DPC identified six key actions areas for improving gender equality under the plan based on the key findings of the workplace gender audit and the stakeholder consultation process.
The development of the plan also considered a review of suggested strategies by the Commission for Gender Equality in the Public Sector and examples of good practice gender equality action plans previously developed by defined entities.
Action areas
The plan outlines the key goals and strategies that underpin each of the six key action areas. DPC will align the plan with other diversity and inclusion plans as part the implementation plan and apply an intersectional lens to each workplace gender equality indicator where possible.
Accountabilities and timelines are assigned to each strategy including the relevant business owner(s) responsible for developing and implementing specific strategies. The key workplace gender equality indicators are also mapped against each strategy.
Gender Equality Action Plan 2021–2025
- Visible leadership and accountability – Senior leaders demonstrate commitment to gender equality and visibly champion and drive gender equality strategies.
- Reducing the gender pay gap – DPC proactively seeks to better understand the factors that cause the gender pay gap and develops strategies, actions, policies, and processes to achieve gender pay equity.
- Attracting, developing, and retaining a diverse, gender balanced and talented workforce – DPC is committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse, gender balanced and talented workforce and supporting the career advancement of women in the VPS.
- Creating a safe, respectful, and inclusive workplace – DPC is committed to creating a safe, respectful, and inclusive workplace that takes a zero-tolerance approach to sexual harassment, violence, bullying and discrimination and supports people experiencing family violence.
- Facilitating and promoting a flexible workplace – DPC is committed to facilitating and promoting a flexible workplace that encourages new ways of working and supports employees to balance work, family, and caring responsibilities.
- Measuring, monitoring, and reporting on gender equality – DPC demonstrates its commitment to making reasonable and material progress towards achieving workplace gender equality by regularly measuring, monitoring, and reporting on workplace gender equality.
Senior leaders demonstrate commitment to gender equality and visibly champion and drive gender equality strategies and initiatives
Goal: Ensure senior leaders visibly demonstrate commitment to achieving workplace gender equality
Strategies
- Establish the role of an Executive Champion for Gender Equality who takes responsibility for championing and driving gender equality strategies and initiatives at DPC.
- Workplace Gender Equality Indicator: All workplace gender equality indicators
- Timing: Year 1
- Responsibility: DPC Board of Management
- Establish a Diversity and Inclusion Committee comprising representatives from each Group to drive the implementation of the Gender Equality Action Plan (and Diversity and Inclusion action plans) and to ensure an intersectional approach.
- Workplace Gender Equality Indicator: All workplace gender equality indicators
- Timing: Year 1
- Responsibility: People & Culture (Diversity & Inclusion)
- At least twice per year, communicate DPC’s commitment to gender equality and progress towards achieving workplace gender equality including key issues, challenges, and achievements.
- Workplace Gender Equality Indicator: All workplace gender equality indicators
- Timing: Ongoing (Year 1, 2, 3, 4)
- Responsibility: Strategic Communications, Engagement and Protocol (Internal Communications)
Goal: Build senior leadership and manager capability to drive cultural change to achieve workplace gender equality
Strategies
- Develop and implement gender equality professional development for Executives and Managers focussing on workplace equality and respect, the effects of intersectionality (or compounding disadvantage), and unconscious bias.
- Workplace Gender Equality Indicator: All workplace gender equality indicators
- Timing: Year 2
- Responsibility: People & Culture (Diversity & Inclusion)
- Develop a Gender Equality toolkit and resources for Managers that contain a range of strategies on integrating gender equality into workplace policy, processes, and procedures across the employee life cycle.
- Workplace Gender Equality Indicator: All workplace gender equality indicators
- Timing: Year 3
- Responsibility: People & Culture (Diversity & Inclusion)
Goal: Ensure the composition of the Board and Executive roles is diverse and gender balanced
Strategies
- Strive for a target of 50% of women at the Board, maintain a target of 50% of women at Executive levels, and strive for a diverse and proportional gender balance within Executive bands and at each level of leadership (monitor as part of the annual workplace gender audit).
- Workplace Gender Equality Indicator: Indicators 1&2: Gender composition at all levels of the workforce and governing bodies
- Timing: Annual (Year 1, 2, 3, 4)
- Responsibility: People & Culture (Diversity & Inclusion) and DPC Executives
- Review Executive recruitment policies and processes and consider actions to attract a more diverse range of applicants to senior leadership roles.
