The Federal Government has named and shamed over a dozen Australian businesses for failing to keep in line with laws and regulations regarding the treatment of women in the workplace.
The Equality Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency (EOWA) has updated its list of non-compliant companies, naming those that have failed to submit annual compliance reports.
The EOWA requires companies to establish programs to remove barriers to women entering their businesses, and submit reports annually detailing the company’s progress.
The companies that failed to submit reports included major retail chains Rivers, Nowshire, Ross Cosmetics and Thomas Jewellers.
EOWA acting director Mairi Steele said in a statement the number of companies failing to lodge reports is disappointing.
“These reports are required by legislation… no organisation is perfect and unfortunately those on the list have chosen to flout the law rather than work with us to ensure their organisations are good places for women to work,” she said.
The report comes just two days after a Parliamentary committee recommended the establishment of a special Pay Equity Unit within the Government’s Fair Work Australia agency in order to investigate how women stack up against men when it comes to pay.
The committee put forward 63 recommendations in total, including a recommendation to make businesses with over 100 staff report every two years on the “implementation of a diversity plan to increase pay equity”.
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