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Laing O'Rourke Australia recognised for commitment to gender equality

24.02.20

Laing O’Rourke Australia’s Managing Director Cathal O’Rourke has welcomed the announcement today that the business has been awarded the prestigious Workplace Gender Equality Agency’s (WGEA) Employer of Choice for Gender Equality (EOCGE) citation.

This is the first time that Laing O’Rourke has received the citation, and is one of only two organisations in the construction industry to receive the recognition this year.

Mr O’Rourke said that Laing O’Rourke is committed to driving real change across the industry to ensure both men and women can access rewarding and challenging careers.

“We have set ourselves a robust Gender Diversity Action Plan to guide us in creating a workplace where our people can thrive, regardless of gender,” Mr O’Rourke said.

Laing O’Rourke has implemented a number of processes, polices and initiatives aimed at ensuring gender equality across the organisation, including:

  • Pay parity across all like-for-like roles in the organisation, as well as a commitment to continue to lessen the organisational wide pay gap by 5% per year by increasing the number of women in senior roles;
  • A paid parental leave policy providing both male and female employees with access to 26 weeks of paid leave;
  • Flexible work programs, including a flexibility toolkit and flexible work practices training for all people managers to enable our people to think differently about the way we go to work and redesign the outdated work practices inherent with the construction industry;
  • Inspiring STEM+ - a school engagement program designed to encourage more girls into STEM courses at university and ultimately careers in construction and engineering; and
  • A Connecting Women network designed to build engagement and greater visibility of our female leaders and to provide a forum for connecting our women, role modelling careers, and building new networks for support and advice.

To receive this citation, Laing O’Rourke not only had to meet rigorous requirements, it also needed to demonstrate commitment to being accountable for those targets that were set through evidence and internal reporting processes.

“We’re honoured to be recognised today and look forward to continuing to make change and meet the high standards set out by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency. Our work is far from over,” Mr O’Rourke said.