Gender Equality Action Plan

Background

The Gender Equality Act 2020 (Vic) (the Act) commenced on 31 March 2021.

The Act promotes gender equality by:

  • requiring the Victorian public sector, local councils and universities to take positive action towards achieving workplace gender equality
  • requiring these organisations to consider and promote gender equality in their policies, programs and services
  • establishing the Public Sector Gender Equality Commissioner to provide education, support, and enforce compliance.

Under the Act, defined entities are required to develop and implement a Gender Equality Action Plan (GEAP) every 4 years, which includes the results of a workplace gender audit and the associated strategies and measures for achieving workplace gender equality in the workplace based on the audit results.

Energy Safe’s GEAP

Energy Safe’s GEAP has four strategic themes that align with and support the requirements of the Act:

  1. Visible leadership commitment and accountability for diversity and inclusion.
  2. Develop inclusive leadership capability.
  3. Embed diversity and inclusion principles into HR policies and practices.
  4. Improve gender balance in leadership and at all levels of the organisation through talent attraction, development and retention strategies.

Key Achievements for Energy Safe (2021 to 2023 reporting period)

  • Established Diversity and Inclusion Council chaired by the Chief Executive Officer.
  • Recruitment of women into Executive leadership roles increased from 43% to 60%.
  • Celebrated key diversity dates on the diversity calendar including International Women’s day, International Day of Action Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT), International Day of People with Disability and Cultural Diversity Week.
  • Delivered education sessions to all leaders and recruitment panellists to reduce potential bias through the recruitment process and strengthen opportunities to recruit and promote diverse candidate pools.
  • Ongoing coaching and training to all staff to build competency around diversity and inclusive practices.
  • Implemented actions from the gender impact assessments on the ‘Continuous Professional Development’ project and Energy Safe website.
  • Annual gender pay gap analysis conducted.

Measures against the 7 Equality Indicators

The Act sets out 7 workplace gender equality indicators. They represent the key areas where workplace gender inequality persists – and where progress towards gender equality must be demonstrated. Energy Safe’s measures against each indicator are as follows:

  • 1. Gender composition of all levels of the workforce

    • Representation of women at the Executive Leadership Team leadership level has increased from 43% to 60%.
    • The proportion of women at the Senior Leadership Team level decreased slightly from 33% to 32%.
    • The overall gender composition is 39% women and 61% men.
       

  • 2. Gender composition of governing bodies

    • All 3 Commissioner roles and the CEO role are held by women.

  • 3. Gender pay equity

    • In 2023, Energy Safe’s mean base pay gap was 14.8% a decrease of 8% from 2021 when it was 22.8%. This demonstrates measurable progress against this indicator. The VPS mean gender gap is 6.5%.
    • In 2023, the median annualised pay gap for Energy Safe was 22.2% a decrease of 7% from 2021.
    • The gender pay gap at Energy Safe is largely caused by a higher number of women in the lower salary bands, rather than pay equity between genders
    • At the Executive Leadership Team level, the median base pay gap decreased from 6.1% to 1.9%.
    • At the Senior Leadership Team level, the median base pay gap increased from 1% to 2.9%.
    • At the ESV 4 level there has also been a reduction from 4.9% to 0% for the median base pay gap. We consider this to demonstrate measurable progress against this indicator.
       

  • 4. Workplace sexual harassment

    • Between 2021 and 2023, there have been no formal complaints of sexual harassment.
    • The People Matter Survey response indicated that 3% of respondents had experienced sexual harassment in the workplace.
    • Energy Safe continues to communicate ways in which employees can report sexual harassment and raise awareness about sexual harassment in the workplace.
    • A new policy has been implemented for managing sexual harassment in the workplace.

     

  • 5. Recruitment and Promotion

    • In 2023, women represented 47% of the new recruits.
    • In 2023, 50% of employees that secured a promotion were women.

  • 6. Leave and flexibility

    • In 2023, 42% of Energy Safe’s employees had a formal flexible working arrangement in place and 33% of employees who accessed a flexible working environment were women.
    • The 2023 People Matter Survey response indicated that 89% of respondents agreed with statement My Manager supports working flexibly.
    • Energy Safe continues to offer a range of flexible working options including Accrued Credit Hours, flexible start and finish times and Hybrid Working.

       

  • 7. Gendered workforce segregation

    • The number of women represented in the Managerial classification increased from 37% to 43% between 2021 to 2023.
    • In 2021, women represented 92% of the Clerical and Administration Workers classification, and this decreased to 81% in 2023.
    • There was a positive shift in the Technicians and Trade Workers category as the percentage of women in this category increased from 4% to 10%.
    • Technicians and Trade Workers continue to be predominantly men and Clerical and Administrative Workers are predominantly women. Many of the Clerical and Administrative Worker roles are represented in the lower salary range.

Detailed Progress Report February 2024

Gender Equality Action Plan Progress Report 2024
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Energy Safe’s next areas of focus

  • Continue to focus on gender balanced recruitment for areas under-represented by women.
  • Continue to promote the advancement of women and career development opportunities such as internal secondment, acting positions and leadership development and mentoring.
  • Integrate inclusive leadership principles into Energy Safe's Leadership Development program and the Competency framework.

Date: 21/01/2025 1:24

The currency and accuracy of this information cannot be guaranteed once printed or saved to a storage device. If in doubt, please check the Energy Safe Victoria website for the current version.

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