DIVERSITY@WORK AWARDS

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO (15:16): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for the Status of Women a question about the recent 2010 National Diversity@Work Awards presentation.

Leave granted.

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO: It is important for both the private and public sectors to ensure they are working towards equality and equity for men and women in the workplace. Will the minister provide more information on the Equal Advancement of Women within the Workplace Award at the recent 2010 National Diversity@Work Awards presentation?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for State/Local Government Relations, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Government Enterprises, Minister for the City of Adelaide) (15:17): It was with great pleasure that I learnt that the South Australian Department for Water won the award for equal advancement of women within the workplace at the recent 2010 National Diversity@Work Awards presentation. The award recognises their commitment to advancing women in leadership roles within their agency. I understand that the Department for Water was one of the first South Australian government agencies to develop a strategy for advancing women in leadership.

The An Untapped Resource—Women in Leadership Strategy was developed in October 2008. The idea for the strategy originated from the department's women in leadership action network, comprising senior women within the agency. I acknowledge the work of the Women in Leadership Action Network, which has led to the success of the women in leadership strategy, and commend them for their leadership initiative and hard work.

I am told that the strategy has been highly sought after, not only in the South Australian public sector but also at the federal level. The department has also been able to support, mentor and provide guidance to other state and federal government agencies. It has not only taken a strong leadership role but also shown itself to be a really important role model in relation to advancing women in leadership. Awards such as this are designed to recognise the evolution of thinking in the way that organisations are approaching diversity and inclusion targets.

The department has understood that a balanced ratio of men and women in leadership roles promotes diversity in the way that an organisation works and makes decisions. The strategy recognises the importance of supporting and encouraging all staff to achieve their full potential. I commend the department for its ongoing commitment to seeing greater diversity in the workplace and to increasing the number of women in leadership positions.

This is a key focus of the South Australian government, which has set a number of key targets to increase the representation of women within the public sector and on government boards and committees. The department's efforts to achieve a balance of men and women in leadership roles and to increase the number of women in executive level and senior management positions contributes towards achieving target 6.23 to have women comprise half of public sector employees in executive levels by 2014. The public sector is an important role model for the private sector. Setting formal targets has been an excellent strategy for promoting experienced and capable women, and requires that the South Australian government is publicly accountable on the progress being made.

In conjunction with these sorts of strategies, key resources such as the Premier's Women's Directory have assisted the South Australian government to improve the percentage of female membership on boards and committees. I understand the private sector has access to that and is using it more regularly as well. The Premier's Women's Directory contains the names of 760 highly qualified board-ready women. Those who may be seeking suitable women for board appointment can access the directory by contacting the Office for Women.