Part 3: Management and Accountability (continued)



Workplace diversity

The Treasury is committed to providing an organisational culture that embraces and actively promotes diversity. Several important initiatives were introduced in 2012-13.

Treasury launched the Progressing Women initiative in December 2011 after staff consultations identified challenges faced by Treasury women. Progressing Women comprises a suite of strategies to widen and deepen the pool of future leaders in the Treasury by harnessing the talents of women at all levels. The strategies are based on five themes:

• leadership, governance and accountability;
• workplace policies;
• training and networks;
• performance assessment and career development; and
• measuring success.

To achieve the outcomes of the Progressing Women initiative:

• the Inclusive Workplace Committee met quarterly to review progress and to set milestones and priorities to drive the initiatives;
• each group committed to broadening the accountability for the progress of women by examining its own operating environment, its challenges and approach to the progress of women and presenting this back to the IWC;
• SES and EL2 staff attended unrecognised bias awareness training to increase their understanding of institutional and individual biases and reported an increase in recognising cultural and gender bias and using more inclusive language;
• staff were consulted about flexible working arrangements and were invited to join the Flexible Work Forum;
• senior staff who have worked part-time and in other flexible working arrangements while in senior positions participated in open forums to discuss their experiences as part of a community of practice; and
• a formal mentoring program was implemented to provide guidance and support to high-performing EL1, EL2 and SES participants.

In December 2011 the Treasury committed to a target of 35 per cent female representation in the SES by 2016. As at 30 June 2013 24.4 per cent of the SES were female.

In June 2013 the Treasury formally committed to Gender Reporting. This framework is a Male Champions of Change initiative involving senior corporate and government leaders and organisations and provides greater transparency in reporting the advancement of women into senior leadership positions. The Treasury will now report on the progress of women for three layers of management. To provide consistency of reporting across sectors, gender reporting articulates the senior management relationship by reference to the 'CEO'. The Treasury is reporting on the three layers of management below the Secretary, articulated as CEO minus one; CEO minus two; and CEO minus three.

As at 30 June 2013 at the CEO minus one level (SES Band 3) there was 16.7 per cent female representation. The CEO minus two level (SES Band 2) had 35 per cent female representation and the CEO minus three (SES Band1) level had 21.7 per cent female representation.

As part of the Government's response to the Access and Equity Inquiry report released in June 2012, all Australian Government departments and agencies were required to prepare and implement a two year Agency Multicultural Plan (AMP). As the lead department in its portfolio, the Treasury developed an AMP which covers the Australian Office of Financial Management, the Commonwealth Grants Commission, the Corporations and Markets Advisory Committee, the Inspector General of Taxation, the National Competition Council and the Office of Auditing and Assurance Standards Board. The Treasury's AMP has been designed to identify priority actions, responsibilities, timelines and measurable targets to address its access and equity obligations.

In September 2012 the Treasury participated in the Jawun Indigenous Corporate Partnerships Program.

The Treasury employed four indigenous cadets in 2012-13 through the APSC's Indigenous Cadetship Program. The cadets are studying business, commerce, economics and law.

The Treasury ensures that all office accommodation fitout construction works undertaken in the tenancy comply with the Australian Standard 1428.1 — 2001 Design for Access and Mobility and the Building Codes of Australia 2013.

As at 30 June 2013, 13.4 per cent of Treasury staff worked part time. Over two thirds of these staff were executive level employees or SES. Both male and female employees have used part-time work to enable them to balance work and family requirements. In addition to part-time work, the Treasury provided access to job-share arrangements and home-based work through its 2011-14 Workplace Agreement. These flexibilities help the Treasury to contribute to the retention of staff with valuable skills and knowledge.

At 30 June 2013 (see Table 8 below), departmental staff comprised:

• 47.6 per cent women;
• 23.7 per cent born overseas;
• 0.4 per cent who identified as indigenous;
• 11.4 per cent with English as a second language; and
• 1.9 per cent who identified as having a disability.

As at 30 June 2013, 47.6 per cent of the Treasury's workforce were women. This is an increase over the 30 June 2012 figure of 47 per cent and only slightly lower than the 30 June 2007 peak of 47.8 per cent (see Chart 1 below).

Chart 1: Treasury staff by gender 2001 − 2013

As at 30 June 2013, four staff identified as being indigenous (0.4 per cent of the workforce). This compares with seven staff members who identified as indigenous in 2011-12. The Treasury has continued to support indigenous employment (including the graduate and cadetship programs) in 2012-13 through the Indigenous Pathways program managed by the APSC. The Treasury employed four indigenous cadets in 2012-13.

In the Treasury Workplace Agreement 2011-14, the department maintained its commitment to a range of family-friendly working arrangements, such as access to information about child care and school holiday care through the intranet and an external service provider, access to a care
r's room, and accreditation as a breastfeeding-friendly workplace.

Since 1994, Commonwealth departments and agencies have reported on their performance as policy adviser, purchaser, employer, regulator and provider under the Commonwealth Disability Strategy. In 2007-08, reporting on the employer role was transferred to the APSC's State of the Service Report and the APS statistical bulletin. These reports are available on the Australian Public Service Commission website at www.apsc.gov.au.

The Treasury has continued to provide access to adaptive technologies and other practical support for staff with a disability. This included voice-activated software, the provision of six sit-stand work stations and three workstation height adjusters to enable effective working arrangements, and the regular provision of an interpreter through the Deaf Society of NSW. In providing the interpreter services the Treasury connected with the JobAccess Employment Assistance Fund to gain support for staff at the Treasury with a disability. Tailored reasonable Adjustment arrangements were undertaken to ensure safe and effective working arrangements for individual staff. These and other activities to assist employees with a disability are provided for under the Treasury's Disability Action Plan 2009-2012.

*Ex-officio appointments are included.