Women’s Health in the South East (WHISE) welcomes the Senate’s passage of the Workplace Gender Equality Amendment (Setting Gender Equality Targets) Act 2024 as a meaningful step forward in Australia’s journey toward workplace equity. This legislation opens pathways for organisations to strengthen their foundations through inclusive practices that benefit all stakeholders.
The lived reality: When structural barriers become personal stories
Beyond abstract statistics lie lived experiences that shape everyday realities across Australia:
- For a woman in middle management, the absence of targets means watching less experienced male colleagues advance while her capabilities remain underutilised, transforming a career path into a labyrinth rather than a ladder. This isn’t about individual merit but about systems that consistently fail to recognise diverse leadership potential.
- For a recent graduate entering the workforce, the gender pay gap means beginning professional life with diminished economic agency—affecting housing choices, financial independence, and long-term security. What appears as a small percentage difference compounds into life-altering disparities over decades.
- For a mother returning to work, the lack of structured equity measures means facing career penalties for caregiving responsibilities that aren’t similarly applied to fathers. These penalties accumulate across lifetimes, manifesting as retirement insecurity and economic vulnerability.
- For boards making critical decisions, the absence of diverse perspectives results in narrowed vision and missed opportunities—not just for women excluded from leadership, but for the entire organisation’s resilience, innovation capacity, and connection to diverse markets.
- For communities, these workplace disparities ripple outward—affecting family wellbeing, reinforcing restrictive gender norms for children, and limiting the full expression of capabilities that could address our most pressing collective challenges.
When one in four boards has no women, it’s not just a statistic—it’s thousands of voices excluded from decisions shaping our economy. The $51.8 billion annual cost of gender inequality isn’t abstract; it’s lost innovation, deferred dreams, and untapped potential. Yet, companies embracing diversity see real change—workplaces where talent thrives, solutions are richer, and cultures empower authentic contributions. This isn’t just about better metrics—it’s about fundamentally better experiences for everyone.
From compliance to competitive advantage: Embracing the path forward
Rather than viewing these requirements as another regulatory burden, forward-thinking organisations recognise gender equity as a strategic asset that enhances decision-making, attracts talent, and builds resilience.
Building on existing strengths while acknowledging the journey ahead
While we celebrate this legislative milestone, we also recognise it as one component of a more comprehensive transformation needed across our economic landscape. For this legislation to achieve its transformative potential, we must collectively address two critical dimensions:
- Expanding the scope of engagement: With more than 2 million Australian businesses employing fewer than 500 employees, truly transformative change requires bringing these workplaces into the equity conversation. The current threshold creates important momentum with larger employers, but the next phase must develop pathways for smaller organisations to participate in this journey.
- Strengthening accountability mechanisms: Meaningful progress requires robust accountability systems with appropriate consequences for non-compliance. Transformative policy must balance support for good-faith efforts with clear signals that gender equity is non-negotiable for Australian businesses.
By acknowledging these opportunities for growth, we position the current legislation as a foundational step rather than a destination—part of an evolving commitment to workplace transformation that can accelerate change across our economy.
Collaborative implementation
WHISE CEO, Kit McMahon, notes this journey invites learning and growth—an opportunity to draw upon Australia’s rich landscape of expertise in gender equity. By approaching implementation through collaboration rather than isolation, organisations can:
- Build upon existing effective practices rather than starting from zero
- Share insights across sectors to accelerate collective learning
- Engage diverse stakeholders in developing meaningful targets
- Create measurement approaches that capture substantive rather than superficial change
Australia’s competitive edge
In a global economy where talent, investors, and consumers increasingly value equity and inclusion, Australia has an opportunity to strengthen its position as a progressive business leader. By embracing these changes proactively, Australian organisations demonstrate values alignment with emerging expectations while building workplaces that nurture and maximise our nation’s full talent pool.
Invitation to collaborative learning
We invite organisations, stakeholders, and partners to join this collective journey toward workplace equity. This legislation fosters meaningful cross-sector dialogue, uniting diverse expertise to tackle complex challenges collaboratively. Achieving gender equity requires both specialised knowledge and a commitment to learning from multiple perspectives—Australia’s skilled professionals in equity, intersectionality, and organisational transformation stand ready to support this vital work.
The team at Women’s Health in the South East welcomes conversations with organisations seeking to move beyond compliance toward authentic cultural change. Our expertise in gender equity, intersectional practice, and systems transformation can complement your organisation’s existing strengths as you develop meaningful, context-appropriate approaches to this legislative opportunity.
Kit McMahon emphasises, “It’s a journey, but it’s all possible.” We invite you to reach out and begin that journey in community with others committed to creating workplaces where all can thrive.
For more information or to discuss partnership opportunities, please contact us at whise@whise.org.au.
Contact details:
Dos Hetherington, Communications Lead
Email: dhetherington@whise.org.au
Mobile: 0412 317 334