- Workplace Gender Equality Indicator: Indicators 1&2: Gender composition at all levels of the workforce and governing bodies
- Timing:Year 2
- Responsibility:People & Culture (Recruitment & Workforce Services)
Goal: Promote and celebrate gender equality and intersectional diversity in the workplace
Strategies
- Develop and promote a program of activities and events championed by the Executive Champion for Gender Equality to raise awareness of gender equality and to showcase the experiences and achievements of women from a diverse range of backgrounds.
- Workplace Gender Equality Indicator: All workplace gender equality indicators
- Timing: Ongoing (Year 1, 2, 3, 4)
- Responsibility: Executive Champion for Gender Equality and Strategic Communications, Engagement and Protocol (Internal Communications)
- Establish the role of an Executive Champion for Gender Equality who takes responsibility for championing and driving gender equality strategies and initiatives at DPC.
DPC proactively seeks to better understand the factors that cause the gender pay gap and develops strategies, actions, policies, and processes to achieve gender pay equity
Goal: Develop strategies and actions to better understand and address the gender pay gap
Strategies
- Conduct an annual gender pay equity audit and develop and implement strategies and actions to reduce the gender pay gap (as part of the annual workplace gender audit).
- Workplace Gender Equality Indicator: Indicator 3: Gender pay equity
- Timing: Annual (Year 1, 2, 3, 4)
- Responsibility: People & Culture (Diversity & Inclusion)
- Engage with women at DPC to examine views on the structural and individual factors that impact gender pay equity and identify actions for reviewing gender bias and discrimination in remuneration decisions.
- Workplace Gender Equality Indicator: Indicator 3: Gender pay equity
- Timing: Year 2, 3
- Responsibility: People & Culture (Diversity & Inclusion)
Goal: Ensure fair and transparent Executive and VPS remuneration policies and processes
Strategies
- Develop a set of gender pay equity principles and guidelines to support Executive contract negotiations and remuneration review.
- Workplace Gender Equality Indicator: Indicator 3: Gender pay equity
- Timing: Year 1
- Responsibility: People & Culture (Recruitment & Workforce Services/ Diversity & Inclusion)
- Provide information and support to hiring managers and people managers to apply gender pay equity principles when considering VPS salary negotiations and offers.
- Workplace Gender Equality Indicator: Indicator 3: Gender pay equity
- Timing: Year 2
- Responsibility: People & Culture (Recruitment & Workforce Services)
- Conduct an annual gender pay equity audit and develop and implement strategies and actions to reduce the gender pay gap (as part of the annual workplace gender audit).
DPC is committed to recruiting and retaining a gender balanced and talented workforce and supporting the career advancement of women in the VPS
Goal: Reduce barriers to recruiting a gender balanced and diverse workforce
Strategies
- Review end-to-end recruitment and selection policies and processes and develop actions to ensure hiring practices are inclusive to all staff and free from unconscious bias.
- Workplace Gender Equality Indicator: Indicator 5: Recruitment and promotion
- Timing: Year 2, 3
- Responsibility: People & Culture (Recruitment & Workforce Services)
- Implement unconscious bias training for hiring managers and those on interview panels to help mangers better understand and eliminate bias from recruitment and selection processes.
- Workplace Gender Equality Indicator: Indicator 5: Recruitment and promotion
- Timing: Year 2
- Responsibility: People & Culture (Diversity & Inclusion)
Goal: Support women’s career transition and progression from mid-senior VPS rolesStrategies
- Monitor career development and promotion data to understand if gender and / or diversity bias exists and consider actions to redress imbalance (as part of the annual workplace gender audit).
- Workplace Gender Equality Indicator: Indicator 5: Recruitment and promotion
- Timing: Annual (Year 1, 2, 3, 4)
- Responsibility: People & Culture (Diversity & Inclusion)
- Identify and implement mentoring, career progression and leadership development opportunities to support women’s career transition and progression from mid-senior VPS roles.
- Workplace Gender Equality Indicator: Indicator 5: Recruitment and promotion
- Timing: Year 2, 3
- Responsibility: People & Culture (Learning & Development)
- Ongoing commitment to encourage more women into leadership roles through the continued delivery of external leadership and development programs.
