Chapter 1: VPS Workforce

Gender composition at all levels of the workforce and governing body

The information below is based on workforce data at 30 June 2021 (Source: eduPay).

The corporate workforce is predominantly women:

• 72% Women
• 27% Men
• 0.2% Self-Described.

The proportion of leadership who are women:

• 50% Deputy Secretaries/CEO
• 54% Executive Directors
• 56% Directors.

Gender breakdown of the DET governing body (DET Executive Board):

• 56% Women
• 44% Men.

There were more women than men in every age group:

• 15-24 years old: 68% Women
• 25-34 years old: 74% Women
• 35-44 years old: 71% Women
• 45-54 years old: 73% Women
• 55-64 years old: 71% Women
• 65+: 70%.

Gender composition of VPS by group: demonstrating the proportion of VPS staff (on a full time equivalent basis) who were women.

• Schools Regional Services:
  • 85% women
  • 15% men
• Early Childhood Education:
  • 82% women
  • 18% men
• School Education Programs and Support:
  • 78% women
  • 22% men
• Office of Secretary:
  • 75% women
  • 22% men
• People and Executive Services:
  • 71% women
  • 29% men
• Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority:
  • 65% women
  • 35% men
• Higher Education and Skills:
  • 65% women
  • 35% men
• Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority:
  • 63% women
  • 37% men
• Policy, Strategy and Performance:
  • 58% women
  • 40% men
• Victorian School Building Authority:
  • 52% women
  • 48% men
• Financial Policy and Information Services:
  • 42% women
  • 58% men
• Total:
  • 72% women
  • 27% men.

Gender composition of VPS workforce by classification level to the Secretary

The classification levels are separated by reporting levels from the most senior levels in the department (i.e. the Secretary). Someone who reports directly to the Secretary is classified as level -1 (i.e. Deputy Secretaries/CEOs), someone who is two reporting levels from the Secretary is level -2 (i.e. Executive Directors) and so on.

Appendix A lists VPS job classifications covered by the classification levels -1 through -10.

• Classification -1:
  • 50% women
  • 50% men
• Classification -2:
  • 54% women
  • 46% men
• Classification -3:
  • 56% women
  • 44% men
• Classification -4:
  • 46% women
  • 54% men
• Classification -5:
  • 63% women
  • 37% men
• Classification -6:
  • 71% women
  • 28% men
• Classification -7:
  • 80% women
  • 20% men
• Classification -8:
  • 77% women
  • 22% men
• Classification -9:
  • 71% women
  • 29% men
• All Levels:
  • 72% women
  • 27% men.

Diversity composition of the VPS workforce

Employees are able to record their cultural identity, gender and disability status in the department’s HR payroll system (eduPay) if they choose. Confidential and anonymous staff surveys with higher response rates provide an alternative data source.

The information provided below summarises gender and diversity information of respondents of the 2021 PMS. 71% response rate for the PMS survey.

• The majority culturally identify as Australian:
  • Australian 79%
  • English, Irish and/or Scottish 12%
  • European 10%
  • East and/or South-East Asian 3%
  • South Asian 1%
  • Top 5 shown; multiple responses accepted
• This workforce is predominantly women:
  • 63% identify as a woman
  • 24% identify as a man
  • 1% non-binary or use a different term
  • 12% prefer not to say
• 1% identify as trans, non-binary or gender diverse
• 50% had caring responsibilities:
  • 11% Children
  • 17% Person with a disability or illness or old age
• 2% identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
• 16% speak a language other than English with their family or community
• 6% are a person with disability
• Sexual Orientation:
  • 75% Heterosexual
  • 3% Gay or lesbian
  • 3% Bisexual
  • 1% Pansexual
  • 0% Asexual,
  • 1% Use a different term
  • 1% Don’t know
  • 16% prefer not to say
• 16% of respondents were born overseas.

Gender Pay Equity

The Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) calculates and publishes gender pay gap statistics which are determined using the following formula:

• Gender pay gap = 100 times (the difference between Male average earning and Female average earnings) divided by Male average earning.

