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Review of the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Act 1999 – Submission

Origin Energy

Introduction

Origin Energy is Australasia's leading integrated energy company focused on gas and oil exploration and production, power generation and energy retailing.

Listed in the ASX top 20 the company has approximately 4,000 employees, is a leading producer of gas in eastern Australia, is the largest owner and developer of gas-fired electricity generation in Australia and is a leading wholesaler and retailer of energy. The company services more than 3.5 million electricity, natural gas and LPG customers across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific. Origin's strategic positioning and portfolio of assets provide flexibility, stability and significant opportunities for growth in the ever changing energy industry. Through Australia Pacific LNG, its 50:50 incorporated joint venture with ConocoPhillips, Origin is developing one of Australia's largest CSG to LNG projects based on Australia's largest CSG reserves base. Origin has a strong focus on ensuring the sustainability of its operations, is the largest green energy retailer in Australia and has significant investments in renewable energy technologies.

For more information go to www.originenergy.com.au

Origin Energy is committed to equal opportunity programs and outcomes for women as part of our focus on building a more diverse and inclusive culture.

We aim to attract a diverse workforce that reflects the communities in which we operate and helps us to forge stronger connections with these communities.

Origin expects all its directors, employees and other persons acting on behalf of the company, to conduct themselves in accordance with Origin's commitments, principles, values and the policies that guide business conduct. Our commitments include 'creating a rewarding workplace for employees by encouraging personal development, recognising good performance, valuing teamwork and fostering equality of opportunity.'

In 2008 Origin set a five-year sustainability strategy that included a number of initiatives to promote more women into management roles, particularly in critical non-traditional areas. One of our key sustainability objectives is to: “Eliminate barriers to employment, development and workplace opportunities so that our workforce attracts and represents diversity from the communities in which we operate.”

Origin has committed to:

We remain concerned about the slow pace of progress on equal employment opportunity, particularly the lack of women in leadership positions, within Australian organisations. As organisations continue to face skilled workforce shortages, we recognise the importance of retaining and optimising our diverse talent - particularly as global economies recover.

International research shows that companies with a critical mass of women in senior management positions achieve significantly better business results than those companies with few or no women in senior management positions (Catalyst, 2004). We also note studies showing that business benefits emerge most effectively when organisations achieve a critical mass of 35-40% women at each level and in each function of an organisation (CEW, 2008).

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Key Points

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Theme 1: Value and Impact of Equal Employment Opportunity For Women

What factors and measures have contributed to improving employment opportunities and outcomes for women?

A range of factors over the past two decades has contributed to improved opportunities for women in Australia. We have outlined some of the most significant factors below:

What are the obstacles that may impede further progress towards equal employment opportunity within organisations and in Australia generally?

Given the relatively limited progress of women in Australian workplaces generally, it is clear that the Federal Government's approach to EEO is not necessarily working. A great deal of research suggests that unconscious stereotypes and anglo-male norms pervade Australian workplace cultures and form the major obstacle to progress on diversity.

We understand that there is still much effort required to build the mindset and capability of Australian managers to lead diverse teams and to demonstrate genuinely inclusive behaviours. At Origin, we view the linkage of diversity with cultural change and employee engagement efforts as one way of overcoming this significant and deep-seated obstacle.

Progress may also be impeded when diversity efforts are fragmented within organisations and not anchored with the overall culture strategy. The lack of a cohesive approach to promoting diversity of thought and background, including dimensions such as gender, disability, indigenous employees and cultural diversity, may limit progress.

Should there be a greater focus on enabling men and women to share paid work and caring? How can men be provided with better opportunities to participate in the care of their children and other dependents?

Yes, we believe this is a factor that will enhance work-life balance for employees. Shared work and care, and infrastructure to support the care of children, is known to have a significant impact on the participation rates of women in the workforce internationally.

In addition, Australian companies need to make it much more acceptable for men to work flexible hours.

At Origin, we have strengthened our focus on flexible work options by relaunching revised flexible work practices, by developing new tools and resources on the intranet, and by providing manager and employee training.

What regulatory role should government play to achieve equal employment opportunity for women?

It is well recognised that the current legislation provides an important framework for organisations to promote EEO. We believe that organisations should still be required to publicly report on their progress each year, although not necessarily in the current template provided by the Agency. We would support greater flexibility in the form of reporting to reduce the time taken to prepare annual reports. For example, we would support the submission of an organisation's diversity plan and a simple one-page template that reports on our measurable targets and progress each year. This template would also be helpful for organisations to benchmark their progress.

