media release
Embargo: 1am (AEST) 18 March 2009
EOWA Releases the
2009 Employer of Choice for Women List
The Federal Government’s Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency (EOWA)
has released a list of organisations that have been recognised as an Employer of Choice for
Women. The 2009 EOWA Employer of Choice for Women (EOCFW) list features 111
organisations ranging in size and spanning across all industries.
To be recognised as an EOWA Employer of Choice for Women, employers are required to
meet stringent criteria each year which include offering a minimum of 6 weeks paid
maternity leave after 12 months of service; providing the ability for female managers to
work part-time; ensuring the percentage of female managers is the same or greater than
28% or the industry average, and ensuring a pay equity analysis has been undertaken and
any gap identified is less than their industry average.
Acting Director of EOWA Mairi Steele said, “We don’t claim that the organisations on the list
are perfect, but they are certainly leading the way. This list provides women with a guide to
organisations showing a real commitment to creating fair workplaces and to achieving
genuine results for working women.”
“Employers work hard to get on this list because despite the economic downturn, many are
acutely aware of the need to attract and retain women for sustainability in the long term,”
she said.
Despite the minimum requirement being 6 weeks paid maternity leave, the average duration
provided by these organisations is nearly 12 weeks. EOCFW organisations have an average
of 46.7% female managers and the average pay gap is 10.9%, 5.1% lower than the national
average.
In addition to meeting the standards, some interesting initiatives include:
ANZ’s Diversity Council introduced a Global Diversity Scorecard including stretch targets for
female representation at divisional and group levels.
Westaff introduced grandparents leave for employees who have been with the
organisation for three years or more. The leave recognises the motivations of an
ageing workforce and provides for one week off at full pay upon the birth of a
grandchild.
Corrs Chambers Westgarth initiated the Female Talent Pipeline to recognise that
women do not position themselves for promotion in the same way as men and are
often trying to balance personal and career objectives at a critical time in their
career. There is also a Women Leading Change and coaching program for women
with the potential to become a partner at Corrs.
For more information contact
Amber Fitzpatrick (02) 9448 8532
Rebecca Barnes (02) 9448 8528 or 0411 482 738
or Nicole Parsons 0412 505 854
Curtin University’s practice of ensuring that women have roles as deputies on any
Committee where a male has the Chair is proving highly successful. All Executive managers
are required to report annually on the trend in numbers of female staff as well on diversity and
access matters. In the first 12 months of returning from parental leave, staff members
are entitled to paid leave of up to five hours per week for child care assistance.
The EOCFW citation is awarded to non-government organisations with more than 80
employees that have demonstrated that they have policies and practices that support
women across the organisation and these have had a positive outcome for both women and
the business.
For a complete list of the EOCFW organisations please go to
[ENDS]
Background information on the 2009 EOWA Employer of Choice for Women
organisations available at:
NEWS 