On its website[1], WGEA note what the gender pay gap is, and what it is not:

What it is: The gender pay gap measures the difference between the average earnings of women and men in the workforce. The gender pay gap is an internationally established measure of women’s position in the economy in comparison to men. The gender pay gap is the result of the social and economic factors that combine to reduce women’s earning capacity over their lifetime.

Closing the gender pay gap goes beyond just ensuring equal pay. It requires cultural change to remove the barriers to the full and equal participation of women in the workforce.

What it is not: It is not the difference between two people being paid differently for work of the same or comparable value, which is unlawful. This is called equal pay. Equal Pay is when men and women receive equal pay for work of equal or comparable value. In practical terms, this means that:

• men and women performing the same work are paid the same amount
• men and women performing different work of equal or comparable value are paid the same amount.

Gender pay gaps measured across all staff within an organisation (or part of an organisation) usefully summarise the differences the earnings of women and men in a single metric. The following analysis decomposes gender pay gaps into:

• the within-level gender pay gap – that portion of the overall gender pay gap due to differences in remuneration at individual classification levels; and
• the across-level or “progression gap” – that portion of the gender pay gap due to differences in the gender composition at different classification levels – which reflects differences in progression (and recruitment) rates across genders across classification levels. This progression gap is calculated by:
• assuming the average salary of women is equal to the average base salary of men at each classification level (i.e. assuming the within-level pay gap is 0% for every classification level), and
• calculating the gender pay gap based on this assumption – this “progression gap” quantifies the extent to which the gender pay gap is due to differences in gender composition across classification levels.

To learn more about the gender pay gap refer to the Guide to gender pay equity by WGEA or watch The gender pay gap explained video.

Gender pay gap by region and group/authority

The statistics recorded are based on the average annualised salaries of full-time and part-time VPS staff. The department’s workplace gender audit found that the VPS gender pay gap is 8.7%.

While no pay gap is acceptable, the department’s results are significantly better than the Australian average gender pay gap (14.2%) and the Victorian average gender pay gap (12.2%).[2]

The statistics shows that by region:

• the gender pay gap was 5.3% in central and 8.7% in all VPS regions
• the progression gap was 4.8% in central and 7.6% in all VPS regions
• for most VPS regions, the gender pay gap was largely due to the gender progression gap. [3]

The statistics shows that by group/authority:

• the gender pay gap ranged from 3.6% for People and Executive Services to 25.1% for the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA), and
• for most VPS groups, the gender pay gap was largely due to the gender progression gap, with the progression gap ranging from 1.9% for People and Executive Services to 23.5% for VRQA.
• the gender pay gap and progression gap can be influenced by the size of the sample. Within a smaller group/authority such as the VRQA, there is increased variance of staff salary which increases the gender pay gap statistics.

Gender pay and progression gap by VPS group

• Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority:
  • 23.5% Progression Gap
  • 1% Gender Pay Gap
• Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority:
  • 10.6% Progression Gap
  • 10.6% Gender Pay Gap
• School Education Programs and Support:
  • 9.3% Progression Gap
  • 10.6% Gender Pay Gap
• Schools Regional Services:
  • 9.3% Progression Gap
  • 10.3% Gender Pay Gap
• Policy, Strategy and Performance:
  • 8.0% Progression Gap
  • 8.1% Gender Pay Gap
• Early Childhood Education:
  • 4.6% Progression Gap
  • 5.3% Gender Pay Gap
• Financial Policy and Information Services:
  • 4.2% Progression Gap
  • 4.9% Gender Pay Gap
• Higher Education and Skills:
  • 4.0% Progression Gap
  • 4.1% Gender Pay Gap
• Victorian School Building Authority:
  • 3.7% Progression Gap
  • 3.8% Gender Pay Gap
• People and Executive Services:
  • 1.9% Progression Gap
  • 3.6% Gender Pay Gap
• All VPS groups:
  • 7.6% Progression Gap
  • 8.7% Gender Pay Gap.

Workplace Sexual Harassment

Under the Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (Vic) employers have a duty to take positive action to eliminate sexual harassment in the workplace.

