A world first Workplace Culture Dashboard to prevent violence against women and strengthen gender equality
September 4th, 2017
Sydney, 29 August – White Ribbon Australia announced today the launch of a world first Workplace Culture Dashboard. The Dashboard provides a view of attitudinal and behavioural changes in organisations as a result of the Workplace Accreditation Program delivered by White Ribbon.
The White Ribbon Workplace Accreditation Program has collected 150,000 qualitative and quantitative responses from workplace program participants across Australia. The analysis of this data enables White Ribbon and organisations to further benefit from more targeted interventions in response to their individual culture.
White Ribbon commissioned KPMG to build the Dashboard based on their analysis of the survey data from 160 organisations that have participated in the White Ribbon Australia Workplace Accreditation Program since 2012. The Dashboard represents the diversity of the data sets, which spans 22 industries and over 600,000 staff.
Initial analysis of the responses demonstrates the positive impact of this evidence-based prevention program in improving attitudes and behaviours towards violence against women and gender equality.
White Ribbon’s CEO, Libby Davies says, “Violence against women is a workplace issue affecting the health, safety and wellbeing of employees, organisational culture and reputation, and the bottom line. One in five women experience harassment in the workplace[1], approximately two-thirds of women who experience violence are in paid work[2], and 94 per cent of employees agree employers should take a leadership role in educating their workplace about respectful relationships between men and women[3].
“We work directly with organisations to develop the tools that drive positive workplace culture, which include policy, procedures, training and communication, to enable the workplace community to enhance skills and knowledge to address abuse and violence against women, and to strengthen gender equality.”
The Dashboard also has the capability to build workplace profiles based on the changes in: employee understandings of abuse and violence against women; attitudes and behaviours; organisational culture; the role of being an active bystander; and response to disclosures of violence.
“Workplace Accreditation gives employers across all sectors the means to create and sustain a working environment based on equality and mutual respect. The benefits of standing up and speaking out about men’s violence against women extend beyond the immediate office environment.
“The Workplace Accreditation Program’s Dashboard further strengthens the Program’s workplace insights, and provides an opportunity for business and governments alike to further their understanding of the importance of comprehensive workplace programs that target specific cultures and behaviours. This Dashboard will be a critical tool in the ongoing independent evaluation of the Program,” concluded Ms Davies.
The surveys are a key part of the obligations of the workplace undergoing accreditation. Analysis of the White Ribbon Workplace survey data evidenced an improvement in understanding of violence against women since completing the Accreditation. What constitutes abuse and how it manifests was also better understood following the Accreditation process. It also shows an increased confidence to challenge inappropriate behaviour and support disclosures of violence.
The White Ribbon Australia Workplace Accreditation Program supports all employees to challenge inappropriate behaviour, hold perpetrators to account, enables support for victims of abuse and supports gender equality.
One of the 150,000 survey respondents said, “I think that as people are educated on the various forms of violence against women it changes their thinking and behaviour. I think some men would not have thought their actions fit into the category of violence until it was explained to them. If behaviour is accepted nothing will change, it takes a campaign like this to open people’s eyes to the damage their words or actions can have on another person.”
Accreditation takes 18 months to complete and lasts for three years, during which time the workplace must evidence an ongoing, sustainable commitment to the prevention of violence against women.
-Ends-
[1] Australian Human Rights Commission (2008) Sexual Harassment Guide. Retrieved from: https://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/sex-discrimination/guides/sexual-harassment
[2] Australian Bureau of Statistics, Personal Safety, Australia, (2005) (Reissue), Cat. No. 4906.0, 35. Retrieved from http://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/family-and-domestic-violence/publications/fact-sheet-domestic-and-family-violence-workplace#fn10
[3] Pennay, D & Powell, A. (2012). The role of bystander knowledge, attitudes and behaviours in preventing violence against women: A full technical report. The Social Research Centre. Melbourne.
https://www.whiteribbon.org.au/2017/08/30/world-first-workplace-culture-dashboard-prevent-violence-women-strengthen-gender-inequality/