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Home : Information Centres : Resource Centre : EOWA Publications : Newsletters 
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| Action News Issue 40 |
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Are you an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer? Are You an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer? Take this simple quiz and find out how you rate.
This quiz is designed to get you thinking! Although d) or e) is the obvious answer in all cases, the issues that are brought up are all too common. Many organisations are making great inroads to achieving fair work practices. By getting some of the issues out in the open, and discussing solutions, we can come that little bit closer to reaching equality. Entering a New Era in the Year 2000 The Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Amendment Bill 1999 was passed through the Senate on 9 December 1999. As at time of publication of Action News, the Bill had not been presented to the Governor-General for Royal Assent. It is expected to occur shortly, and the name of the Act to change from the Affirmative Action (Equal Employment Opportunity for Women) Act 1986, to the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Act 1999. Changes to the legislation New name for the agency Reporting requirements A new, simplified report form is currently being developed, taking into consideration feedback from the roundtable consultations held throughout Australia. (See page 4 for article about the roundtables). Organisations will continue to report to the Agency annually, unless waived. Each public report will in future have to:
Employment matters:
These are in addition to the Employment Matters already covered by the Act:
The principal objects of the Act will be: (a) to promote the principle that employment for women should be dealt with on the basis of merit; and (b) to promote, amongst employers, the elimination of discrimination against, and the provision of equal opportunity for, women in relation to Employment Matters; and (c) to foster workplace consultation between employers and employees on issues concerning equal opportunity for women in relation to employment. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Greenacres Greenacres – an example of what can be achieved by a small community organisation. In the recent review of Action News, readers stated they wanted to find out what other organisations were doing – in particular smaller organisations and community organisations. The following is a snapshot of what Greenacres Association is doing. A community organisation of under 200 people, situated in Wollongong, about 100 kilometres south of Sydney, Greenacres provides support and training to persons with a developmental disability. It first commenced in 1953 and today has developed into a multi faceted organisation which delivers quality services to consumers across vocational and non-vocational skill needs. It operates a large supported employment service, a landscape gardening service in partnership with Port Kembla Copper, a number of day care programs for people with higher support requirements and an open employment service which finds jobs for people with disabilities in open employment, and supports them on the job. This year, Greenacres was assessed to be a Best Practice organisation. So what makes Greenacres so good? The key to the success of any organisation is commitment from the very top. This is certainly true at Greenacres. The CEO, Neil Preston, is determined to make his workplace the best it can be. His enthusiasm and dedication is inspiring to his team, and they in turn put in that little bit extra. Susan Burns, Training Manager at Greenacres, as well as EEO contact, is equally as passionate about what they can achieve. “Training staff at Greenacres identified the need for a specific program about sexuality in the workplace, and in particular in relation to sexual harassment,” Susan said. “Lorraine Green, a training officer developed a comprehensive program which went over seven weeks. “Since our clients have disabilities, we had to address this matter. “We were pleasantly surprised at the level of interest and co-operation from the parents and carers/advocates of our course participants.”