Under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Vic), employers must also provide and maintain a work environment that is safe and without risk to the health of their employees, so far as is reasonably practicable. This is inclusive of workplace gendered violence and workplace sexual harassment.

Yet recent research suggests that ‘workplace sexual harassment occurs in all industries, in all locations and at all levels’.[4] Recent reports by the Victorian Auditor General’s Office (VAGO) found that the Victorian Public Service workplaces were not free from sexual harassment and that reporting levels were consistently low compared to the level of experiences of sexual harassment identified through self-reporting surveys.

Consistent with VAGO’s report there are discrepancies between the department’s data of formal sexual harassment complaints and experiences identified through the anonymous People Matter Survey (PMS). This highlights that there are barriers preventing staff from feeling safe to submit a formal sexual harassment complaint.

Between 1 July 2020 and 30 June 2021, 0% of corporate staff submitted a sexual harassment complaint (Source: eduPay).

3% of respondents who completed the People Matter Survey reported that they had experienced sexual harassment behaviours in their workplace within the last 12 months.

Personal experiences of sexual harassment, discrimination and bullying

The information below refers to the results of the 2021 PMS. Employees were asked if they had personally experienced any sexual harassment behaviours, discrimination and/or bullying at work in the last 12 months.

Sexual harassment

• Three per cent of VPS respondents indicated that they had experienced sexual harassment behaviours in the last 12 months.
• Women who had the following intersecting identities were more likely to have experienced sexual harassment than other women: – Women with disability (6% versus 3% of other women). – LGBTIQ+ women (5% versus 3% of other women).

Discrimination

• Four per cent of VPS respondents indicated that they had experienced discrimination in the last 12 months.
• Women who had the following intersecting identities were more likely to have experienced discrimination than other women:
  • Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander women (8% versus 4% of other women).
  • Women with disability (6% versus 4% of other women).
  • Cultural and linguistically diverse women (6% versus 4% of other women).

Bullying

• Nine per cent of VPS respondents indicated that they had experienced bullying in the last 12 months.
• Women who had the following intersecting identities were more likely to have experienced bullying than other women:
  • Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander women (17% versus 9% of other women).
  • Women with disability (13% versus 9% of other women).
  • LGBTIQ+ women (11% versus 9% of other women).

Organisational safety

Overall respondents agreed that the organisation encouraged respectful workplace behaviours (88%), and took steps to eliminate bullying, harassment and discrimination (71%). Staff members were somewhat less likely to indicate that they felt safe to challenge inappropriate behaviour at work (65% agreed, while 15% disagreed).

Differences by demographic characteristics

Gender: Men were more likely than women to agree that they felt safe to challenge inappropriate behaviour at work (75% versus 65%).

Diversity factors: Respondents who identified as non-binary and/or gender diverse, Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, or as a person with disability all responded less favourably than women by 5% or more when asked how safe they felt to challenge inappropriate behaviour at work

Recruitment and Promotion

This indicator focuses on recruitment, promotions, career development opportunities, higher duties, internal secondments and exits. Data on recruitment and promotion outcomes can show where women’s careers are stalling and help identify strategies to create more equal opportunities.

An analysis of eduPay data[5] found that: The recruitment rate was higher for men (16.4%) than for women (10.0%), while the exit rate was slightly lower for men (9.1%) than for women (10.4%). Consequently, the net recruitment rate was:

• +7.3% for men: indicating a 7.3% rise in the male VPS headcount over 2020-2021, and
• -0.4% for women, indicating a 0.4% fall in the female VPS headcount over 2020-2021.

The promotion rate was slightly higher for women (6.5%) than for men (6.1%)

The higher duties rate was higher for women (14.5%) than for men (12.7%)

The internal secondment rate was marginally higher for women (3.4%) than for men (3.5%)

Fair recruitment and promotion

The following information is from the 2021 People Matter Survey results.

• 61% of survey respondents agreed that their organisation made fair recruitment and promotion decisions based on merit.
• 48% of respondents felt that they had an equal chance at promotion in their organisation.

