Arc’s vision is for all of its employees to enjoy the same rights, resources and opportunities regardless of their gender. Arc’s approach to Gender Equality is guided by our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion policy. Arc achieves this by embedding gender equality principles of fairness and justice throughout Arc as well as by developing and implementing actions and programs that address our organisational culture, values, policies and practices.

WGEA Employer of Choice for Gender Equality - 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 & 2019

We are proud to announce that for the fifth year running and despite the increasingly rigorous criteria, Arc @ UNSW has again been awarded the WGEA Employer of Choice for Gender Equality (EOCGE) citation. The WGEA EOCGE citation is designed to encourage, recognise and promote an active commitment to achieving gender equality in Australian workplaces. Equality of opportunity is an essential part of Arc’s strategy and culture and we are very proud of Arc’s achievements and commitment to creating a workplace culture that is fair, flexible and inclusive and one that continues to lead in gender equality initiatives. Our current progress can be viewed in the attached GE Strategy Progress Report.

WGEA Annual Compliance Report

In May 2019, we submitted our Annual Report to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency. A copy of this report is available under this link for your information.

Pay Equity

Equal pay is a very topical issue in Australia, where despite key stakeholders being aware of the continuing gender pay gap, it persists in Australian workplaces. Currently the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) estimates the pay gap between men and women to be 22.4%. While in the Education sector the pay gap is much closer to 10.6%, this still represents a significant inequity. Arc believes in gender pay equity and is continually taking steps to both analyse and improve pay levels, for those who perform comparable or similar roles.

Policies and Procedures

At Arc we promote and foster work flexibility to help both men and women balance work, family and other life commitments. Arc regularly consults and liaises with its employees, UNSW and other external agencies on the adoption and progress of our gender equality initiatives.

We are continually looking for improvements and actively reevaluate our policies and procedures to identify and eliminate any gender bias found to be present. Ensuring equal representation of men and women on our team is not just an issue of equity, but also in making sure we can access the talent, skills, experiences and opportunities that gender equality brings.

In March 2016 the Arc Board passed a motion requiring 50% of Student Director Positions to be filled by women. This policy ensures that women will receive an equal board role and ensure adequate and more proportional representation of the student population.

Parental Leave and other entitlements

Arc treats pregnant employees, and employees with parental or carer responsibilities in a fair and equal manner. We recognise that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, sex or marital status is against the law. Accordingly, Parental Leave is provided to everyone who is eligible regardless their sex, marital status and sexual orientation.

Please refer to our Parental Leave and related entitlements Policy and our Parental Leave Guide.

Flexible work

Arc is committed to maintaining a workplace culture that promotes a healthy work-life balance thereby flexible working is promoted throughout the organisation.

Arc fosters flexibility in employment and working arrangements to attract and retain staff and to achieve the optimum balance between work and personal (including family and caring) responsibilities for all employees. Please refer to our Flexible Working Arrangements Policy.

GE Survey 2019 and Workforce Reports

We were most pleased to see that our staff experiences reflect the equitable workplace we strive to be.