Policies and processes for preventing and responding to sex-based harassment and discrimination are a fundamental foundation for cultivating safe and productive workplaces. The 2025 data collected by Workplace Gender Equality Agency provides a mountain of material – in addition to showing what reporting practices have in place, it offers an important outline of what can and should be offered and expected.
For an outline of the context and limitations of the 2025 WGEA data, please see the background and considerations sections of Part 1.
For an outline of the context and limitations of the 2025 WGEA data, please see the background and considerations sections of Part 1. See also Part 1 Pay gaps & equal remuneration, Part 2 Gender Equality at Work Part 3 Workforce composition and Part 4 Flexible work & employee support.
Formal policy / strategy
All but one of the reporting practices have a formal policy or strategy in place relating to the prevention of sex-based harassment & discrimination. The inclusions in these policies varies. Once again, the list of options from WGEA offers an excellent guide to what could / should be in a policy.
The data also tracks engagement of the CEO and / or governing body in relation to the prevention and response to sex-based harassment and discrimination.
Data collected includes if the CEO and / or governing body has reviewed and approved relevant policies within the reporting period, and if they explicitly communicate expectations on safety, respectful and inclusive workplace conduct. While this does occur in many practices, there is room for improvement in some. Clear action and commitment from leadership is essential to stamping out harassment.
Risk management processes & actions
This year, WGEA reporting includes information about risk management processes in relation to sex-based harassment and discrimination. This is especially important in relation to the recent positive duty of care legislation.
Framing harassment in relation to workplace health and safety is an important shift that will – hopefully – have a serious impact. Employees now have a responsibility to proactively address harassment, and work to develop workplace cultures in which the behaviours that lead to harassment cannot get a foothold. It is no longer adequate to simply respond to a complaint.
Importantly, the data also tracks actions taken in response to risk management processes to address workplace sexual harassment. This is an important reminder that simply doing a risk assessment is not enough. Action must follow.
Training
Information is gathered about training provided on the prevention of sex-based harassment and discrimination – including what is included in the training and who is trained. Almost 3/4 of reporting practices offer some kind of training.
The data documents who is trained within the reporting practices, and when this occurs – annual training is most common. (Note: there was also the option ‘at multiple times of the year’, but no responding practice ticked this option for any group. It has been deleted from this chart for clarity.)
The list of topics for training on the prevention and response to sex-based harassment and discrimination is an excellent guide to what could and should be included. Some practices include all topics – Bates Smart, DesignInc, FJC Studio, Lyons and Tract Consultants.
Information about trauma-informed responses is the least common topic. We encourage practices to include this, to ensure that the process of reporting / responding does not cause additional trauma!
Support offered to those affected
The data records the supports provided to workers involved in and affected by sexual harassment within reporting practices. Most offer access to Eemployee Assistance Programs (EAPs). Once again, the area missing from many is trauma-informed support.
Disclosure options
The data documents the options available for workers who wish to disclose or raise concerns about incidents relating to sexual harassment or similar misconduct. This is another very useful list to benchmark against – and there is a lot of room for improvement!
Reporting
All but four of the reporting practices / organisations reporting to WGEA collect data on reports of sexual harassment in the workplace.
Only 23 practices / organisations report information on sexual harassment to governing bodies / managers.
One incident of harassment is one too many, and other data gathered by Parlour indicates that harassment and bullying present ongoing challenges for the profession. The policy, support and reporting documented in the WGEA data is important, but there is a lot of work to do. Practices could start by ensuring that all relevant policy, support and processes suggested in the WGEA reports are actually offered.
See also Part 1 Pay gaps & equal remuneration, Part 2 Gender Equality at Work Part 3 Workforce composition and Part 4 Flexible work & employee support.