- Workplace Gender Equality Indicator: Indicator 5: Recruitment and promotion
- Timing: Annual (Year 1, 2, 3, 4)
- Responsibility: People & Culture (Learning & Development)
Goal: Develop strategies to reduce workplace gendered segregation
Strategies
- Identify groups and occupations where there is an under or over-representation of women or men and consider strategies to redress this imbalance (as part of the annual workplace gender audit).
- Workplace Gender Equality Indicator: Indicator 7: Gendered work segregation
- Timing: Annual (Year 1, 2, 3, 4)
- Responsibility: People & Culture (Diversity & Inclusion)
- Raise awareness of workplace gendered segregation and the impact gender stereotypes can have on women in the workplace.
- Workplace Gender Equality Indicator: Indicator 7: Gendered work segregation
- Timing: Year 2
- Responsibility: Strategic Communications, Engagement and Protocol (Internal Communications)
- Review end-to-end recruitment and selection policies and processes and develop actions to ensure hiring practices are inclusive to all staff and free from unconscious bias.
DPC is committed to creating a safe, respectful, and inclusive workplace that takes a zero-tolerance approach to sexual harassment, violence, bullying and discrimination and supports people experiencing family violence
Goal: Ensure employees experiencing or impacted by family violence feel safe and supported at work
Strategies
- Review DPC’s Family Violence policies, processes and supports to ensure they are victim-centric and reflect sector best practice.
- Workplace Gender Equality Indicator: Indicator 6: Flexible working and leave
- Timing: Year 2
- Responsibility: People & Culture (Diversity & Inclusion / Health Safety & Wellbeing)
- Continue to communicate that family violence is a workplace issue through raising awareness and promoting family violence policies, resources and supports available to employees experiencing family violence.
- Workplace Gender Equality Indicator: Indicator 6: Flexible working and leave
- Timing: Ongoing (Year 1, 2, 3, 4)
- Responsibility: Strategic Communications, Engagement and Protocol (Internal Communications)
- Explore options to review and refresh family violence training for all Executives, managers, and Family Violence Contact Officers to assist them to support employees experiencing or impacted by family violence.
- Workplace Gender Equality Indicator: Indicator 6: Flexible working and leave
- Timing: Year 2, 3
- Responsibility: People & Culture (Diversity & Inclusion / Health Safety & Wellbeing)
Goal: Ensure consistent promotion of a zero-tolerance approach to sexual harassment, violence, bullying and discrimination
Strategies
- Continued promotion of a zero-tolerance approach to sexual harassment, bullying, violence and discrimination via ongoing reporting of People Matter Survey results to the DPC Board of Management and consistent and ongoing messaging from the Secretary and Board of Management.
- Workplace Gender Equality Indicator: Indicator 3: Sexual Harassment
- Timing: Ongoing (Year 1, 2, 3, 4)
- Responsibility: Strategic Communications, Engagement and Protocol (Internal Communications) and DPC Board of Management
- Senior leaders and managers personally role model appropriate and respectful workplace behaviour and take a lead in respectfully challenging and responding to negative behaviours (as measured via People Matter Survey results).
- Workplace Gender Equality Indicator: Indicator 3: Sexual Harassment
- Timing: Ongoing (Year 1, 2, 3, 4)
- Responsibility: DPC Executives & Managers
Goal: Build employee confidence and capability to raise grievances and appropriately challenge and respond to negative behaviours.
Strategies
- Build employee confidence to report sexual harassment, violence, bullying and discrimination through ongoing review and evaluation of DPC’s inappropriate workplace behaviour policies, processes and reporting mechanisms (as measured via People Matter Survey results).
- Workplace Gender Equality Indicator: Indicator 3: Sexual Harassment
- Timing: Year 2, 3
- Responsibility: People & Culture (Diversity & Inclusion / Health Safety & Wellbeing)
- Regular DPC training for all staff and contractors around gender equality and appropriate and respectful behaviours in the workplace including sexual harassment, violence, bullying and discrimination.
- Workplace Gender Equality Indicator: Indicator 7: Gendered work segregation
- Timing: Ongoing (every 2 years)
- Responsibility: People & Culture (Health Safety & Wellbeing)
- Review DPC’s Family Violence policies, processes and supports to ensure they are victim-centric and reflect sector best practice.
