Gender Equality Targets: A Practical Guide to Selecting Targets

From 2026, Australian employers with 500 or more employees will enter a new era of workplace gender equality reporting.

Under the Workplace Gender Equality Amendment (Setting Gender Equality Targets) Act 2025, employers will be required to select three gender equality targets from WGEA's approved menu and demonstrate progress or achievement over a three-year cycle. At least one of the selected targets must be numeric.

For many organisations, the question is no longer whether they support gender equality. The challenge is determining where to focus efforts and how to select targets that will deliver meaningful outcomes.

This is where many organisations get stuck.

Should you focus on reducing your gender pay gap? Increasing women's representation in leadership? Expanding flexible work options? Improving parental leave uptake? Strengthening workplace safety and harassment prevention measures?

The answer will be different for every organisation.

The most effective gender equality targets are not selected because they are easy to achieve. They are selected because they address the most significant barriers to equality within a specific workplace.

Why Target Selection Matters

Targets often receive criticism because they are viewed as compliance exercises or administrative obligations.

However, decades of organisational research demonstrate that well-designed targets are among the most effective mechanisms for driving behavioural and organisational change.

Targets create:

• Accountability
• Focus
• Leadership ownership
• Resource allocation
• Measurable progress

Without clear targets, gender equality initiatives can easily become fragmented, reactive, or disconnected from business priorities.

Targets transform good intentions into measurable action.

Importantly, WGEA's research emphasises that success depends less on the target itself and more on the planning, analysis, stakeholder engagement, and implementation activities that sit behind it.

Start With Data, Not Assumptions

One of the strongest messages from WGEA's Target Selection Guide is that target selection should always begin with evidence.

Many organisations assume they know where their gender equality challenges exist.

Often, the data tells a different story.

For example:

An organisation may believe leadership representation is its biggest issue, only to discover that recruitment outcomes are relatively balanced while women are leaving the organisation at significantly higher rates than men.

Another employer may focus heavily on flexible work policies while overlooking a substantial gender pay gap within management positions.

Before selecting any target, organisations should undertake a comprehensive review of workforce data.

This includes analysing:

• Gender composition across workforce levels
• Representation in leadership positions
• Promotion outcomes
• Recruitment outcomes
• Gender pay gap data
• Turnover rates
• Flexible work uptake
• Parental leave utilisation
• Employee survey results

The objective is to identify what WGEA refers to as "inequality hotspots" — areas where gender-related disparities are most significant.

The Six-Step Approach to Target Selection

WGEA's Target Selection Guide outlines six evidence-informed actions that help employers choose meaningful targets.

While every organisation's journey will be different, the process generally follows six key stages.

Step 1: Understand Your Gender Equality Challenges

The first step is diagnosis.

Organisations should review their data, policies, employee feedback, and workforce trends to understand where barriers exist.

Questions to consider include:

• Where are women underrepresented?
• Where do gender pay gaps exist?
• Which employee groups experience lower progression rates?
• Are flexible work arrangements being utilised equally?
• Are parental leave programs achieving desired outcomes?

The goal is not to find every issue.

The goal is to identify the issues that will create the greatest positive impact if addressed.

Step 2: Identify Root Causes

This is often the most overlooked step.

Many organisations focus on symptoms rather than causes.

For example:

Low female leadership representation may not actually be a leadership problem.

The underlying causes could include:

• Recruitment practices
• Promotion processes
• Limited sponsorship opportunities
• Unconscious bias
• Lack of flexible leadership roles
• Higher attrition among women at mid-career stages

If organisations fail to understand root causes, targets may improve metrics temporarily without creating sustainable change.

Step 3: Develop a Gender Equality Action Plan

Before selecting targets, organisations should understand what actions they are prepared to take.

Targets should align with a broader action plan.

For example:

If an organisation wants to increase women's representation in management roles, planned actions may include:

• Leadership development programs
• Diverse succession planning
• Gender-balanced recruitment shortlists
• Sponsorship initiatives
• Flexible work for leaders

Targets without action plans rarely succeed.

Step 4: Engage Stakeholders Early

Gender equality targets should not be selected by HR in isolation.

Successful organisations involve:

• Executive leadership teams
• Boards
• People and culture teams
• Employee resource groups
• Managers
• Employees

Early engagement increases ownership and improves the likelihood of successful implementation.

Stakeholder consultation also helps organisations identify practical barriers and opportunities that may not be visible through workforce data alone.

Step 5: Select the Most Meaningful Targets

Once data has been analysed and stakeholders consulted, organisations can evaluate the available target options.

WGEA's target menu includes both numeric and action-based targets across six gender equality indicators. Employers with 500 or more employees must select three targets, including at least one numeric target.

Potential target areas include:

Workforce Representation

Targets relating to:

• Women in management
• Gender representation in specific occupations
• Promotions to leadership
• Representation within pay quartiles

Gender Pay Equity

Targets relating to:

• Reducing organisational gender pay gaps
• Reducing pay gaps within management groups
• Conducting regular pay gap analysis
• Strengthening remuneration policies

Flexible Work and Care

Targets relating to:

• Employer-funded parental leave
• Uptake of parental leave by the underrepresented gender
• Flexible work offerings
• Support for employees with caring responsibilities

Workplace Culture and Safety

Targets relating to:

• Employee consultation
• Sexual harassment prevention
• Reporting mechanisms
• Family and domestic violence support

The strongest targets are those that directly address an organisation's most significant barriers to equality.

Step 6: Monitor, Measure and Adjust

Target selection is only the beginning.

Organisations should establish regular monitoring processes that track:

• Progress against targets
• Participation rates
• Workforce trends
• Emerging barriers
• Action plan effectiveness

Regular reviews allow organisations to adjust strategies and maintain momentum throughout the three-year reporting cycle.

What Makes a Strong Gender Equality Target?

Effective targets typically share several characteristics.

They are:

Specific

The target clearly identifies the outcome being pursued.

Measurable

Progress can be objectively assessed.

Relevant

The target addresses a genuine workplace issue.

Achievable

The organisation has the resources and commitment needed to make progress.

Action-Oriented

A clear implementation strategy exists.

Supported by Leadership

Leaders understand and actively support the target.

Common Mistakes Organisations Should Avoid

Choosing Targets Based on Public Perception

Targets should address internal priorities, not external expectations.

Selecting the Easiest Option

Easy targets rarely drive meaningful change.

Ignoring Baseline Data

Target selection should always be evidence-based.

Focusing Only on Compliance

Organisations that treat targets as a reporting exercise often miss broader cultural and business benefits.

Failing to Assign Accountability

Without ownership, progress can stall quickly.

Beyond Compliance: Creating Sustainable Change

The introduction of gender equality targets represents more than a regulatory requirement.

It presents an opportunity for organisations to examine workforce practices, challenge long-standing barriers, and create more inclusive workplaces.

The most successful organisations will not ask:

"What targets do we need to select?"

Instead, they will ask:

"What changes will create the greatest improvement in gender equality for our people?"

When targets are selected thoughtfully, supported by evidence, and embedded within a broader strategy, they become powerful drivers of organisational transformation.

The organisations that embrace this opportunity will not only strengthen compliance outcomes but also improve talent attraction, employee engagement, retention, leadership diversity, and overall organisational performance.

Gender equality targets are ultimately not about numbers.

They are about creating workplaces where opportunity, progression, reward, and success are available to everyone, regardless of gender.