Harassment stats show gaps
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Australian employers are falling short in tackling workplace sexual harassment, despite some improvements.
New data from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) reveals progress in policies but highlights significant gaps in prevention, leadership engagement, and accountability.
The findings follow the 2022 introduction of a positive duty requiring employers to ensure safe, inclusive workplaces.
The latest report, which includes responses from over 7,000 employers covering more than 5 million workers, provides insights into organisational efforts to prevent and address sexual harassment.
WGEA’s analysis shows that 99 per cent of employers have formal policies addressing sexual harassment and discrimination.
However, 28 per cent are not monitoring the prevalence of incidents, raising concerns about underreporting and transparency.
WGEA CEO Mary Wooldridge says organisational culture change requires more than compliance.
“Long-term culture change within organisations requires employees and company leaders to know the policy, understand what is in it, and the part they play in its implementation,” she said.
The stats show leadership engagement is uneven.
While 85 per cent of CEOs reviewed and signed off on workplace policies, only 55 per cent of boards did the same. Only 25 per cent of CEOs communicated workplace expectations during new employee inductions, and just 9 per cent addressed these expectations before key events, such as holiday celebrations.
The report also highlights shortcomings in anonymous reporting.
Although 98 per cent of employers provide mechanisms for employees to report harassment to HR or designated staff, only 68 per cent allow anonymous disclosures.
Almost 88 per cent of employers offer training, primarily at induction or annually. The majority cover workplace behaviour expectations, but fewer address bystander intervention (62 per cent) or root causes of harassment (70 per cent).
Just 45 per cent address diverse employee experiences, revealing gaps in intersectional understanding.
“Employers now have a responsibility to stop sexual harassment before it starts. CEOs and Boards can play more of a role in enabling a safe and respectful culture by communicating the employer’s expectations more regularly to all employees,” Wooldridge said.
The findings also show that 87 per cent of employers integrate sexual harassment prevention into risk management processes, but only 68 per cent identify industry-specific risks.
On data collection, while 72 per cent track incidents, only 31 per cent record the gender of complainants, and just 30 per cent record the gender of alleged perpetrators, limiting the ability to analyse trends.
“We are seeing positive progress... but there is more to be done,” Wooldridge said.
The WGEA publishes results by industry and by employer in its Data Explorer.