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Theme 2: Objects and Coverage of The EOWW Act

Are the objects of the EOWW Act appropriate and relevant for today’s workplaces?

The Act provides a basic framework to obtain the stated objects.

Has the EOWW Act been effective in meetings its objects?

The Act has been effective to date in its focus on promoting equal opportunity for women in employment. However, Australia lags behind most other Western countries with regard to gender diversity at management level in our companies.

Has the EOWW Act contributed to improving women’s employment opportunities? If not, why not? If so, how?

The Act itself has been an important platform in raising awareness and encouraging action among the organisations covered. However, it has been the work of the Agency, and in particular the promotion of activities such as awards and recognition for leading employers and the Employer of Choice citation, that have been particularly influential in promoting employment practices that support diversity. The Act itself has not led to the systemic change required.

Should the role of men as fathers and carers be acknowledged in the EOWW Act?

Given our earlier comments on the importance of men participating in flexible work practices, we believe this may be a helpful acknowledgment. However, our focus at Origin is understandably on our own practices and how we can strengthen our commitment.

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Theme 3: Workplace Programs, Reporting and Compliance

How are organisations responding to barriers to women’s employment? What programs and policies are the most effective levers for change in organisations (eg work processes, organisational culture, and/or workplace relations and human resources practice)?

We view that many leading organisations in Australia and internationally are still working through a phased approach from 'awareness' characterised by ad-hoc initiatives to a more integrated and holistic approach in which diversity is integrated with cultural initiatives, corporate social responsibility goals and customer goals. Diversity is clearly leveraged for commercial success by the most progressive organisations. We also take the view that this is a social responsibility for organisations, to reflect the communities in which they operate.

We view the most important programs, policies and practices for change being around ways to weave diversity into the fabric of our organisation. This is beyond the more minimalist framework of the EOWW Act and is necessarily driven by the business.

We understand from international research that the following factors make up a best-practice diversity approach:

  1. Senior leadership commitment, by which senior executives are personally involved in diversity efforts and connect diversity with the business case at every opportunity. At Origin, our MD has played a key role in the development and implementation of our code of conduct that includes EEO. The business case for diversity is important to us, being a leading energy supplier and services/retail provider with diverse customers across Australia.
  2. Development of a business-specific diversity plan with objectives for different dimensions of diversity, facilitated by a dedicated resource. Diversity is integrated within our sustainability strategy and we are working towards a diversity plan that focuses on promoting and retaining women, particularly in 'hard-to-fill' non-traditional roles.
  3. Linking diversity measures to business goals and cascading responsibility to managers. We have held line managers accountable for compliance with our code of conduct and have provided all managers with the results of questions on our culture and engagement survey with full visibility by the senior management team. We provide quarterly people metrics/scorecards to highlight progress.
  4. Focus on manager capability. Many leading organisations have a concerted focus on building the 'mindfulness' of leaders to lead inclusively. Diversity learning is usually centred on three layers of change - personal, interpersonal and organisational – to address the 'hearts and minds' of leaders in tackling diversity challenges. To influence and change behaviours, we are maintaining a major focus on our code of conduct and working towards the integration of diversity within the Origin-wide suite of leadership programs.
  5. Provide regular diversity communications. It is well recognised that diversity efforts need sustained communication, both internally and externally. Organisations use a range of communication channels to facilitate mentoring and networking programs, as well as to communicate action plans and progress. All of our policies are available on the Origin intranet site and we use a range of communication channels.

Are the EOWW Act’s requirements regarding the content of workplace programs, including the specified ‘employment matters’, useful and appropriate? If not, how could they be improved?

The specified employment matters are useful, however they require a lot of time to complete and can often be repetitive when completing the annual report. We think it would be more appropriate to comment on our particular priority issues and the steps taken to address those issues, as well as provide for continuous improvement. It is likely that many of the 'employment matters' would be included, but it would be done in a way that was tailored to the particular initiatives chosen by the reporting organisation rather than conforming to a one-size-fits-all template. It would also allow organisations with an option of providing a more comprehensive picture of actions taken for other traditionally disadvantaged groups, such as people with a disability and indigenous employees.

Is the process for developing workplace programs useful and appropriate? If not, why not?

The process for developing workplace programs is useful. Like most change programs, it involves data analysis and diagnosis of areas needing improvement, followed by an outline of actions to be undertaken and evaluation. However, the specific areas of focus change from time to time, and this cannot easily be reflected due to the current one-size-fits-all template requirements.

Has the development of workplace programs contributed to improved employment opportunities for women within EOWW Act reporting organisations? If so, can you provide examples from your experience?