Men were more likely than women to agree with both statements.

Differences by demographic characteristics

Diversity factors:

Women were more likely than the following groups to agree (50% agreement) that they felt they had an equal chance at promotion at their organisation:

• Non-binary and gender diverse respondents (38% agreement)
• People with disability (42% agreement).

Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander respondents were more likely to agree with this statement than other respondents (62% versus 50%).

Organisational support for diversity and inclusion

As shown below, the majority of survey respondents provided positive assessments in relation to the department’s support for diversity and inclusion.

• 87% of respondents agreed that their work group actively support diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
• 78% of respondents agreed that their leadership team actively support diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
• 90% of respondents agree that their manager work effectively with people from diverse backgrounds.
• The majority of respondents (63%-77%) agreed that various diversity characteristics were not a barrier to success at their organisation.

Differences by demographic characteristics

Gender: Men were more likely than women to report that gender is not a barrier to success (87% versus 82%) and much more likely than non-binary and other respondents (58%) and people with disability (74%) to respond favourably.

Learning and development

Survey respondents were slightly positive about aspects of their learning and development:

• 67% of respondents agreed that there were adequate opportunities for them to develop skills and experience.
• 63% of respondents were satisfied with the way their learning and development needs have been addressed.

Differences by demographic characteristics

Diversity factors

• Non-binary and gender diverse respondents were less likely to report they had opportunities to develop skills and experience and their learning and development needs being addressed (53% compared to 67% of other staff).
• Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander respondents were more likely to agree in relation to both questions (72% and 74% compared to 67% and 63% of other staff).
• People with disability were less likely to report their learning and development needs were being addressed (52% compared to 63% of other staff).

Leave and Flexibility

As per research collated by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, the benefits of flexible work are broad reaching, for individuals, organisations and society. Beyond the workplace, a push to increase availability and uptake of flexible working arrangements for all employees can have an important transformative effect on harmful gender norms in broader society, by supporting and enabling men to take on increased caring responsibilities outside the workplace.

Gendered data on uptake and availability of flexible work, parental, carers and family violence leave, can help to ensure the implementation of flexible working strategies, policies and practices that respond to the diverse needs of all employees.

The Commission defines this indicator as ‘availability and utilisation of terms, conditions and practices relating to family violence leave, flexible working arrangements and working arrangements supporting workers with family or caring responsibilities’.

The information below exhibits the number of staff by gender who have accessed Parental Leave, Family Violence Leave and Carers Leaves between 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021 (Source: eduPay).

• Full-time staff who accessed Parental Leave:
  • 8% for women
  • 6.7% for men
• Part-time staff who accessed Parental Leave:
  • 27.2% for women
  • 14.4% for men
• Staff who have accessed Family Violence Leave:
  • 0.1% for women
  • 0.0% for men
• Staff who have accessed Carers Leave:
  • 37.5% for women
  • 27.4% for men.

The information included for the remainder of the Leave and Flexibility section of the Report is from the 2021 PMS. Although workforce data can provide a sense of any gendered difference between the utilisation of flexible work and leave arrangements, employee experience data is important in understanding the experiences and assumptions of staff that have informed this representation.

Use of flexible work arrangements

The majority of staff had not requested any adjustments due to a range of responsibilities and individual needs. The most common response (multiple responses accepted) was work-life balance (40%) with family responsibilities (34%), health (31%), and caring responsibilities (30%) the most common. Women were more likely than men to:

• Have caring responsibilities for children (28% versus 11%).
• Have caring responsibilities for elderly people, people with disability, illness or mental illness (17% versus 5%).

Workplace flexibility

When asked about workplace flexibility, 80% of respondents agreed that their organisation would support them if they needed to take family violence leave, and 80% agreed that their organisation supported employees with family or other caring responsibilities.

Respondents were relatively less likely to agree that their requests for flexible work arrangements would be given due consideration (83%), and that they had the flexibility needed to manage work and non-work activities and responsibilities (82%).