Communication and consultation It was effective consultation with regard to AA/EEO issues that identified the need for a specific program about affirmative action for able bodied staff and clients of Greenacres. Previously, no affirmative action program had ever been designed specifically for a disability service. Neil Preston put his money where his mouth was, and made the decision to fund the development of the program in house. Considerable time, money and resources were dedicated to get such a program up and running. Congratulations should be given to Tania Tsiamis who wrote the program, as well as Brett Fahey who is the affirmative action training officer. The Course in the Development of an Affirmative Action Strategy has been accredited by the Vocational Education and Training Board of NSW and Greenacres will be offering training to other disability services in the future. It is the first of its kind in Australia and has been placed on VETAB’s Register of accredited courses and on the National Register. Competency Based Wages System The first of its kind, the award recognises and rewards the skills of people with disabilities. It has now been ratified by the Australian Industrial Relations Commission. Neil Preston is currently travelling around Australia at the invitation of the Federal Government, to talk to disability services about this wages system and how to implement it. Congratulations Greenacres! Truly a wonderful example of a Best Practice organisation. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Making a Difference The following is an extract from her speech, titled Competition and Best Practice in Diversity Management, given at Griffith University in Queensland. This, and other speeches, can now be found on our website. Another effective cultural change program driven by leadership from the top can be found at Alcoa, a major Australian producer of aluminium employing about 1500 people in Victoria and 3800 in Western Australia. Alcoa’s vision for diversity is to “embrace diversity at all levels and have a working environment in which all employees develop and contribute to their full potential in achieving business goals.” They see top management commitment as critical to the success of its program. The CEO of Alcoa Australia, Mike Baltzell, has formed a Diversity Steering Committee to set the strategic direction and establish key milestones for the diversity program. He sees “that the more the profile of our workforce is aligned with Australia’s demographics, the more we will be able to stimulate those ideas, those leaps of imagination and gain that competitive edge that will guarantee our future.” The company states the business case for diversity as being “superior performance (which) requires a diverse range of employee experiences, backgrounds and characteristics.” They consider that “business characterised by consistently high returns and growth, excel in the ability to attract, develop and retain talent.” One of the programs developed to attract women to this traditionally male dominated industry is their “Future Women of Industry” Scholarships. These scholarships encourage young women to consider a career in industry through educational programs and visits to Alcoa’s various operations. Dr Graeme Russell of Macquarie University conducted a Diversity survey for Alcoa in 1999. The survey examined the workplace culture, employees’ views of programs such as “Work and Family” and looked at attitudes to diversity. Following the survey focus groups were held for people to share their needs and ideas for change. A two day Diversity Summit was held in August 1999 with a representative group of 57 Alcoa employees. The outcomes of the summit were a series of recommendations and a comprehensive strategy to guide Alcoa’s diversity plan into the future. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Talking Business with Fiona Talking Business with Fiona We have completed our last reporting cycle under the old legislation. I was delighted to see 35 companies join our best practice list and also to see the list of non compliant organisations shrink to 80 in 1998 and 52 in 1999. I was also pleased with the national media coverage we received on the tabling of our annual report. We focused on asking Australian women to vote with their feet and both work for and spend money with companies that are good employers of women, and to boycott the dinosaur companies who refuse to take women employees and women customers seriously. I would like to personally congratulate all the employers who delivered improved outcomes for women this year. Roundtables:
Partnership: New legislation: Employers will need to report by 31 May 2001 on their program covering the period 1 April 2000 to 31 March 2001. The new legislation will enable employers to report in a less prescriptive way, focusing on the outcomes they are achieving for women as part of their business strategy. Although the Review team recommended biennial reporting, aimed at freeing the Agency to take on a major educative role every second year, the Senate saw fit to retain annual reporting. This means we are currently investigating ways to minimise any repetitive reporting requirements and to maximise the usage of electronic reporting so that we can streamline the reporting process for employers, reduce the onerous method of reporting, as well as delivering our increased educative role. Thank you. I would like to thank all of you who have supported me in my first seven months at the Agency – Including our Advisory Board members, my industry friends and colleagues, Department of Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business colleagues and staff with Minister Reith’s Office and of course my dedicated team of staff at the Agency. I look forward to the year 2000 and gearing up to work more closely as educator and mentor, to assist employers to capture the organisational benefits of fully utilising all of their people. