural and corporate challenge and opportunity. We must collectively focus our efforts to do more to drive change.
“Stockland has continued taking action to drive inclusivity in the workplace and create a culture where diversity of thought is celebrated. We maintain our inclusive culture through a deliberate program which reflects strong policy, top down leadership and ground up involvement and ownership from employees.
“We have closed the gender pay gap to 1.5 per cent across our workforce and worked hard to achieve gender balance (40/40/20) at every level of our workforce. At the end of FY19 women made up 45.8 per cent of people in management roles, with percentages steadily increasing year on year.
“Our work to support more women into senior leadership roles, and into traditionally male-dominated areas of the business like development, is making an impact. We are proud of our Senior Women’s Sponsorship program which creates a pipeline of career opportunities and has led to promotions for several women involved.”
Stockland’s support for new parents and carers – both male and female – has seen Stockland achieve a strong employee retention rate. Last financial year over 85 per cent of employees returned to work after taking parental leave and the number of men taking parental leave continues to increase year on year with a 40 per cent increase in FY19.
Last year Stockland launched its #standtogether campaign to raise awareness of the impact of family and domestic violence on the workplace by supporting the international 16 Days of Activism to end Gender-Based violence initiative.
“We have replaced the previous allowance of 10 days leave annually to uncapped paid leave for any of our employees experiencing family and domestic violence or for those supporting an immediate family member through domestic and family violence concerns.
“Stockland has also trained a team of employees across the country as first responders to domestic and family violence in a program aimed at supporting our people with practical support and referral services.”
WGEA Director Libby Lyons said: “This year, we strengthened the eligibility criteria by placing even greater emphasis on accountability, outcomes, evidence and internal reporting processes. I would like to congratulate all of our 2019-20 EOCGE citation holders for the extra effort and commitment it has taken to meet these additional rigorous requirements. All these organisations are at the forefront of the momentum for change towards gender equality in Australian workplaces. These industry leaders are showing other Australian businesses how to create a better and more equal future for both women and men.”