For the third consecutive period, Laing O’Rourke Australia has been honored with the prestigious Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) Employer of Choice for Gender Equality (EOCGE) citation.
Acting Managing Director, Mark Dimmock, emphasizes that this citation, awarded biennially, signifies the company’s dedication to fostering equitable outcomes for all individuals.
“We are proud to be leading important and long overdue change in our sector. Ensuring our workplace nurtures diversity and inclusion is a strategic imperative for us. This is more than an accolade; it’s about creating a culture that fosters diversity, inclusion, innovation, productivity, and growth because our sector needs more talent to meet demand,” Mark stated.
Achieving the EOCGE citation requires meeting rigorous standards and demonstrating a steadfast commitment to gender equality as a strategic priority for both the business and the industry.
For over a decade, Laing O’Rourke has implemented policies and interventions to attract and retain more women in the business. In 2018, the Australian branch developed and enacted a Gender Diversity Action Plan, outlining specific actions and initiatives to increase the number of women in project leadership roles.
Since then, Laing O’Rourke has continued to push boundaries, setting ambitious targets to achieve gender parity among global staff by 2033. The Gender Equality Action Plan, launched in 2024, details how the company will meet market-leading gender parity targets through courageous change, honest conversations, and capability building.
Laing O’Rourke Australia has implemented several processes, policies, and initiatives to achieve gender equality across the organization, including:
- Minimizing the gender pay gap by reducing bias in pay processes and increasing the number of women in senior and higher-paying roles.
- Implementing a paid parental leave policy providing both male and female employees with access to 26 weeks of paid leave (with no eligibility period).
- Paying superannuation on both paid and unpaid parental leave.
- Delivering Inspiring STEM+, a school engagement program designed to encourage more girls to pursue STEM courses at university and ultimately careers in construction and engineering.
- Implementing the “Cultivate Sponsorship” program, matching senior operational women with Executive Sponsors to increase promotional opportunities for senior women.
Helen Fraser, Director of People, stated, “Since our last citation, we are most proud of the stance we have taken around the elimination of gender-based discrimination and sexual harassment, from risk assessments and training to engaging in courageous conversations to acknowledge and address destructive behaviors.”
As a result of these commitments, the company has increased overall female participation from 26% to 35% over the past six years, focusing on recruiting and retaining senior women on projects and future female leaders. Today, half of the Australian Executive Committee members are women.
“We celebrate this significant recognition from WGEA and the great progress we have made to ensure both women and men can access rewarding and challenging careers. We appreciate that there is a lot more work to do in driving and accelerating meaningful change and are pleased to see others in our industry join us. Together, we will continue to drive change to welcome women into the great career opportunities that exist within our industry,” Mark Dimmock concluded.
