NewsAurecon achieves GenderTick Advanced Accreditation, joins NZ Parental Leave Register

Aurecon’s New Zealand Leadership Team is led by a woman and has 33 per cent female representation which is above sector representation benchmarks. In the past two years, Aurecon’s female representation has increased noticeably across mid and senior levels.

Aurecon New Zealand Managing Director, Tracey Ryan said, achieving Advanced Accreditation is fantastic news for Aurecon.

“It has been a labour of love for our people on the accreditation working group. Accreditation is an important milestone on our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion journey.”

"Diversity and inclusion drives Aurecon’s innovation and creativity and is enabled by teams of diverse people. Supporting gender equity is key to maintaining diversity," Tracey says. “We’re committed to reaching gender equality in our workplace and showing leadership for the construction and design industry partners. That means we’re removing barriers and creating incentives to enable equal participation and opportunity, in all aspects of life, for every employee of every gender.”

"Diversity and inclusion drives Aurecon’s innovation and creativity and is enabled by teams of diverse people. Supporting gender equity is key to maintaining diversity."

Tracey Ryan, Managing Director, New Zealand, Aurecon

Aurecon Civil Engineer Tia Charles accepted the accreditation certificate, from Gender at Work Manager Claire Stuart, on behalf of Aurecon’s accreditation working group which is led by Erica Jeon.

“We are thrilled to have Aurecon accredited,” Claire said. “It is evident that Aurecon has a clear focus on people and a solid diversity, equity, and inclusion strategy to guide them. Their top-down approach helps to ensure a strong sense of purpose for this mahi.”

Assessment Criteria consists of two levels: Standard Criteria and Advanced Criteria. The Standard Criteria cover minimum expectations organisations should be achieving to progress toward a gender inclusive workplace.

Advanced Criteria, which Aurecon has achieved, provides the opportunity to stretch organisations and encourage continued progression. By achieving GenderTick Advanced Accreditation, an organisation is positioned as a leader in progressing gender equality.

Aurecon provided GenderTick documented evidence showing it met Advanced Accreditation criteria across five gender equality indicators:

• Equal Pay
• Leadership Representation
• Flexible Work and Leave
• Gender Safe Workplace
• Gender Inclusive Culture

Aurecon was also able to include a new Advanced section to their submission:

• Supporting the Menopausal Transition at Work

Further demonstrating its commitment to workplace gender equity, Aurecon has also joined the NZ Parental Leave Register. The register, which was created by financial services provider Crayon, is a world first, boasting a comprehensive database of verified parental leave policies for organisations around the globe including New Zealand.

Aurecon’s comprehensive parental leave policy, which pays primary carers 150 per cent of their salary if their partner doesn't receive any paid parental leave, “is one of the neatest policies I've seen,” Crayon founder and chief executive Steph Rush says.

Aurecon has also joined the Mind The Gap Registry which discloses member organisation’s gender pay gap. Closing our pay gap is a key part of Aurecon’s plan to achieve gender equity in the workplace.

In January 2019, Aurecon became the first consulting engineering firm in New Zealand to become Rainbow Tick certified.