March 2, 2011: Despite the Federal Government's moves to strengthen maternity leave and benefits, Australian families remain worried about the affordability of childcare, saying they will vote for the party who offer tax breaks, the latest poll shows. Read More

From 1^st January 2011, Australia's first universal Paid Parental Leave scheme will be available to employees and the self employed alike – heralding in a new era for Australia’s working families. While many employees of large companies and government agencies have had access to varying forms of paid and unpaid parental leave programs, many small business owners and self employed will be getting their first taste of paid parental leave under the scheme.   Read More

I received a note from Sarah at the EEO Trust in New Zealand asking if we could supply a quick summary of the key points in the new ASX corporate governance guidelines relating to gender diversity reporting.  Here's the summary we've prepared which may also be of assistance to you in planning how your organisation will respond to the unprecedented demand for skilled and experienced businesswomen. A few important points to note about this new compliance requirement: Read More

A new study conducted for Diversity Council Australia (DCA) and the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace agency (EOWA) shows that 64 per cent of Australians wrongly think that pay equity means equal pay for men and women who are doing the same job.   Just 14 per cent of people agreed with the correct idea that pay equity means equal pay for men and women doing different but equivalent jobs, according the the survey results released last month. Read More

I received an email this week from Prof Patricia Easteal AM, the 2010 Australian of the Year for ACT who is the editor of this very detailed reference book covering all aspects for Women and the the law in Australia.  The book was launched by The Governor-General in August at the Australian Women Lawyers Conference. Her Excellency also wrote the Foreword.  This book is the first of its kind, highlighting numerous issues women may experience with the legal system, and also acts as a hands-on resource for all people, including legal practitioners and policy-makers, providing practical advice and remedies for dealing with issues in the practice of law that are of particular importance to women.  Read More

One in 12 women has felt sexually harassed in the workplace but less than half have reported it to another member of staff, according to a recent survey of 1,500 women conducted by HR consultancy Reabur.  The research found that women often did not report sexual harassment because they felt it would affect their future career or that they would not be taken seriously or would be accused of over-reacting.  Other findings of the survey include: Read More

I'm currently touring Australia for the August series of our Ascend development days, however before I left I attended a debate hosted by The Sydney Institute between David Gonski, Chairman of the ASX and Elizabeth Broderick, Sexual Discrimination Commissioner on the issue of quotas and mandatory targets to increase the number of women on boards.  Regardless of which side of the fence you sit on, the good news is that the ASX gender diversity guidelines seem to be having an effect - with Gonksi announcing the number of women on boards in ASX200 companies has finally shifted back to a positive trend for the first time in almost four years. 
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