Organisational culture

Overall, survey respondents agreed that there was a positive culture within their organisation in relation to employees who had family and caring responsibilities. Respondents generally had a lower levels agreement that having family/caring responsibilities and using flexible work arrangements were not barriers to success (64%-68%).

Men were more likely to agree with all statements than women (5%+). LGBTIQ+ staff were less likely to agree that flexible work was not a barrier to success (59% versus 67%).

74% of employees who have family responsibilities, 71% who have caring responsibilities, and 70% who use flexible work arrangements agree with the statement: “There is a positive culture within my organisation”.

Gendered Work Segregation

Workplace gender segregation is the unequal distribution of genders across certain occupations, industries and hierarchies. Segregation tends to follow traditional gender lines, with women disproportionately represented in caring and administrative roles, and men disproportionately represented in building and construction trades, engineering and technical occupations as well as in leadership roles across all industries.

Research has shown clear differences in workplaces with high gender segregation, relating to opportunities to enter leadership, access to career progression, flexible work and pay equity[6].

Based on ANZSCO codes[7]:

• the proportion of VPS staff who were women ranges from 20% of ICT Customer Support Officers to 96% of Speech Pathologists, and
• overall, 73% of VPS staff are women and the average VPS Base Salary in 2021 was $111,328.

Gender composition by VPS ANZSCO codes

• Speech Pathologist:
  • 96% women
  • 4% men
• Registered Nurse (Community Health):
  • 95% women
  • 5% men
• Social Worker:
  • 95% women
  • 5% men
• Personal Assistant:
  • 92% women
  • 8% men
• Educational Psychologist:
  • 86% women
  • 14% men
• Psychologists not elsewhere classified:
  • 86% women
  • 14% men
• Education Managers not elsewhere classified:
  • 85% women
  • 15% men
• Inspectors and Regulatory Officers not elsewhere classified:
  • 84% women
  • 16% men
• Internal Auditor:
  • 84% women
  • 16% men
• Education Adviser:
  • 81% women
  • 19% men
• Human Resource Adviser:
  • 75% women
  • 25% men
• Corporate Services Manager:
  • 75% women
  • 25% men
• Training and Development Professional:
  • 75% women
  • 25% men
• General Clerk:
  • 75% women
  • 25% men
• Policy Analyst:
  • 74% women
  • 26% men
• Youth Worker:
  • 71% women
  • 29% men
• Program or Project Administrator:
  • 70% women
  • 30% men
• Occupational Health and Safety Adviser:
  • 69% women
  • 31% men
• Liaison Officer:
  • 69% women
  • 31% men
• Solicitor:
  • 69% women
  • 31% men
• Other Job Title (n = less than 30):
  • 66% women
  • 34% men
• Public Relations Professional:
  • 66% women
  • 34% men
• Organisation and Methods Analyst:
  • 66% women
  • 34% men
• Policy and Planning Manager:
  • 66% women
  • 34% men
• Corporate General Manager:
  • 65% women
  • 35% men
• Specialist Managers not elsewhere classified:
  • 64% women
  • 36% men
• Chief Executive or Managing Director:
  • 57% women
  • 43% men
• Intelligence Officer:
  • 53% women
  • 47% men
• Management Consultant:
  • 41% women
  • 59% men
• Accountant (General):
  • 40% women
  • 60% men
• ICT Customer Support Officer:
  • 20% women
  • 80% men
• All VPS staff:
  • 73% women
  • 27% men.

Intersectionality

This section on intersectionality outlines how gender inequality may be compounded by other forms of disadvantage or discrimination that a person may experience due to different aspects of their identity. It presents the key results from the 2021 PMS for respondents who identified as a woman, across a selected range of diversity characteristics:

• age
• Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander identity
• cultural and linguistic background
• disability
• LGBTIQ+ identity
• having caring responsibilities.

Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander

This characteristic is based on women who answered ‘Yes’ compared to those women who answered ‘No’ to the question “Do you identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander?”. Caution should be used when interpreting these results due to the low sample size for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander women (n=52).

