MEMBER LOGIN ERMS PORTAL
ARA Australian Retailers Association
ARA Australian Retailers Association
  • ABOUT
    ABOUT
    • About Us
    • Our History
    • Advisory Committees
    • Council
    • Leadership Team
    • Strategic Partners
    • Registered Training Organisation
  • JOIN THE ARA
  • SERVICES
    SERVICES
    • Advocacy & Policy
    • Employment Relations Advice
    • Human Resources (ERMS) Portal 
    • Legal Assistance
    • Tenancy Advice
    • Training & Education
    • Member Benefits Program
    • ARA Insurance
    • ARA Talent Registry
  • TRAINING
    TRAINING
    • Retail Ready Training
    • Career Upskilling
    • Leadership Training
    • Business Solutions
    • Industry Projects
    • Hire Talented Staff
    • Financial Literacy Education Program
  • RESOURCES
    RESOURCES
    • ARA Retail Review Report 2022
    • Business support
    • Covid-19 Resource Hub
    • Gender Equality
    • Media
    • News & Insights
    • Podcasts
    • Research Hub
    • Sustainability
    • Reconciliation
  • EVENTS
    EVENTS
    • Upcoming Events
    • OnDemand Recordings
    • First Responders Day 2022
    • ARA Gala No.1
    • ARA Leaders Forum 2023
  • Contact Us
    Access our Covid-19 resource hub for up-to-date state and territory restrictions
    Untitled (600 × 300 px)

     

    POSITION STATEMENT

    The Australian Retailers Association (ARA) is committed to
    addressing imbalances and promoting gender
    equality across the retail sector to improve choice, career
    progression and financial security for women through their
    working life and into retirement.

    IWD

    Equality is a fundamental human right for all, regardless of gender identity. For the Australian retail sector, the most immediate priority in terms of gender equality is to address imbalances between women and men.

    Women control an estimated 75% of consumer spending and represent 57% of the retail workforce. According to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency1 though

    Female directors represent 27% of board positions1 

    Female CEOs lead 17% of Australian retail businesses1

    There is a 15% gender pay gap between women & men working in similar roles1 

    One side effect of this pay gap is lower retirement savings for women. As at June 2019, the median superannuation balance for men at retirement was $178,800 in comparison to $137,050 for women, equating to a 23% gap2 in savings.

    In addition, complaints statistics released by the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) reported that 76% of the 479 sexual discrimination claims in 2019-20 were made by women3 and the 2020 Respect@Work Report notes that women are 50% more likely than men to have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace.

    This imbalance is generally worse for First Nations’ women, women of colour, trans women and women with a disability.

    ROLES

    The ARA’s role is to unify our sector behind a common
    vision for change, outline the policy and advocacy measures
    that will frame discussions with government and other
    stakeholders, and support our members’ efforts to address
    gender inequality.

    In addition, the ARA Diversity, Equality & Inclusion Advisory
    Committee will also:

    • Continue to shape, advance and promote gender equality in retail through the delivery of a suite of initiatives
    • Endorse a gap analysis against best practice and
      prioritise areas of improvement for Australian retail
    •  Work with the WGEA to monitor our sector’s progress
    • Partner with a range of industry experts to develop a set
      of practical tools and resources

    GUIDING PRINCIPLES

    To meet our commitment of advancing and promoting gender equality in the Australian retail sector, we need to:

    1. Focus primarily on addressing the imbalance between
      women and men in our sector but ensure that gender
      equality is not positioned exclusively as a 'women's issue'
    2. Recognise that members may have different challenges
      and may require different solutions, given the differences
      between large national and international retailers, and
      our small and medium sized members who represent
      95% of the ARA’s membership
    3. Leverage expertise from the ARA’s largest members to
      uplift capability across the whole sector

    ACTIONS

    To improve choice, career progression and financial security for women in retail, the ARA believes the sector will need to: 
    1. Develop and deploy awareness campaigns, education events and forums to address sector-specific sexual
      discrimination and harassment issues, in line with Recommendation 47 for key industry groups outlined in the Respect@Work Report4
    2. Identify opportunities to strengthen policies in relation to workplace sexual discrimination and harassment
    3. Adopt a 40:40:20 gender mix in boards and executive teams, with an aspirational target that 50% of director and leadership positions should be filled by women by 2030, in-line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals
    4. Take actions to address the gender pay gap and remove barriers to financial security for women in retail, through
      their working life and at retirement
    5. Remove barriers that hinder women in retail realising their full potential, through improved flexibility, career pathways and
      return-to-work options for working parents
    6. Advocate for more cost-effective childcare and increased flexibility in childcare arrangements
    7. Offer equal access to parental leave and address the stigma of men taking on caring responsibilities
    8. Support community efforts to address violence towards women and establish leave provisions to support victims of domestic and family violence
    9. Remove rigid gendered stereotypes in advertising, product ranging and pricing, signage and visual displays

    MEMBER COMMITMENTS

    The following ARA Members support and commit to the ARA's Gender Equality Position Statement.

