Media Release: Clayton Utz continues its diversity leadership for the sixth consecutive year

Sydney, 25 February 2020: Clayton Utz has been recognised as an Employer of Choice for Gender Equality (EOCGE) for 2019/20 by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) today, for its sixth consecutive year.

The citation recognises employers who have shown an active commitment in achieving gender equality in Australian workplaces.

This year the firm is one of 119 organisations (down from 141 organisations last year) in achieving the citation.

The year on year change in organisations attaining the citation suggests it is an increasingly high bar for businesses to achieve in terms of demonstrating its gender equality outcomes.   

Criteria for the citation covers leadership, learning and development, gender remuneration gaps, flexible working and other initiatives to support family responsibilities, employee consultation, preventing sex-based harassment and discrimination, and targets for improving gender equality outcomes.

Clayton Utz's Board Chair, Karen O'Flynn said the citation reflects the firm's unwavering commitment to prioritising gender equality as part of the firm's strategy and a core part of the firm's inclusive culture.  

The firm is seeing improvements in gender diversity at senior levels and is on track to meet its target of 35% of women in the partnership by 2022.

Additionally the firm has made significant gains in gender equality in the past 12 months, including:

• hosting its first national conference dedicated to supporting LGBTIQ women
• embedding flexible work practices from the Graduate cohort to the Partnership;
• refreshing and modernising its Domestic and Family Violence Policy.

Karen said "While we remain proud of our gains in progressing gender equality, we recognise it is an ongoing journey to reach true gender equality and diversity in the workplace.  We look forward to driving and developing meaningful initiatives to create a more inclusive and diverse culture which will result in better outcomes for our firm, our clients and our community."

According to WGEA, trends to supporting diversity in 2019/20 include entrenching organisation-wide flexible work practices, tailored parental leave policies to support use by women and men, programs to increase women in leadership, initiatives to support women to return to work, robust analysis and correction of gender pay gaps and increased accountability through reporting gender equality metrics to key management personnel and the Board.