Organisational culture / equal employment opportunity

Women who identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander were less likely than those who did not identify to feel that there was a positive culture within their organisation in relation to employees:

• With disability (71% versus 67% of other women).
• Who are Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander (83% versus 79% of other women).
• Who are in different age groups (83% versus 75% of other women).

Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander women were also less likely to agree that being Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander was not a barrier to success than other women (75% versus 67%).

However, Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander men were less likely than Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander women to agree that being Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander was not a barrier to success in their organisation.

Results by gender

Responses of survey respondents who identified as a man or a woman and Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander to ther statement “Being Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander is not a barrier to success in my school” was:

• Women: 75% agreed
• Men: 68% agreed.

Organisational support for diversity and inclusion

Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander women were less likely than other women to:

• Feel that their manager worked effectively with people from diverse backgrounds (81% versus 92% of other women).
• Agree that staff at their work group actively supported diversity and inclusion in the workplace (81% versus 88% of other women).
• Feel culturally safe at work (63% versus 83% of other women).

Personal experience of negative behaviours

Women who identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander were more likely to have experienced some negative behaviours at work in the last 12 months. Specifically:

• 17% had personally experienced bullying (versus 9% of other women).
• 8% had personally experienced discrimination (versus 4% of other women).
• Experience of sexual harassment was similar between the cohorts (2% versus 3% of other women).

Results by gender

The responses of survey respondents who identified as a man or a woman and Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander were:

• Personal experience of bullying at work in the last 12 months:
  • 17% of women
  • 4% of men.
• Personal experience of discrimination at work in the last 12 months:
  • 8% of women
  • 0% of men
• Personal experience of sexual harassment at work in the last 12 months:
  • 2% of women
  • 0% of men.

Leave and flexibility

Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander women were more likely than other women to agree that having caring responsibilities (73% versus 64% of other women) or using flexible working arrangements (75% versus 68% of other women) were not barriers to success in their organisation.

Culturally and Linguistically Diverse

This characteristic is based on women who selected non-English speaking countries for “How would you describe your cultural identity / In which country were you born?” or answered ‘Yes’ to ‘Do you speak a language other than English with your family or community?” (n=390), compared to women who selected English speaking countries or answered ‘No’ to these questions.

Organisational culture / equal employment opportunity

Women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds were slightly less likely to agree, compared to other women, that there was a positive culture in their organisation in relation to employees:

• From varied cultural backgrounds (78% versus 82% of other women).
• Who identify as LGBTIQ+ (78% versus 82% of other women).

They were equally likely to agree that cultural background was not a barrier to success in their organisation (70% versus 72% of other women).

Results by gender

The response of survey respondents who identified as a man or a woman and culturally and linguistically diverse to the statement “Cultural background is not a barrier to success in my organisation” was:

• 51% of women agreed
• 50% of men agreed.

Organisation support for diversity and inclusion

Culturally and linguistically diverse women were generally as likely as other women to agree that:

• Their manager worked effectively with people from diverse backgrounds (93% versus 92% of other women).
• Senior leaders actively supported diversity and inclusion in the workplace (78% versus 80% of other women).
• Staff at their work group actively supported diversity and inclusion in the workplace (87% versus 88% of other women).
• They felt culturally safe at work (80% versus 83% of other women).

Personal experience of negative behaviours

Women who identified as culturally and linguistically diverse were no more likely to have experienced some negative behaviours at work in the last 12 months. Specifically:

• 8% had personally experienced bullying (versus 9% of other women).
• 6% had personally experienced discrimination (versus 4% of other women).
• 2% had personally experienced sexual harassment behaviours (versus 3% of other women).

Results by gender

The responses of survey respondents who identified as a man or a woman and culturally and linguistically diverse were:

• Personal experience of bullying at work in the last 12 months:
  • 8% of women
  • 8% of men
• Personal experience of discrimination at work in the last 12 months:
  • 6% of women
  • 2% of men
• Personal experience of sexual harassment at work in the last 12 months:
  • 2% of women
  • 2% of men.

