As the Chief Executive Officer of Golden Plains Shire Council, I am pleased to confirm our progress audit and report have been assessed as compliant under the Gender Equality Act.
Gender equality is a fundamental human right and a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous, and sustainable world. Gender equality will be achieved when women, men, and gender-diverse people can access and enjoy equal resources and opportunities regardless of gender.
As the level of government closest to the community, we recognise that local government is uniquely placed to play a leadership role in advancing gender equality within our organisation and in society more broadly.
The Victorian Gender Equality Act 2020 (the Act) is a significant reform that aims to improve gender equality outcomes in workplaces and in the community. The Commission for Gender Equality in the Public Sector (the Commission) was established to oversee the implementation of the Act. As a defined entity under the Act, there are actions we must undertake to meet our obligations, these are:
- develop and implement a Gender Equality Action Plan, outlining strategies for achieving workplace gender equality
- publicly report on progress in relation to workplace gender equality
- promote gender equality in policies, programs and services that impact the public
- complete Gender Impact Assessments (GIAs)
For further information, please visit the Commission for Gender Equality in the Public Sector website.
Our GEAP and Progress Report are internally facing and focus on gender equality in our organisation. Public-facing programs, policies, and strategies are out of the scope of these reports, except for GIAs, which are used to apply a gender equality lens to our services and programs.
Golden Plains Shire Council’s Gender Equality Action Plan 2021-2025
In 2021, we launched our first Gender Equality Action Plan (GEAP).
Since its implementation, we have been progressing the strategies and measures that ultimately contribute to the progress of the Commission’s defined Gender Equality Indicators, support us to achieve gender equality and ensure our workplace is one where people can access and enjoy the same rewards, resources and opportunities regardless of gender.
GEAP Progress Report 2023
Our 2023 Progress Report was submitted to the Commission in February 2024, providing an update on progress against the GEAP and Gender Equality Indicators for the reporting period 1 July 2021 – 30 June 2023. Information used to complete the progress report included the Victorian Public Sector Commission’s People Matters Survey, workplace gender audit data and an overview of GIAs completed in the reporting period.
Publicly reporting on our progress and data emphasises our commitment to gender equality and ensure ensuring we are transparent to our employees and the community we serve.
In October we were notified that our progress audit and progress report were assessed as compliant under the Act. A copy of our progress report is provided below.
