GHD cited as an employer of choice for gender equality

Global professional services company GHD has once again been named by Australia's Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) as a  2022-24 WGEA Employer of Choice for Gender Equality (EOCGE), recognising its deep commitment to gender equality as a strategic business imperative.
The citation is strategically aligned with the Australian Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 and is designed to improve gender equality in Australian workplaces. The EOCGE citation is a voluntary leading practice recognition program that is separate to compliance with the Act. GHD has received a total of seven EOCGE citations since 2014.

To obtain the 2022-24 citation, GHD met all criteria set out by WGEA including leadership, learning and development, gender remuneration gaps, flexible working and other initiatives to support family responsibilities, employee consultation, prevention of sex-based harassment and discrimination, and targets for improving gender equality outcomes.

Mary Wooldridge, WGEA Director says, “After passing a rigorous, evidence-informed evaluation, GHD has been officially recognised among the distinguished cohort of Australian employers committed to creating the workplace and environment that enables all people to thrive. 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.”

Dean McIntyre, GHD’s Executive General – Australia says, “I’m pleased to receive this citation again as it recognises that we’re continuously committed to meaningful progress for workplace gender equality, and ‘doing’ rather than just ‘talking’. We know our industry has a gender imbalance, but this means there is a real opportunity for employers like us to implement programs and policies that elevate women, and ultimately improve this balance. Gender has long been a core part of our inclusion and diversity strategy at GHD, but I am particularly proud of the strides we’ve made over the last couple of years,” adds Dean.

Pay equity: GHD is using various tools to assess and maintain pay equity such as Syndio which analyses pay equity at a national level, comparing people in like-for-like roles, and understand what factors are driving pay differences.

Women in leadership: 40 percent of GHD’s Australian Leadership Team are women.

Career Relaunch Program: Since 2017, GHD has run an annual program which encourages and welcomes professionals back into the workforce after an extended career break – most commonly women who have taken a break for parental responsibilities. To date, they have hosted 118 participants in this program, 86% of which were offered ongoing roles within the company.

Positive changes to parental leave policies: GHD offers 12 weeks of GHD paid parental leave and a total of 18 weeks of paid superannuation for those who take the 12 weeks of GHD paid parental leave. There is no minimum tenure to access leave under its policy. It also offers flexibility with how employees can take the leave, such as half pay over double the time.

Cultivate Sponsorship Program: GHD has run the seven-month-long Cultivate Sponsorship Program for four years, which matches future female leaders with sponsors in senior leadership roles to overcome career progression barriers.

Championing breastfeeding: GHD has received the Breastfeeding Friendly Workplace Best Practice standard from the Australian Breastfeeding Association (ABA), along with ABA’s Breastfeeding Friendly Workplace Accreditation 2022-24.

GHD promotes a truly flexible work environment which recognises the benefits of remote working whilst acknowledging the value of face-to-face interaction. GHD also supports people adopting flexible working practices such as working particular times or days.

GHD’s Executive General Manage for Australia, Dean is also a member of Consult Australia’s Champion of Change Coalition.

For more information view GHD’s 2022 Inclusion & Diversity Report here.

About GHD

GHD is a leading professional services company operating in the global markets of water, energy and resources, environment, property and buildings, and transportation. Committed to a vision to make water, energy, and communities sustainable for generations to come, GHD delivers advisory, digital, engineering, architecture, environmental and construction solutions to public and private sector clients. Established in 1928 and privately owned by its people, GHD’s network of 11,000+ professionals are connected across 160 offices located on five continents.