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Update on the Advisory Board Update on the Advisory Board From Deanne Bevan It seems we’ve come a long way since the announcement of the Equal Employment Opportunity Advisory Board in July this year, with an official Board Launch in Sydney, another in Melbourne, two Board Meetings (one in Sydney and one in Melbourne), and a number of out-of-session teleconferences to assist the Agency move into a new phase of progressing equal employment opportunity for women in Australian workplaces. We commenced our appointment with an official welcome by the Hon. Peter Reith, Minister for Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business at the Advisory Board Launch in Sydney in August. I was delighted with the turnout on the morning, with over 150 industry representatives, including employers and employee and employer associations, coming along to meet Board members and the new Director of the Affirmative Action Agency, Fiona Krautil. I believe this is a strong indicator of the level of industry interest in considering how equal opportunity for women in Australian workplaces can best be progressed. The first Board Meeting was held following the launch, where we discussed a number of matters including how the Board will operate and provide advice to the Minister that will improve equal employment opportunity outcomes for women, in a way that is relevant and adds value for employers covered by the Act. The Minister requested the Board’s input into the drafting of the amendment Bill, and the Board also acted as a sounding board for the Agency on how it could best consult with employers about the proposed new reporting format. Many employers have since attended the interstate round table consultations that have been convened by the Agency in this regard, and have also met Board members as part of that process, as we work with the Agency to build stronger links with key stakeholders. As a Board we’re looking forward to the amendment Bill being passed, and our next Board Meeting in Perth in February. We’ll be discussing a range of key issues for the Agency such as new reporting arrangements, including a new simplified, less prescriptive report form, and what type of educational guidelines will most assist employers to comply with the new Act. The Board is also planning to hold a function in Western Australia to enable local employers to meet with Board members and the Director of the Agency, to further enhance consultation and communication between all the parties. On behalf of the Board, I invite all those with an interest to contact us directly or through the secretariat, we would welcome your input into our activities and the opportunity to talk with you as we move forward with our agenda. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Valuing diversity in the manufacturing industry Valuing diversity in the manufacturing industry The long wait is over! We promised you a book on making EEO work in the manufacturing industry, and now the promise is a reality. Titled Utilising 100 per cent of your workforce: a competitive business strategy, the book will help organisations develop EEO strategies to overcome any barriers to women’s fair and balanced participation. The book takes a hands on approach. It gives many practical examples of what organisations are doing in areas such as casual and contract employment, workplace flexibility, workplace safety and training and career development. We realise that different sectors experience unique problems when trying to ensure an equitable workplace. Although other industries may gain some insights from this book, we have focussed on the particular workforce and conditions in the manufacturing industry. For instance, did you know that in the Australian manufacturing industry, only 26 per cent of employees are women? Or that manufacturing employs a significant proportion of women born outside main English speaking countries? Or that women in manufacturing earn, on average, 82.6% per cent of men’s earnings? And – almost 40 per cent of manufacturing workplaces do not have written procedures for handling employee workplace grievances or complaints. The book is free. It will be sent free of charge to all the manufacturing organisations that report to the Agency by the end of January. Anyone else wanting a copy should ring the Agency on (02) 9334 9800 to request a copy. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- What will the new report form look like? What will the new report form look like? Over the last couple of months, we have invited interested people to attend roundtable sessions and tell us what they would like to see in the new report form. The response has been overwhelming. Nearly 500 people have attended roundtables throughout Australia. This is more than double the response that we were expecting. The following is a brief summary of the responses. We are currently collating all the data and will be producing a detailed, meaningful report which will assist us in developing the new report form next year. Organisations will use the new report form in the year 2001. Common responses:
Workplace profiles Generic questions could not be asked, and as one person put it, “the peculiarities of the industry within which action is undertaken should be kept in mind when evaluating outcomes.” Industry specific benchmarks would be useful. People agreed on the need for a classification system to help analyse their data, but many felt the ASCO system was too complicated or was meaningless. Analysis: They agreed that it was important to demonstrate what results had been achieved, and how the results had been analysed. One person noted that it was necessary to make companies report on not only what they were doing, but also on what they were not doing. There should be a requirement on employers to say, “there are no issues because….” Guidelines: Guidelines should show what issues need to be looked at. The Agency needs keep in mind who is filling in the report form, and pitch the guidelines to that person. Electronic report form: Waiving: Some people thought that before a company was waived, a presentation by the company should be made to the Agency. The presenter could be questioned and would show why the employer really deserved waiving. General: There was an overwhelming response that reporting was a positive exercise. Organisations felt that the mere fact of reporting focuses the organisation on EEO issues. Best practice examples were helpful, but more were needed from smaller organisations. Also examples of what didn’t work and why, should be publicised. The management tier information was useful, although the format did not suit all organisations. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Window into EEO in the Workplace Window into EEO in the Workplace Now that the basic work has been done, the next challenge will be to change the culture itself within workplaces to ensure equity for all. Sexual Harassment: 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 70% 82% 88% 92% 94% Training is provided to men and women to eliminate sexual harassment. 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 38% 51% 63% 70% 77%
