Coles Group has been certified by WGEA as an Employer of Choice for Gender Equality (EOCGE) for the first time. It joins drinks suppliers Diageo, Lion and Pernod Ricard, retailers Metcash and financial services group, Mercer who have all been certified for a number of years.
The news comes just a week after Leah Weckert was named incoming CEO for the business, set to commence in the role when current CEO Steve Cain steps down on Monday, 1 May.
As part of its certification, Coles was recognised for its leadership, increased learning and development opportunities, narrowing gender remuneration gaps, encouraging flexible working, preventing sex-based harassment and discrimination, and meeting targets for improving gender equality outcomes.
Director of WGEA, Mary Woolridge said: “Leading employers, like Coles, have stepped up to the plate by taking action to accelerate change for gender equality in the workplace.
“Critically, EOCGE employers are delivering an approach that results in better support structures in place for working families; stronger actions to address pay inequalities; and strategic recruitment, promotion and retention practices that encourage the full participation of women at work.”
Coles Group General Manager Corporate and Indigenous Affairs and chair of the Coles Gender Equity Steering Committee, Sally Fielke, said the company was proud to be recognised for its progress.
“Gender equity is fundamental to our ambition to build a strong, diverse and inclusive culture at Coles. We’ve continued to push for gender balance, setting targets for more women in leadership, and supporting a range of programs including talent attraction programs like RelauncHER, our accelerator program for store managers, as well as initiatives to retain the incredible women we have in our business,” Ms Fielke said.
“We’re committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels valued and supported, so we continue to attract the best people to Coles.”
WGEA says that their recent workforce analysis shows that EOCGE have, on average, 26 per cent lower gender pay gaps. They also have:
• more women on governing bodies: 37.2 per cent, compared to 31 per cent for others
• longer periods of employer-funded parental leave for primary carers: an average of 14.1 weeks for EOCGEs, compared to 11.2 weeks. When it’s provided with no distinction between primary and secondary carers it’s 16.7 weeks, compared to 10.2
• more male managers taking primary carer’s leave: 34% of all managers taking primary carer’s leave in EOCGE organisations were men, compared to 18 per cent
WGEA Director Mary Wooldridge said the results were encouraging for all employers seeking to accelerate change in their workplaces.
“EOCGE employers have made gender equality an integral component of their business strategies and they’re seeing results,” Ms Wooldridge said.
“With the upcoming legislative reforms requiring WGEA to publish employer gender pay gaps, the results of this new analysis show that with intentional leadership and a commitment to gender equality, an employer can reduce their gender pay gap for the benefit of all their employees.
“Critically, EOCGE employers are delivering an approach that results in better support structures in place for working families; stronger actions to address pay inequalities; and strategic recruitment, promotion and retention practices that encourage the full participation of women at work.”
Ms Wooldridge said this research, as well as feedback from CEOs of EOCGE applicant organisations, indicated the value of the citation as a catalyst to improve their gender equality strategies.
“Through the application process, CEOs told us that being an employer of choice continues to expose their blind spots, that it’s a good framework that challenges and drives them to continually improve and keeps them focussed on their gender equality objectives,” Ms Wooldridge said.
“In many cases, CEOs admit they wish they hadn’t waited to address gender equality in their workplace, with one leader telling us: ‘once you go down this path and see the benefits, you wish you had started earlier’.
EOCGEs are reaping the benefits of employee satisfaction, productivity and profitability.
You can find the full list of WGEA EOCGEs here.