Working together for gender equity: Vice Chancellor Professor S Bruce Dowton, with co-chairs of the Gender Equity Self-Assessment Team Pete Boyle (left) and Distinguished Professor Lesley Hughes (second from right) and Manager of Workplace Diversity and Inclusion Jo Hatton (second from left).

With many of us celebrating International Women’s Day on Sunday and attending this week’s Gender Equity Week events, we can take the opportunity to reflect on the progress we’ve made as an institution towards equality and inclusion. We have much to be proud of – in the last 12 months Macquarie has received several national awards in recognition of our commitment, and innovative approach, to creating a culture of inclusion.  

One significant achievement for Macquarie was our recognition last month as an Employer of Choice for Gender Equity (EOCGE). This citation is awarded by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency – a Federal Government agency helping Australian employers comply with the requirements of the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012.

Of the 2 million+ businesses in Australia, only 119 can claim EOCGE status in 2020 – placing Macquarie firmly among the nation’s progressive companies when it comes to gender equity. Within the education sector specifically, there are only 13 Australian universities with EOCGE status in 2020, with no Group of Eight universities currently on the list.

Employers applying for EOCGE are required to address an extensive set of criteria in focus areas covering:

• leadership, strategy and accountability
• pay equity
• support for caring
• mainstreaming flexible work
• prevention of harassment and discrimination.

Macquarie’s application highlighted successful Gender Equity initiatives and measures, including:

• Each member of our Executive Group has a KPI to progress gender equality, diversity and inclusion.
• Our Carers Hub provides a central point of information and resources for parents and carers at Macquarie.
• We have established targets for reducing the gender pay gap.
• We recently launched mandatory all-staff training on discrimination, bullying and harassment prevention and response, and new student and staff sexual harassment prevention and response policies.

The citation is awarded for a period of two years, with the University due to re-apply for EOCGE status next year.

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Learn more about Macquarie’s other recent achievements in Gender Equity:

• In February, we became the only Australian university to hold two Bronze SAGE Athena Swan awards (see Snapped On), recognising our actions in addressing gender inequality in STEMM.
• In December, we were named Australia’s best university workplace for new dads in the second annual Top 20 Workplaces for Dads survey, with Macquarie being the only university among the top ten.