Media Release

Accelerating gender equality in a pandemic
CHAMPIONS OF CHANGE COALITION 2021 IMPACT REPORT

8 December 2021

The Champions of Change Coalition releases the 2021 Impact Report detailing Coalition Members’ action and impact on gender equality, advancing more and diverse women into leadership and building respectful and inclusive working environments for all employees. 

The fourth annual Impact Report presents the actions taken from data contributions from more than 180 Member organisations operating in Australia and internationally and it is understood to be one of the largest cross sector voluntary public disclosures on gender equality measures globally. 

The Champions of Change Coalition’s overall results this year demonstrate increases in women’s representation in all leadership categories and practical actions taken to accelerate change. 

Champions of Change Coalition 2020 – 21 outcomes: 

Advancing gender balance – more women into leadership 

  • 84.9% achieved gender balance in recruitment, or a level of women’s representation in recruitment that improved women’s representation in the last year 
  • 81.3% have rates of women’s promotion that are either gender balanced or greater than women’s representation overall 
  • 81.9% achieved or moved closer to gender balance overall since 2020 
  • 59.1% achieved or improved gender balance in key management personnel since 2020 

Accelerating change – creating conditions that enable all employees to thrive 

  • 97.2% have policies to enable flexible access to parental leave for all parents (94.5% in 2020) 
  • 95.1% have initiatives in place to support employees experiencing or supporting family/friends experiencing, domestic and family violence (84.5%. in 2020) 
  • 91.7% revised and relaunched their approach to enabling flexible work in the past 12 months to reflect opportunities realised during COVID 19 
  • 89.4% have systems and structures in place to address bias in recruitment and promotions (82% in 2020) 
  • 81.9% made a leadership commitment to gender equality through a specific strategy and action plan that is reviewed annually by the Board (or senior team if no Board) 
  • 80.9% take specific action to highlight and address everyday sexism in the workplace (70.2% in 2020) 
  • 75.2% oversee the conduct and actioning of outcomes on pay equity audits at least every two years (70.9% in 2020) 
  • 66.7% publicly disclose gender equality targets and annual progress against them (68.1% in 2020) 

Preventing and responding to sexual harassment – Disrupting the System 

Champions of Change Members have been examining systems perpetuating sexual harassment in the workplace since 2019. In 2020 Champions of Change Coalition shared a comprehensive framework for preventing and responding to sexual harassment. Members are leading their organisations to respond in critical action areas: 

  • 75.5% of Board and executive leadership teams have committed to eradicate sexual harassment and articulated their zero-tolerance position 
  • 56.0% have established regular reporting on sexual harassment to the Board or executive leadership team 
  • 58.2% have adapted workplace health and safety strategies to incorporate sexual harassment as a physical and psychological safety issue 
  • 77.2% have taken action to review reporting options to ensure multiple confidential avenues for employees impacted by sexual harassment 
  • 70.1% have reviewed employee education to better support all employees identify sexual harassment and know how to respond 
  • 60.9% have invested in building internal support capability or expand relationships with external support services 

“Sexual harassment is a health and safety issue that prevails in cultures where disrespect goes unchecked. We know the immense harm it causes to individuals and the impact on an organisation’s reputation when appropriate action isn’t taken to prevent or respond to incidents. 

“Workplace dynamics have absolutely changed and we acknowledge the commitment and disruptive actions of our Champions of Change Members and Groups working hard on a different response – there is a way to go,”

says Elizabeth Broderick AO, Founder Champions of Change Coalition. 

Practical actions to shift the system 

An integral part of the Coalition’s strategy involves the Members stepping up and leading innovative and disruptive initiatives designed to challenge the status quo and shift the systems of inequality beyond their organisations and industries. 

“The Coalition is committed to disrupt the systems of inequality in our society. Gender equality is a human issue, an economic issue and a core business issue. Throughout COVID19’s disruptions and in recovery Coalition Members have come together to seize the opportunities to accelerate change and guard against risks of falling backwards on gender equality,”

says Annika Freyer, CEO Champions of Change Coalition. 

In 2021 Champions of Change worked across the Coalition and with partner organisations to explore and provide practical actions for leaders in all organisations to maintain focus on gender equality and address critical issues: 

The Champions of Change Coalition includes CEOs, secretaries of government departments, non-executive directors and community leaders who believe gender equality is a major business, economic, societal and human rights issue. The Champions of Change Coalition is a globally recognised, innovative strategy for achieving gender equality, advancing more and diverse women in leadership and building respectful and inclusive workplaces. Established in 2010 by Elizabeth Broderick AO, our mission is to step up beside women to help achieve gender equality and a significant and sustainable increase in the representation of women in leadership. The Champions of Change Coalition brings together more than 260 leaders from 225 organisations with over 1.5 million employees across 155 countries. 

For further information please contact:
Lisa Jervis, Director of Communications
lisa.jervis@championsofchangecoaltion.org

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