The AIHW’s commitment to diversity and inclusion
At the AIHW, we believe that diversity and inclusion are fundamental to fostering a workplace where everyone feels valued, respected, and empowered. We are committed to building an environment that embraces people of all cultures, abilities, identities, and experiences to ensure a sense of belonging to all. We take immense pride in our APS Census results, which demonstrate that we set a positive example for a culture of inclusivity and equity. By continuing to build on this foundation, we aim to empower everyone to bring their whole selves to work and thrive in a welcoming, respectful, and inclusive environment.
First Nations peoples
We are proud to acknowledge and respect the enduring connection of First Nations peoples to their lands, waters, and communities. We strive to honour this legacy through genuine partnerships and by ensuring our workplace supports the voices, aspirations, and rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We are strongly committed to the National Agreement on Closing the Gap and reconciliation through our membership with Reconciliation Australia. We have almost finalised the implementation of our current Reconciliation Action Plan and have commenced planning our next one.
We are proud of our First Nations employee network, dedicated only to First Nations employees, who meet regularly to connect, share experiences, and offer mutual support in the workplace.
People with a disability
We are dedicated to creating opportunities and removing barriers for individuals with disabilities, celebrating the skills, talents, and perspectives they bring. To support us in achieving this, we have a gold membership with the Australian Disability Network (ADN), Australia’s peak body helping employers to build the confidence and capability to welcome and include people with disability as employees.
Our employee-led Diversability Network provides a community and safe environment for employees living with disability, neurodivergence, mental health conditions, and caring responsibilities. The network advocates to encourage awareness of, empathy towards, and normalisation of ‘diverse-ability’ among AIHW staff across the organisation.
People that identify as LGBTIQA+
For our LGBTQI+ community, we foster a workplace where individuals can be their authentic selves, free from discrimination.
Our Pride Network supports the AIHW to provide a work environment based on respect and trust, regardless of sexual orientation, gender, or gender identity.
People from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
We welcome people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds, recognising the strength that diversity of heritage and language adds to our teams.
Our CALD network promotes awareness of the many different cultures and languages represented at the AIHW, provides opportunities for CALD staff to connect, and advocates to address the unique issues CALD employees may face in the workplace.
Workplace Gender Equity Employer Statement
At the AIHW, we are proud to be a workplace where women thrive and lead. With a strong female workforce, we exemplify what it means to champion gender equity in the workplace while fostering an environment that is inclusive of all genders.
We are committed to ensuring that everyone – regardless of gender identity – has access to equal opportunities, pay, working conditions, and an inclusive workplace culture. We recognise that true equity is about embracing and supporting individuals of all genders, and we actively work to achieve this through our values and practices.
Highlights of our efforts include:
- Celebrating representation: Women make up about two-thirds of our workforce, with significant representation in senior leadership roles, while we continue to promote gender balance at every level of the organisation.
- Equity in action: Ensuring equal pay, working conditions, and opportunities, and transparent practices for all employees. Our flexible work arrangements and parental leave policies support work-life balance for all employees, regardless of gender.
- Championing inclusion: Creating policies, awareness programs, and employee networks that support and celebrate gender diversity, including for gender nonconforming and nonbinary individuals.
Our results speak for themselves – check out the data!
One important aspect of achieving workplace gender equality, and one that is reported to the Workplace Gender Equity Agency (WGEA), is the gender pay gap. The gender pay gap is the difference in average earnings between women and men in the workforce.
The below table shows the results of the AIHW’s most recent WGEA report. A positive percentage indicates men are paid more than women. A negative percentage indicates women are paid more than men.
Remuneration and salary | AIHW | Similar-sized APS employers* |
|---|---|---|
Average total remuneration> | 0.8% | 6.3% |
Median total remuneration | -1.6% | 4.8% |
Average base salary | 0.5% | 5.4% |
Median base salary | 0.0% | 3.8% |
* Similar-sized APS employers who are participating in the Public Sector Gender Equality Reporting program.
The chart below divides the total remuneration (full-time equivalent) of all employees into four equal quartiles. In all quartiles, the percentage of women at the AIHW is proportionate to the overall percentage of women in our workforce.
Figure 1: Gender composition by pay quartile
These are excellent results which reflect our inclusive culture; however, we recognise the effort required of us to maintain this level of gender balance. To support this, we have developed a Gender Equality Strategy which covers each of the six gender equality indicators. The actions within the strategy will enhance how we support our people and leaders to maintain gender equity at the AIHW.