DPC is committed to facilitating and promoting a flexible workplace that encourages new ways of working and supports employees to balance work, family, and caring responsibilities
Goal: Demonstrate commitment to creating and maintaining a flexible workplace
Strategies
- Ensure senior leaders and people managers visibly role model flexible / hybrid working (including when staff return to workplaces in line with public-health advice).
- Workplace Gender Equality Indicator: Indicator 6: Flexible working and leave
- Timing: Ongoing (Year 1, 2, 3, 4)
- Responsibility: DPC Executives, Managers
- Roll out DPCs flexible working policy and procedure (including an updated form to capture formal flexible working arrangements) with consideration to embedding an appropriate degree of flexibility into all roles.
- Workplace Gender Equality Indicator: Indicator 6: Flexible working and leave
- Timing: Year 1
- Responsibility: People & Culture (Organisational Development)
- Continued provision of education and resources to support Executives and Managers to effectively support the transition from remote working to a flexible/hybrid working model.
- Workplace Gender Equality Indicator: Indicator 6: Flexible working and leave
- Timing: Year 2, 3
- Responsibility: People & Culture (Organisational Development)
Goal: Monitor and increase uptake of flexible working and leave arrangements
Strategies
- Monitor the uptake of flexible working and leave arrangements by gender and consider actions to increase uptake where required (as part of the annual workplace gender audit).
- Workplace Gender Equality Indicator: Indicator 6: Flexible working and leave
- Timing: Annual (Year 2, 3, 4)
- Responsibility: People & Culture (Diversity & Inclusion)
Goal: Support employees to balance work, family, and caring responsibilities
Strategies
- Support staff to manage work, family, and caring responsibilities through the ongoing provision of appropriate work/life balance information, resources, and programs.
- Workplace Gender Equality Indicator: Indicator 6: Flexible working and leave
- Timing: Ongoing (Year 1, 2, 3, 4)
- Responsibility: People & Culture (Organisational Development)
- Identify actions to support women’s equal access to career progression and development opportunities while on any form of extended leave (e.g. parental, carers, cultural) to help minimise disruptions to advancing their career.
- Workplace Gender Equality Indicator: Indicator 5: Recruitment and promotion
- Timing: Year 2, 3
- Responsibility: People & Culture (Organisational Development)
- Ensure senior leaders and people managers visibly role model flexible / hybrid working (including when staff return to workplaces in line with public-health advice).
DPC demonstrates its commitment to making reasonable and material progress towards achieving workplace gender equality by regularly measuring, monitoring, and reporting on workplace gender equality
Goal: Improve workforce data collection systems and processes
Strategies
- Review the workplace gender equality indicators and, where gaps exist, identify actions to establish a more robust dataset to support workplace gender audits (with a particular focus on intersectionality).
- Workplace Gender Equality Indicator: All workplace gender equality indicators
- Timing: Ongoing (Year 1, 2, 3, 4)
- Responsibility: People & Culture (Diversity & Inclusion)
- Develop a campaign to encourage staff to complete personal/demographic information on relevant forms and surveys to improve DPC’s understanding of workplace diversity including issues and challenges.
- Workplace Gender Equality Indicator: Indicator 1: Gender composition at all levels of the workforce
- Timing: Year 2, 3
- Responsibility: Strategic Communications, Engagement and Protocol (Internal Communications) and People & Culture (Diversity & Inclusion)
Goal: Measure, monitor and report on progress against the Gender Equality Action Plan
Strategies
- Undertake a targeted annual workplace gender audit and develop a performance dashboard to support groups to develop strategies and actions to address gender equality and workplace diversity and inclusion gaps.
- Workplace Gender Equality Indicator: All workplace gender equality indicators
- Timing: Annual (Year 1, 2, 3, 4)
- Responsibility: People & Culture (Recruitment & Workforce Services/Diversity & Inclusion)
- Prepare an annual report to the DPC Board of Management outlining progress against the Gender Equality Action Plan including key achievements, areas for improvement and proposed strategies to address areas of gender and intersectional inequality.
- Workplace Gender Equality Indicator: All workplace gender equality indicators
- Timing: Annual (Year 2, 3, 4)
- Responsibility: People & Culture (Diversity & Inclusion)
- Review the workplace gender equality indicators and, where gaps exist, identify actions to establish a more robust dataset to support workplace gender audits (with a particular focus on intersectionality).
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