Workplace Equality and Respect
This Course was developed by Our Watch and includes a series of face to face workshops which cover how gender inequality drives violence against women, the role workplaces have in preventing violence and how promoting gender equality is good for your workplace.
If your organisation is interested in implementing standards across the workplace that embed equality and respect into practice then this Course is for you.
To register your organisations interest in this Course please provide us with your details at the bottom of this page.
“Workplace Equality and Respect offers a step-by-step process that enables you to assess your organisation and identify key actions to make lasting change and a suite of freely available tools and resources that help support you to take action.” Our Watch. This Course was developed to support the implementation of the Workplace Equality and Respect Standards within a workplace setting. For more information on the Workplace Equality and Respect Standards visit the Our Watch website.
The Course covers how gender inequality drives violence against women, the role workplaces have in preventing violence and how promoting gender equality is good for your workplace. These workshops will also allow your staff to ask questions about the changes they might see at work and how they can be involved as the standards are implemented across the workplace.
On completion of this Course your workforce will be able to:
- promote understanding of the key drivers of violence against women and the ways they play out in everyday life
- identify the role of individuals and workplaces in preventing violence against women, emphasising the social nature of drivers
- drive workplace action to prevent violence against women
- play a role in contributing to effective evidence-based action to prevent of violence against women.
Please note: this training is not about how staff can respond to women, men or gender diverse people who experience violence or those who perpetrate violence. Women’s Health Victoria recommends that workplaces also provide staff with training on how to respond to colleagues who are experiencing gendered violence and sexual harassment such as Women’s Health Victoria’s Bystander Action in the Workplace or Understanding and Addressing Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Microcredentials.
Course aims
This Course will provide participants with an understanding of the Workplace Equality and Respect Standards, including:
- The prevalence, types and impacts of violence against women.
- The drivers of violence against women, including the misconceptions about what causes violence against women.
- How violence against women and gender inequality manifest and are reinforced in workplaces.
- Practical actions to prevent violence against women and promote gender equality in workplaces.
Course structure
This Course is delivered via a series of workshops to a specific workplace and and is not a public delivery option, it can be delivered at Women’s Health Victoria’s training rooms or onsite by arrangement, subject to COVID-19 workplace restrictions.
Workshops are tailored to the following audiences within the workplace:
- Implementation Team (minimum 4 hours) to introduce the Workplace Equality and Respect standards, process and tools and support them to implement it in their own workplace.
- Executive and senior leaders (2 hours) to ensure they understand the workplace prevention of violence against women and provide support and resourcing for the work.
- Managers (3 hours) to support them to recognise the powerful role they play in influencing workplace culture and see how they can actively support gender equality.
- All staff (2 hours) to introduce the key drivers of violence against women and the concept of bystander action.
Time and assessment
This Course includes a number of workshops which vary in time from 2 hours through to 4 hours in duration. The full package includes four workshops totaling 11 hours.
The Course workshops do not include an assessment but do require interactive engagement by participants in workshop activities.
Practice self-care: Violence against women is incredibly common. It is likely that every single person completing these workshops has at some time been impacted in some way by violence against women, whether they know someone, are someone, or love someone who is a survivor. Talking about these issues can sometimes bring up intense feelings. During the workshops there will be breaks, but we encourage participants to consider up front who in their life or their workplace they might talk to if the content of the workshop disturbs or upsets them.
On completion of each workshop a Certificate of Completion will be issued to participants.
Why do this course
Preventing violence against women is complex and can challenge our personal values, beliefs and experiences, however we all have a role to play and ability to influence – at an individual, organisational and community level, by doing this Course workplaces are making a clear commitment that they do not support violence against women within their workplace or in the community and are implementing the Workplace Equality and Respect Standards as a means to support a sustainable approach to workplace gender equality and the removal of violence against women within the workplace.
About the Course developer: Our Watch was established in 2013 to drive nationwide change in the culture, behaviours and power imbalances that lead to violence against women and their children. The Workplace Equality and Respect Our Watch is a national leader in the primary prevention of violence against women and their children in Australia. You can find out more information on the Our Watch website.
Target audience
All staff within a workplace implementing the Workplace Equality and Respect Standard will benefit from participating in a Course workshop. The Course includes workshops developed specifically for staff at different levels including executives, managers and the team implementing the Workplace Equality and Respect Standards within the workplace.
Prerequisite knowledge
The training does not assume any prior knowledge.
Interested in this course?
Fill in your details below and we will be in contact with you.