With 77% of its workforce being women, VGSO has both a responsibility and an opportunity to ensure a workplace free of gender inequality. Yet audit results indicate VGSO encounters some of the same systemic challenges faced in broader industries and workplaces: gendered occupational segregation, a widening mean gender pay gap and significant disparities in parental leave uptake, including unpaid leave. Additionally, the organisation has very low documented representation of people with diverse gender identities, and organisational engagement during the GEAP consultation and development process was low - despite the heavily female workforce.
This GEAP represents an opportunity for VGSO to shift from good intentions to measurable progress across three focus areas.
Fair, equitable and bias resistant workforce systems
Why this matters: Well-intentioned workforce systems can lead to unequal outcomes if gender equity isn't deliberately embedded in how they're designed and applied. In areas like recruitment, pay, promotion and development, inconsistencies can compound quietly over time. As an organisation, we want to strengthen the systems we have confidence in, while investigating areas where the evidence is still emerging, to ensure processes that are fair, consistent and equitable for everyone.
Accountability, ownership and visible progress
Why this matters: The GEAP consultation and development process is our key vehicle for providing visibility and engaging in conversation about gender equality in our organisation. Low engagement with this process may be a sign of workload pressures or reasons relating to skepticism about whether feedback leads to change, consultation fatigue, or a perception that gender equality is merely a compliance exercise, already addressed or irrelevant. Regardless of the underlying reason, it indicates we have not made a compelling enough case for why this work is important, or why the contributions of both leaders and individual contributors make a difference to the outcomes we achieve.
Culture, inclusion and sustainable work across all life stages
Why it matters: A genuinely gender-equal organisation enables people of all genders to participate fully and thrive at every stage of their working lives. When our culture recognises and supports the various life stages our people experience, the result is stronger wellbeing, higher engagement and better performance for everyone. By shaping our culture and work practices around the needs of a modern, diverse workforce, we replace traditional barriers with opportunity, safety and genuine inclusion.
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