Gender Equality Action Plan Progress Report 2021–23

This progress report summarises our actions and achievements in promoting and advancing gender equality from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2023.

Background

Our Gender Equality Action Plan (GEAP) is a 4 year initiative. To track our progress and inform future actions, we conducted a workplace gender audit in June 2023. This audit assists in preparing this progress report and identifying future areas of focus.

We are dedicated to achieving gender equality across the 7 key workplace indicators.

In the first 2 years, we have made significant progress on our GEAP, completing or advancing all 43 planned actions. This includes progress in areas such as gender composition across levels, the gender pay gap, recruitment, and gender composition of our Executive Board.

Key achievements

  • Successfully launched the Gender Equality Action Plan (GEAP) 2022-25 at an all-staff event on June 8, 2022.
  • The departments GEAP and Gender Audit were both deemed compliant with the requirements of the Gender Equality Act 2020.
  • Delivered intersectional gender equality training to over 100 people leaders across the department.
  • Created an "Intersectionality in practice gender equality guide" and integrated it into ongoing managers essentials training.
  • Piloted a Career Development and Coaching Program for women and gender diverse people at the VPS5 level, resulting in a 20% promotion rate among participants.
  • Conducted focus groups and produced a report outlining barriers and opportunities to improve workforce gender balance at all levels.
  • Conducted internal annual GEAP progress reports for 2022 and 2023, including group-level pay gap analysis.
  • Conducted an independent review and analysis of the gender pay gap and executive remuneration, including recommendations and strategies for significant reduction.

Workplace gender equality indicators

  • We monitor gender representation across all levels, aiming to align with overall demographic proportions.
  • In 2023, women make up 62% of the workforce, representing a 3% increase from 2021, while men constitute 38%.
  • Notably, there has been an increase in women's representation at senior levels, including VPS6 (+4%), STS7 (+4%), SES1 (+3%), and SES3 (+11%).
  • Whilst progress has been made in improving gender balance at senior levels, the over representation of women in lower levels (VPS5 and below) persists, highlighting the need for continued efforts to address this imbalance.

  • The Executive Board has achieved gender balance, with women now representing 50% of the board (an increase from 36% in 2021).
  • Men's representation has correspondingly decreased from 64% to 50%.

  • The mean base salary gender pay gap decreased from 7.4% in 2021 to 7.1% in 2023, a reduction of 0.3%.
  • Similarly, the mean Total Remuneration Package gender pay gap decreased from 7.4% in 2021 to 6.9% in 2023, a reduction of 0.5%.
  • In 2021, women earned less than men in most pay grades.
  • In 2023, pay disparities have decreased at most levels, including SES2, SES1, and VPS6.
  • Notably, women now earn more than men at the VPS4 and VPS3 levels.

  • Our 2021 Employee Experience Survey indicated that 2% of both women and men reported experiencing sexual harassment in the workplace.
  • In 2023, this figure decreased slightly to 2% for women and 1% for men, representing a 1% decrease for men.
  • In 2023, the department conducted a comprehensive review of its sexual harassment policy.
  • Following this review, training materials related to sexual harassment prevention were also updated.

  • In 2023, 49% of women recruited were employed on a full-time permanent basis (an increase from 33% since 2021), 7% on a part-time permanent basis (an increase of 6%), and 44% on fixed-term contracts (a decrease of 6%).
  • While the overall proportion of women promoted increased slightly to 66% in 2023 (a 1% increase), progress in promoting women to executive levels has been inconsistent.
  • In 2023, 5% of women promoted were at the executive level (a decrease of 7%), compared to 7% of men.

  • Since 2021, we have seen progress in the availability and uptake of parental and carers leave, regardless of gender.
  • In 2023, 4.3% of employees took parental leave (a decrease of 1% since 2021). 58% were women (a decrease of 12%), and 42% were men (an increase of 12.8%).
  • In 2023, 29% of employees took carers leave (an increase of 2% since 2021). 66% were women, and 34% were men (an increase of 5% for women, and 5% decrease for men).

  • In 2021, 17% of women and 19% of men were employed in Manager roles within the ANZSCO group.
  • In 2023, this representation increased significantly for both genders: 28% for women (an 11% increase) and 33% for men (a 14% increase).
  • In 2021, 35% of women and 26% of men were employed in Clerical and Administrative roles within the ANZSCO group.
  • In 2023, this representation decreased for both genders: 28% for women (a 4% decrease) and 28% for men (a 2% decrease).
  • We have conducted focus groups targeted at VPS6 and above to address barriers to career progression.

Read the full progress report

DJSIR gender equality process report 2023

For an accessible version of this document contact the Diversity and Inclusion team at diversity@ecodev.vic.gov.au.

Page last updated: 11 March 2025