Leave and flexibility

Women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds were equally as likely as other women to agree that having caring responsibilities (66% versus 64% of other women) or using flexible working arrangements (71% versus 68% of other women) were not barriers to success in their organisation.

Disability

This characteristic is based on women who answered ‘Yes’ to the question “Are you a person with a disability?” (n=160), compared to those women who answered ‘No’.

Organisational culture / equal employment opportunity

Women with disability were less likely to agree, compared to other women, that there was a positive culture in their organisation in relation to employees:

• From varied cultural backgrounds (77%, compared to 82% of other women).
• With disability (56% versus 67% of other women).
• Who are Aboriginal and/ or Torres Strait Islander (72% versus 79% of other women).

They were also less likely than other women to agree that having a disability was not a barrier to success in their organisation (51% versus 62% of other women).

Results by gender

The responses of survey respondents who identified as a man or a woman and as a person with disability to the statement “Disability is not a barrier to success in my organisation” was

• 51% of women agreed
• 50% of men agreed.

Organisation support for diversity and inclusion

Women with disability were less likely than other women to agree that:

• Their work group did not reject others based on difference (83% versus 89% of other women).
• Senior leaders actively supported diversity and inclusion in the workplace (73% versus 80% of other women).
• Their organisation takes steps to eliminate bullying, harassment and discrimination (59% versus 71% of other women).
• They felt culturally safe at work (80% versus 83% of other women).

Personal experience of negative behaviours

Women with disability were more likely to have experienced some negative behaviours at work in the last 12 months. Specifically:

• 13% had personally experienced bullying (versus 9% of other women).
• 6% had personally experienced discrimination (versus 4% of other women).
• 6% had personally experienced sexual harassment behaviours (versus 3% of other women).

Results by gender

Responses of survey respondents who identified as a man or a woman and as a person with disability:

• Personal experience of bullying at work in the last 12 months:
  • 8% of women
  • 8% of men
• Personal experience of discrimination at work in the last 12 months:
  • 6% of women
  • 2% of men
• Personal experience of sexual harassment at work in the last 12 months:
  • 2% of women
  • 2% of men.

Leave and flexibility

Women with disability were less likely than other women to agree that having caring responsibilities (58% versus 64% of other women) or using flexible working arrangements (58% versus 68% of other women) were not barriers to success at their organisation.

LGBTIQ+ Identity

For the purposes of this analysis, LGBTIQ+ identity is based on women who answered ‘Yes’ to the question “Are you trans, non-binary or gender diverse?” or who answered ‘Gay or lesbian’, ‘Bisexual’, ‘Pansexual’, ‘Asexual’, ‘I use a different term’ or ‘Don’t know’ to the question “How do you describe your sexual orientation?” (n=166).

Organisational culture / equal employment opportunity

LGBTIQ+ women were less likely to agree, compared to other women, that there was a positive culture in their organisation in relation to employees:

• From varied cultural backgrounds (73%, compared to 82% of other women).
• Of different sexes or genders (81% versus 83% of other women).
• With disability (55% versus 67% of other women).
• Who are Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander (71% versus 79% of other women).

They were equally likely than other women to agree that gender (78% versus 79% of other women) and sexual orientation (78% versus 79% of other women) were not barriers to success in their organisation.

Results by gender

Responses of survey respondents who identified as a man or a woman and LGBTIQ+ to the statements:

• Gender is not a barrier to success in my school:
  • 78% of women
  • 82% of men
• Sexual orientation is not a barrier to success in my school:
  • 78% of women
  • 75% of men.

Organisation support for diversity and inclusion

LGBTIQ+ women were less likely than other women to agree that:

• Their manager worked effectively with people from diverse backgrounds (88% versus 92% of other women).
• Senior Leaders actively supported diversity and inclusion in the workplace (75% versus 80% of other women).
• They felt culturally safe at work (79% versus 83% of other women).

Personal experience of negative behaviours

Women who identified as LGBTIQ+ were more likely to have experienced some negative behaviours at work in the last 12 months. Specifically:

• 11% had personally experienced bullying (versus 9% of other women).
• 5% had personally experienced discrimination (versus 4% of other women).
• 5% had personally experienced sexual harassment behaviours (versus 3% of other women).

