The department's Gender Equality Action Plan for 2022-25 (the action plan) affirms our commitment to promoting workplace gender equality, ensuring a gender equitable and respectful workplace for all staff in government schools and our corporate workplaces.
The action plan was developed following the completion of a workplace gender audit and extensive consultation with our government school and corporate workforces, as well as key stakeholders including employee representatives and staff-led networks.
This collaboration ensured the plan considered diverse perspectives and voices, with more than 15,000 department staff contributing.
The action plan sets out the department’s key focus areas to address gendered structural and cultural inequality in our workplaces. It has a focus on intersectional gender inequality, particularly the way in which attitudes towards identity characteristics such as age, sexuality and disability can exacerbate gender inequality.
The annual implementation plans have specific initiatives and priorities to progress our commitments in the action plan.
Moving into the final year of implementation, the 2024 and 2025 Implementation Plan will build on the progress made since 2022 with a focus on embedding and establishing gender equality as everyone’s responsibility, addressing systemic and cultural barriers and resistance, and monitoring and driving continuous improvement.
The department’s baseline data comes from the workplace gender audit conducted in 2021, which measures the department’s progress against the Commission for Gender Equality in the Public Sector’s (the Commission) workplace gender equality indicators(opens in a new window). To view audit data, please visit the Commission’s Insights Portal(opens in a new window).
The data from the 2021 audit has informed the development of the 4-year plan and points to areas where action is needed to address imbalances.
Audit reports have been produced periodically across the life of the plan to help us track our progress and identify where to focus our future actions in our annual implementation plans.
Where we want to be
The focus of the work is to:
- Promote equality in the composition of our workforces
- Reduce the gender pay gap
- Ensure a safe, inclusive and respectful workplace for all staff.
Acknowledgements and Message from the Secretary
The Department of Education (the department) acknowledges and pays respects to Elders and all Victorian Aboriginal communities.
Background
The Gender Equality Act 2020 (Vic) (the Act) was developed through extensive consultation and is reflective of the Victorian community’s views and experiences.
Gender Equality Action Plan
The department is committed to establishing a gender equitable, safe, inclusive and respectful workplace for all staff, and to addressing gendered structural and cultural inequality.
Focus Areas and Actions 2022-25
The department’s plan provides the framework to promote workplace gender equality across our VPS and GTS workforces.
Resourcing and Measuring Progress
This 4-year plan is supported by the department’s leadership and requires them and each and every staff member to take action to achieve its vision.
Glossary and Appendices
Definitions of words used and additional information
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