Training and Development: 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 17% 25% 31% 34% 35%
Work and Life Balance: 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 70% 76% 82% 84% 84% Paid maternity leave is provided 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 14% 17% 20% 21% 23% Job sharing opportunities exist 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 48% 54% 62% 66% 69% Recruitment, Promotion and Separation: 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 52% 68% 77% 82% 83% -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Women in Management Women in Management The Affirmative Action Act has been a success story in encouraging organisations to enhance opportunities for women in the workplace. But there is still a long journey ahead. Figures from those organisations covered by the affirmative action legislation shows a more positive picture with the percentage increasing from 17.2 per cent in 1990 to 27.3 per cent in 1998. In fact, there was nearly a three per cent growth from 24.6 per cent in 1997, to 27.3 per cent in 1998. However, the change in companies not covered by the Act is standing still. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, covering all companies in Australia, shows no improvement in the representation of women in management. The percentage has decreased from 23.9 per cent in 1990 to 23.6 per cent in 1998. The pace of change is too slow for all companies. How did your industry rate? Below is a snapshot of industry over the past four years.
Percentage of Women in Management Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing Construction Cultural & Recreational Services Finance & Insurance Hospitality Manufacturing Mining Personal & Other Services Retail Transport & Storage -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Women in the workplace – opportunities for business in the new millennium. Seminars held recently in Melbourne and Sydney, not only celebrated those organisations which have been assessed as best practice, but highlighted specific practical examples of what has been achieved. The seminars, where best practice organisations were congratulated, was a joint project between the Affirmative Action Agency, the Council for Equal Opportunity in Employment Limited and the Australian Chamber of Commerce. The Minister for Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business, the Hon Peter Reith, and Senator Helen Coonan presented certificates to companies in recognition of best practice. The following is taken from examples given at the seminars by the leading organisations. Excerpts from Mobil Oil Australia Ltd case study. What’s in it for Mobil people? Inclusion and Diversity is about maximising everyone’s potential. It is not about taking away opportunities to give to a “minority group”. It is about: · the opportunity to be yourself at work – not to have to leave part of yourself at home;
What is Mobil doing about inclusion and diversity? At the corporate level Mobil is seeking to develop and nurture this change over the long term. Direction has been set from the top of the organisation and this is supported by:
Mobil has a range of senior managers in the region from different backgrounds and nationalities. For example we have an Australian man running Japan, an American woman in Singapore, an English woman in New Zealand and a Singaporean man in Australia. At the local level in Australia, Mobil has in place a long term strategy covering compliance, competitive and culture issues. This strategy is translated into specific action plans on an annual basis and progress is measured in several different ways. Support is provided by a local Diversity Advisory Council and a full time senior manager with a line background. These people advise, guide, develop, support and nurture the change. We have had considerable success to date ranging from the way we develop and support the retailing of our products to major productivity improvements from our refineries to our distribution networks. We recognise that we will probably never be fully satisfied with our efforts to build a diverse, inclusive and high-performance community. The pursuit of these goals is a long-term commitment. Progress is achieved at different speeds in different parts of the company. As we progress, we discover new challenges that need to be addressed and new opportunities to build and strengthen our business. Excerpt from Coles case study: Coles has 415 full service supermarkets. It has 56,000 employees of which 41% are males and 59% are females. Project Permanency is based on increasing the number of permanent part-time and full-time employees and decreasing the casual workforce. This is very much against the retail industry trend. One in four jobs in Australia is casual and 47% of those casual jobs are found in retail. Project Permanency has had a significant positive impact on all of Coles staff, but in particular it has given their female employees more flexibility to allow them to balance work and family life. A little more background on permanency... In 1994, permanency at Coles was at 40%. Now, in 1999 five years later, permanency at Coles is at 66%. The goal for the end of 2000 is for permanency at Coles to be at 80%. The benefits to all Coles’ employees are:
Benefits to the business (and therefore shareholders) are:
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