Results by gender

Responses of survey respondents who identified as a man or a woman and LGBTIQ+:

• Personal experience of bullying at work in the last 12 months:
  • 11% of women
  • 10% of men
• Personal experience of discrimination at work in the last 12 months:
  • 5% of women
  • 5% of men
• Personal experience of sexual harassment at work in the last 12 months:
  • 5% of women
  • 4% of men.

Leave and flexibility

LGBTIQ+ women were less likely than other women to agree that using flexible working arrangements (59% versus 68% of other women) were not barriers to success in their organisation.

Caring Responsibilities

This characteristic is based on women who answered ‘Yes’ to the question “Do you have responsibility for caring for any of the following people?” (n=1269), compared to those women who answered ‘No’.

Organisational culture / equal employment opportunity

Women with caring responsibilities were equally as likely as other women to agree that there was a positive culture in their organisation in relation to employees:

• From varied cultural backgrounds (84%, compared to 85% of other women).
• Of different sexes / genders (86% versus 87% of other women).

However, they were equally as likely than other women to agree that:

• Their organisation had a positive culture regarding employees with caring responsibilities (73% versus 74% of other women).
• Having caring responsibilities was not a barrier to success in their organisation (66% versus 64% of other women).

Results by gender

Responses of survey respondents who identified as a man or a woman and had caring responsibilities to the statement

• Having caring responsibilities is not a barrier to success in my organisation:
  • 73% of women
  • 75% of men.

Organisation support for diversity and inclusion

Women with caring responsibilities were less likely than other women to agree that:

• Their manager worked effectively with people from diverse backgrounds (both 92%).
• Senior leaders actively supported diversity and inclusion in the workplace (81% versus 80% of other women).
• People in their work group actively supported diversity and inclusion in the workplace (89% versus 88% of other women).
• They felt culturally safe at work (both 83%).

Personal experience of negative behaviours

Women with caring responsibilities were no more likely than other women to have experienced negative behaviours at work.

• 8% had personally experienced bullying (versus 9% of other women).
• 6% had personally experienced discrimination (versus 4% of other women).
• 6% had personally experienced sexual harassment behaviours (versus 3% of other women).

Results by gender

Responses of survey respondents who identified as a man or a woman and had caring responsibilities:

• Personal experience of bullying at work in the last 12 months:
  • 9% of women
  • 8% of men
• Personal experience of discrimination at work in the last 12 months:
  • 4% of women
  • 3% of men
• Personal experience of sexual harassment at work in the last 12 months:
  • 3% of women
  • 1% of men.

Leave and flexibility

Women with caring responsibilities were equally as likely as other women to agree that using flexible working arrangements was not a barrier to success in their organisation (69% versus 68% of other women).

Footnotes

[1] https://www.wgea.gov.au/the-gender-pay-gap#what-drives-the-gender-pay-gap.

[2] Source: Australia’s Gender Pay Gap Statistics, WGEA.

[3] Progression gaps are calculated by assuming the average salary of women is equal to the average base salary of men at each classification level (i.e. assuming the within-level pay gap is 0% for every classification level), and then calculating the gender pay gap based on this assumption. Page 8 explains the calculation of gender pay gaps in more detail.

[4] Australian Human Rights Commission, 2020, Respect@Work: Sexual Harassment National Inquiry Report (2020).

[5] Data from 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021.

[6] Workplace Gender Equality Agency, 2019, Gender segregation in Australia’s workforce based on data source from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency’s (WGEA) dataset (2017-18 reporting period), the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS) and the Labour Force Quarterly Survey (May 1998 and May 2018 periods).

[7] Accessible at: 1220.0 – ANZSCO -- Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations, 2013, Version 1.3 (abs.gov.au):

• the proportion of VPS staff who were women ranges from 20% of ICT Customer Support Officers to 96% of Speech Pathologists, and
• overall, 73% of VPS staff are women and the average VPS Base Salary in 2021 was $111,328.