What is Equal Employment Opportunity?

Office of the Director of Equal Opportunity in Public Employment

What is EEO about?

EqualEmploymentOpportunity(EEO)isabout: makingsurethatworkplacesarefreefromallformsofunlawfuldiscrimination andharassment,and providingprogramstoassistmembersofEEOgroupstoovercomepastor presentdisadvantage. Thismeanshavingworkplacerules,policies,practicesandbehavioursthatarefair anddonotdisadvantagepeoplebecausetheybelongtoparticulargroups. Insuchanenvironment,allworkersarevaluedandrespectedandhave opportunitiestodeveloptheirfullpotentialandpursueacareerpathoftheirchoice. EEOgroupsarepeopleaffectedbypastorcontinuingdisadvantageor discriminationinemployment.Asaresulttheymaybemorelikelytobe unemployedorworkinginlowerpaidjobs.Thesegroupsare: women, AboriginalpeopleandTorresStraitIslanders, membersofracial,ethnic,andethnoreligiousminoritygroups,and peoplewithadisability.

Togivejustoneexample,in1996nearlytwothirdsofAboriginalpeopleemployed inthePublicSectorearnedlessthan$31,000,comparedtoonethirdofotherstaff.

EEO in the NSW Public Sector

EEOintheNSWPublicSectorissponsoredbytheOfficeoftheDirectorofEqual OpportunityinPublicEmployment. EEOisdesignedtoachievetheseoutcomes: adiverseandskilledworkforce, improvedemploymentaccessandparticipationbyEEOgroups,and aworkplaceculturedisplayingfairworkplacepracticesandbehaviours.

Fair practices and behaviour

EEOaimstoachievefairpracticesandbehaviourintheworkplace,including: recruitment,selectionandpromotionpracticeswhichareopen,competitiveand basedonmerit.Thismeansthebestapplicantisselectedforthejob, accessforallemployeestotraininganddevelopment, flexibleworkingarrangementsthatmeettheneedsofemployeesandcreatea productiveworkplace, grievancehandlingproceduresthatareaccessibletoallemployeesanddealwith workplacecomplaintspromptly,confidentiallyandfairly, communicationprocessestogiveemployeesaccesstoinformationandallowtheir viewstobeheard, managementdecisionsbeingmadewithoutbias, nounlawfuldiscriminationorharassmentintheworkplace,and respectforthesocialandculturalbackgroundsofallemployeesandcustomers.

Ways to improve employment access and participation for EEO groups include:
carryingoutneedsbasedemploymentprograms, makingworkplaceadjustmentsforpeoplewithadisability, offeringmanagementdevelopmentcoursesformembersofEEOgroups, trainingmanagerstoidentifyandimplementworkplacechangewhichsupports EEOgroupparticipation, providingtraininganddevelopmentformembersofEEOgroups, establishingEEOgroupnetworks,and offeringlanguageprograms,egSkillmax.

Eliminating discrimination
Discriminationistreatingsomeoneunfairlyorharassingthembecausetheybelong toaparticulargroup.UndertheAntiDiscriminationAct1977,itisagainstthelawin NSWforanyemployer,includingtheGovernment,todiscriminateagainstan employeeorjobapplicantbecauseoftheir: age, sex, pregnancy, disability(includespast,presentorpossiblefuturedisability), race,colour,ethnicorethnoreligiousbackground,descentornationality, maritalstatus, homosexuality,or genderidentification.

Thisisthelawinmostcases.(Thereareafewexceptionsegsometimesemployers getpermissiontofillajobwithapersonfromaparticulargroup.) Bothdirectandindirectdiscriminationareagainstthelaw. Directdiscriminationmeanstreatmentthatisobviouslyunfairorunequal.For example,ifanemployerwonthiresomeonejustbecausetheyareawomanthisis likelytobedirectsexdiscrimination. Indirectdiscriminationmeanshavingarequirementthatisthesameforeveryone buthasaneffectorresultthatisunfairtoparticulargroups.Forexample,not consideringanemployeesoverseasskillsandtrainingwhendetermininghisorher levelofpaycanconstituteindirectracediscrimination. Itistheresponsibilityofeveryemployeetohelppreventunlawfuldiscriminationin theirworkplace.

How does EEO affect you as a NSW Public Sector employee?

