A national regulator is needed to enforce equal opportunity laws and "wave a big stick" at employers failing to address workplace discrimination, a new report recommends.
The Human Rights Commission is inviting "last chance" submissions, ahead of a conference in October, on its recommendations to amend federal discrimination laws to insert new protected attributes, review coverage and exemptions and beef up their powers.
In a finding that might influence Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins' inquiry into sexual harassment, a UK parliamentary inquiry has recommended legislating to outlaw non-disclosure agreements that restrict "legitimate discussion" of unlawful discrimination and harassment.
Employers should be subject to a stronger onus to prevent s-xual harassment under the existing positive duty to provide safe workplaces under OHS laws, while the Fair Work Act should be amended to include explicit anti-harassment rights, according to Victoria Legal Aid.
The ACTU will today promote a blueprint for "deep structural reform" to improve the lot of working women, which includes axing the use of a "male comparator" that has delayed an equal pay case for early childhood teachers since 2013.
The Human Rights Commission says it will examine the scale, drivers and consequences of workplace sexual harassment and develop recommendations drawn from current best practice as part of a 12-month inquiry announced today.
An external investigation has made three adverse findings of "s-xually inappropriate" conduct against the former Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Robert Doyle.
Academics say a national debate about automation and the future of work is failing to address issues of significance to young women, such as their desire for long, meaningful careers in which they are respected and can count on support while balancing work and family commitments.
Academic analysis has revealed that gender equality measures are helping to drive a $24,000 average boost to the pay of top-tier women managers, part-funded by a $4,000 decrease in the pay of their male counterparts, while the overall pay gap among full-time workers is unchanged.
The Workplace Gender Equality Agency says "remarkable" growth in employers analysing their data for gender pay gaps means more than half now have formal strategies to address imbalances, but its annual scorecard reveals the overall $26,527 gender pay gap has decreased only marginally.
