As International Women’s Day approaches, new figures show a rising number of leadership positions at the City of Greater Geelong are held by women.
The City’s latest report to the Commission for Gender Equality in the Public Sector reveals that women occupied 65 per cent of management or senior management positions at the City in 2023, rising from 52 per cent in 2021.
The leadership figure is strongly representative of the City’s overall workforce, with 66 per cent of all positions held by women, 34 per cent by men and 0.17 per cent by people of self-described gender.
CEO Ali Wastie:
The City aims to lead the way for the local community in its commitment to achieving gender equity.
While we don’t have set targets, as an organisation we have a strong focus on the importance of gender equal representation in our workplace.
We work to achieve this through policies and practices that help to create a safe, fair and inclusive environment for everyone, regardless of their gender.
In an indication family friendly inclusions in its latest Enterprise Agreement have been successful, the City has experienced a sharp rise in the portion of men taking parental leave over the past two years.
In 2023, 39 per cent of those taking parental leave were men, compared to 15 per cent in 2021.
In addition, a much higher share of part-time employees were men in 2023 (32 per cent) than in 2021 (15 per cent).
Ms Wastie:
A powerful way to create better pathways for women to advance their careers is to make it more feasible for men to take on caring duties at home.
Under our most recent Enterprise Agreement, there are no gendered expectations in our parental leave policy, meaning everyone has access to the same entitlements if they are the primary carer.
The figures suggest this is having a clear impact within our workforce, which is fantastic.
The City’s 2021 report to the commission showed a 2.1 per cent pay gap in base salaries between men and women, which has now been eliminated (0 per cent in 2023).
The City has also achieved pay parity in senior leadership.
However, the median total pay gap has risen from 4 per cent in 2021 to 8.4 per cent in 2023.
Under the Gender Equality Act 2020 (Vic), all Councils are required to have a Gender Equality Action Plan and to report their progress every two years to the commission.
The City’s full 2023 progress report has been submitted to the commission and will be published on its website.