As a staff member
Youhavetherightto: aworkplacethatisfreefromunlawfuldiscriminationandharassment, fairpracticesandbehaviourinyourworkplace, competitivemeritbasedselectionprocessesforrecruitmentorpromotion, traininganddevelopmentthatenablesyoutobeproductiveinyourworkandto pursueacareerpath, equalaccesstobenefitsandconditionsincludingflexibleworkingarrangements, and fairprocessestodealwithworkrelatedcomplaintsandgrievances. Youhavetheresponsibilityto: worktothebestofyourabilityandprovidequalityservicetocustomers, recognisetheskillsandtalentofotherstaffmembers, acttopreventharassmentanddiscriminationagainstothersinyourworkplace, respectdifferencesamongyourcolleaguesandcustomerssuchasculturaland socialdiversity,and treatpeoplefairly(dontdiscriminateagainstorharassthem). YoumayalsobeaskedtocompleteEEOsurveys.Thesegivestatisticalandother informationaboutEEOintheSector.

As a supervisor/manager
Youhavethesamerightsandresponsibilitiesasstaffmembersandyoualsohave theresponsibilityto:

 takestepstoensurethatallworkpracticesandbehavioursarefairinyour workplace, ensuretheworkenvironmentisfreefromallformsofunlawfuldiscrimination andharassment, provideemployeeswithinformationandresourcestoenablethemtocarryout theirwork, consultemployeesaboutdecisionsthataffectthem, provideallemployeeswithequalopportunitytoapplyforavailablejobs,higher duties,jobrotationschemesandflexibleworkingarrangements, ensureselectionprocessesaretransparentandthemethodsusedareconsistent, provideallemployeeswithequalaccesstofair,promptandconfidential processestodealwithcomplaintsandgrievances, giveyouremployeesequalaccesstorelevanttraininganddevelopment opportunities, identifyspecialtraininganddevelopmentneedsofEEOgroupmembersinyour teamandhelpthemgainaccesstotraininganddevelopmentopportunities,and participateinlearningopportunitiesandseekfeedbacktohelpyoumanagestaff effectively. YoumayalsobeaccountableforachievingspecificEEOoutcomesinyouragency.

Who benefits from EEO?

Employees benefit by: workinginafairenvironmentwhichisfreefromunlawfuldiscriminationand harassment, equalaccesstojobs,trainingandotherdevelopmentalopportunities,and fairprocessestodealwithworkrelatedcomplaintsandgrievances. Managers benefit by: morecooperativeworkplacerelationsandreducedworkplaceconflict, increasedemployeejobsatisfactionandmorale,and increasedproductivity. Agencies benefit by: amoreproductiveworkplace, theselectionofthebestapplicantsimprovestheefficiencyoftheorganisation, skilledstaffareretained,and improvedqualityofwork.
Aworkplacewhichisfairandfreefromunlawfuldiscriminationandharassmentis moreproductiveandbetterabletomeetitsbusinessgoals.

Customers benefit by:

 anefficientandeffectivePublicSector,and serviceswhichareresponsivetotheneedsofthediverseNSWcommunity.

How does EEO reporting work?

EachPublicSectoragencyisrequiredtoimplementEEO(Part9AoftheNSWAnti DiscriminationAct1977). TheymusttakepositivestepsandshowprogressinachievingtheseEEOoutcomes: adiverseandskilledworkforce, improvedemploymentaccessandparticipationforEEOgroups,and aworkplaceculturedisplayingfairpracticesandbehaviours. AgenciesreportontheprogressandachievementsoftheirEEOprogramsintheir AnnualReportstotheNSWParliamentandinannualreportstotheDirectorof EqualOpportunityinPublicEmployment.

Where can I go to find out more?

EveryagencyhasacoordinatorforEEOwhocanassistyouwith: informationonprogramsformembersofEEOgroups, problemswithdiscriminationorharassment, grievanceprocedures, meritselectionissues,and anyotherquestionsorsuggestionsyoumayhaveaboutEEOinyouragency.
Fair Ways newsletters are available on a number of EEO-related topics. For a complete list, or extra copies, contact:

Office of the Director of Equal Opportunity in Public Employment Level 11, 28 Margaret Street Sydney NSW 2000 Ph (02) 9248 3555, fax (02) 9248 3500 TTY (02) 9248 3544 email eeo@eeo.nsw.gov.au home page www.eeo.nsw.gov.au