Jacobs recognized as Employer of Choice for Gender Equality in Australia for the fourth consecutive year

Jacobs has been recognized by the Australia Government’s Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) as an Employer of Choice for Gender Equality in 2018-2019, recognizing Jacobs’ commitment to achieving gender equality and flexibility in its Australian workplaces.

Jacobs has received the citation for the last four years, reflecting its ongoing commitment to create better gender balance and a culture of inclusion and flexibility both within the business and wider industry.

Driven by Jacobs leadership, with active participation by employee networks located all over Australia and New Zealand, interventions and priorities have included progressing ambitious women in leadership targets; doubling the recruitment referral fee for women; a pilot sponsorship program for emerging women leaders; continuing to analyze and remedy the gender pay gap annually; the introduction of flexible working toolkits and awareness campaigns; and promoting parental leave and flexibility equally for both men and women.

“We want to create a vibrant, dynamic and innovative culture at Jacobs and believe that inclusion and diversity is critical to this,” said Jacobs Senior Vice President and General Manager and Chair of Jacobs ANZ Inclusion & Diversity Council Patrick Hill. “While our efforts have delivered tangible advancement toward meeting our 2023 objectives, there is still more to do. Women remain underrepresented in our business and industry, and in leadership positions, and we believe that we will deliver better results for our clients and subsequent outcomes for our communities when we achieve a better balance.”

Jacobs is also committed to addressing gender equality and flexibility to create sustained change in the industry beyond the boundaries of our own business. Hill is Chair of the Consult Australia Male Champions of Change network, which consists of some of Australia’s premier firms brought together to bring about gender balance in the industry; as well as a Workplace Gender Equality Agency Equal Pay Ambassador, committed to addressing the gender pay gap in the industry. 

Globally, Jacobs CEO Steve Demetriou (also a Male Champion of Change for the Global Technology Group) has made inclusion and diversity part of the core company values, embedding it in key performance criteria and outlining a new vision for the business where diverse employees want to join Jacobs, where they feel they belong, and where they will thrive.