    7d02d496-384c-4ecd-9190-461a154ca99c-upload_your_logo-Officeworks_Logo_Pos_CMYK
    6-Dec-03-2021-04-48-55-19-AM
    308c9cfb-c92c-4520-902f-a43c3b8fb172-upload_your_logo-Ferguson-Plarres-Bakehouse-Primary-Logo-Positive-RGB
    5-Dec-03-2021-04-48-45-88-AM
    Untitled design (22)
    ff6850a2-c5c1-41f9-a062-5be1612df6e1-upload_your_logo-Coles_Group_Stacked_RGB
    7-Eleven-Emblem
    3-Dec-03-2021-04-49-29-65-AM
    5fb4969f-0a87-493a-8b71-7685409eac56-upload_your_logo-ANDERSENS_LOGO_Reverse_Green
    MECCALogoBLACK-101918-AM
    Mimco_logo
    39082f8b-b0e2-4e4a-af82-019c5a1d0d90-upload_your_logo-TakingShape_Universal_Logo
    woolworths logo
    600515ec-43d5-4c25-820a-3b61e6da05be-upload_your_logo-APG-CO_logo_FINAL
    3964d141-764a-4887-aa0b-1dc7773717a3-upload_your_logo-Priceline-Logo-100M-BG
    88a3420e-5a6b-4d23-bc26-466fab3d8627-upload_your_logo-TCC-LOGO-ARA
    9cdf52dc-8b7f-4e25-ac36-3bd9d5037475-upload_your_logo-sportsgirl-logo
    d9a9ff96-a4a8-4b03-97db-636e7286b8b4-upload_your_logo-fantastic-logo-no-background
    Capture-Mar-24-2022-09-20-07-66-PM
    Camilla logo
    f097957b-9a22-47ff-a4aa-156e1aebc8bf-upload_your_logo-Craveable-Brands
    95582405-646f-4399-a036-b6d373607f76-upload_your_logo-sussan
    ebad76e2-6524-407e-94f8-19b201474755-upload_your_logo-Blooms_NEGATIVE-ON-BLUE

    COMMITTED TO GENDER EQUALITY? ADD YOUR LOGO HERE 

    Notes 

    1 - WGEA Data Explorer - Retail Trade (https://data.wgea.gov.au/industries/76)  

    2 - Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia, 2022-23 Pre-budget Submission

    (https://www.superannuation.asn.au/ArticleDocuments/1588/ASFA_Pre-Budget_Submission_2021-22.pdf.aspx?Embed=Y)

    3 - AHRC 2019-20 Complaints Statistics (https://humanrights.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-10/AHRC_AR_2019-20_Complaint_Stats_Final.pdf) 

    4 - AHRC Respect@Work: Sexual Harassment National Inquiry Report (https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/sex-discrimination/publications/respectwork-sexual-harassment-national-inquiry-report-2020) 

    Sign up for ARA newsletters

    Strategic Partners

    • Afterpay white logo-1
    • Amex-logo-2
    • Deloitte-1
    • Fabric-logo-2
    • Hitch Advisory - Logo - white-2
    • mastercard-logo-white-2
    • QUT_SQUARE_MONO_REV-2
    • Rest-logo
    • Salesforce-1

    Partners

    • 1200px-Amazon_Web_Services_Logo_edited_edited
    • good360 logo
    • Meta_lockup_mono_white_RGB-1
    • mst marguee_edited_edited_edited
    • Officeworks_Logo_White_RGB
    • RM

    Supporters

    • NRF-logp
    • Australian-CCI-logo
    • Associations-forum-logo
    • FIRA-logo-1280x500 (1)_edited
    • GS1_Australia_Full-Transparency_White_827x436

    About

    • About
    • Member Benefits
    • Membership Application
    • Membership Terms & Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Code of Ethics
    • ARA COVIDSafe Retail Plan

    Training

    • RTO Policies & Procedures
    • Compliance
    • Nationally Recognised Training Officer

    Contact us

    phone-icon.png

    1300 368 041

    envelope-icon.png

    info@retail.org.au

    place-icon.png

    Level 1,  112 Wellington Pde

    East Melbourne 3002

    Join our community

    The ARA acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land on which we work, learn and live. We pay our respects to their elders past and present, and also recognise Australia’s First Nations’ peoples as Australia’s first traders with a sophisticated network of trading paths that have facilitated the exchange of goods, knowledge and culture for millennia

    Copyright Australian Retailers Association 2021

    ALREADY AN ARA MEMBER?

    Login to view member-only content:

    Login

    NOT AN ARA MEMBER YET?

    Join us today to access ARA member-only content and events.

    Register Now