Yes, the development of workplace programs focused on recruitment, development programs, talent management, employee engagement and flexible work practices have all served to improve employment opportunities for women. For example, in the area of recruitment, we have identified a need to recruit more women into non-traditional roles and management positions.

Are the EOWW Act’s requirements regarding the content of reports clear and useful? If not, how could they be improved?

Yes, the requirements are clear, however the reports often contain repetitive sections. The reports could be improved by enabling organisations to submit their own plan, in a form and approach that is tailored to the particular organisation. In addition to the plan, each organisation could submit a simple one-page template with the key measures of progress to enable benchmarking and continuous improvement.

Is the frequency of reporting optimal? Are the provisions for waiving reporting requirements effective? If no, what changes do you think are necessary?

Reporting annually is adequate, particularly if the opportunity exists to simplify reporting.

How resource intensive are the reporting requirements for organisations? Can you provide examples of the costs of reporting from your experience?

The reports typically take a dedicated resource for several weeks each year and also require specialist data requests to be made that can be time-intensive. Much of the time taken is dedicated to preparing the data in the required format, which can often be repetitive. We estimate the cost to prepare the report to be approximately $12k per year (average 3-wk salary of HR officer + up to 2 days of senior HRM).

How useful are the reporting requirements to organisations? That is, what benefits can be attributed to the reporting process for the organisation and for women workers?

The process of reporting provides a disciplined approach to reviewing progress on EEO. The required sign-off by the MD ensures that our senior leaders are also accountable. Given that the report becomes a public document, the process provides visibility and validity for our diversity efforts and ensures that EEO and diversity are not just HR issues but business-wide concerns.

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Theme 4: Role and Activities of EOWA

Are the role and functions of EOWA appropriate to achieving the objects of the EOWW Act? Which functions of EOWA are most valuable and effective? Why?

We believe the most important role of the Agency is its consultative and educational function. We would like to see this strengthened through an improved focus on the provision of best-practice advice. Having specific forums and partnerships to address issues such as building a pipeline of women in non-traditional roles would be particularly helpful to organisations in our industry.

The one-to-one feedback following a report submission and acceptance is useful, as this provides helpful information with our industry competitors. Also useful are the industry 'vertical slice' reports. These reports provide a picture of industry best practice that we are able to use when presenting business case analysis.

Having the reports available for public view is also useful, as that also provides a detailed summary of what leading companies are doing. The 'Business Achievement Awards' are also beneficial in providing examples of leading practices. Having business leaders speak at these events also helps to attract interest from our leaders across the business.

The 'Employer of Choice for Women' citation process is also useful to help brand organisations committed to diversity, however there is an immediate opportunity to clarify current requirements on pay equity measures. We support gender-based analysis of pay within comparative job levels, rather than across the overall organisation.

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Theme 5: Relationship with Other Legislation and Institutions

Does the EOWW Act complement or overlap with other legislation? How could the relationship of the EOWW Act to other legislation be clarified or improved?

As referenced above, we would welcome any opportunities to simplify regulatory responsibilities. It is important to keep the Act separate to ensure a continued focus on equal opportunity. In addition, the EOWA Agency should remain independent and resourcing should be strengthened.

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Theme 6: Measuring The Success of The EOWW Act and EOWA

Are the mechanisms for measuring the effectiveness of the legislation and EOWA adequate?

No, there is inadequate data and insufficient granularity of data on a range of measures and information. We value the opportunity to provide inputs to reviews on the effectiveness of the legislation.

Is the EOWA data set adequate to measure changes in women’s participation and equality in employment?

The existing measures on participation rates, management levels, turnover, pay equity, parental leave retention, etc are adequate. A key additional measure for Origin is the results of our internal culture and engagement survey to track our progress on building an inclusive culture.

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Conclusion

The Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Act 1999 has provided an important framework for organisations to recruit and promote equal employment opportunity. Although Australia lags in measures of women's workforce participation, the Act has helped to raise awareness, to provide a disciplined annual review of diversity initiatives and to compare progress with other organisations.

Origin would welcome greater flexibility in the form of reporting; with the independent Agency providing strengthened consulting and tailored advice to organisations. We are supportive of efforts to build a stronger pipeline of women who can move into line management roles, particularly in male-dominated industry segments. We will continue to work towards weaving diversity practices into our culture and systems, in line with our business priorities and to reflect the communities in which we operate.

Origin is pleased to participate in this review of the Act and we look forward to working with Federal Government on solutions to address leadership imbalances in Australia.

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