Get involved Council developed resources Below are Council developed resources to support you in embedding gender equity practices into your workplace. Depending on the nature of your business, its size and resourcing the sample resources can be incorporated in any type of order to suit your needs. 1. Education program a) Fact sheets b) Online education program overview c) eLearning modules 2. Workplace equity survey 3. Policy review guide 4. Gender inclusive language guide 5. Campaign materials and resources - two community wide campaigns were delivered ie: Reflect Respect and We do Respect
Accessing resources Visit: www.wagga.nsw.gov.au/Equitytoolkit to access all Council developed resources. To integrate the eLearning modules into your organisations Learning Management System, please contact Council’s Learning and Development team on: learning@wagga.nsw.gov.au for alternative file formats.
Sample fact sheets Fact sheet three
Fact sheet two
Equality versus equity
stereotyping? What is sterotyping? Treating everyone the same is actually not fair because when everyone is different, fairness and success also differs.
Stereotyping is making generalisations and assumptions based on a person’s appearance, background, personality, sex, interests and skills.
Equity and Equality are not the same thing even though they sound quite similar.
Confused? Think of it like this. Imagine when everyone started working at Council they were all given a size medium uniform to wear - this would be equality. However, you are a usually a size large so it’s not so great for you. It’s also not so good for the person who is generally a size extra small.
This means we treat people differently according to these expectations.
Equality = Same Equity = Access
Why it’s important to know the difference Equality may be understood as equal treatment. If you get two biscuits, then I get two. This doesn’t take into account how hungry either of us may be.
Equity is when you are given the uniform that fits properly and then you are able to do your job comfortably. Another good example is being able to understand the different learning needs of people. Some people are visual, some are auditory, and some are tactile learners. If a teacher only teaches in one style, then the people who learn best in that way will be better off and most likely to achieve academically.
Equality versus equity
WA G G A WA G G A C I T Y C O U N C I L
The new guy’s from India. He’ll want to be on the cricket team for sure.
What’s the difference equality versus equity? Equity and equality are two strategies we can use to reach ‘fairness’. Equality is treating everyone the same - it promotes fairness but only works if everyone starts from the same place. Equity is about giving everyone access to what they need to be successful.
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Stereotyping
Gender stereotyping These are overgeneralised ideas, messages or images about the differences between males and females. We give them meaning the more often they are said or acted upon, such as girls shouldn’t play with trucks and boys shouldn’t play with dolls. While a person’s ‘sex’ is based on their biological features, such as hormones and physical anatomy, ‘gender’ refers to the learnt roles, norms and expectations we have of someone because of their sex. When we say things like “girls only like pink”, or “boys always play with cars”, we are talking about gender, and we present these stereotypes as ‘fact’ – rather than considering real evidence, or an individual child’s talents or interests.
I bet he’s great with IT issues too! Very handy.
Bias
Our brains often make quick judgements and assessments of people and situations without us realising. These will be influenced by our background, culture and personal experiences. These assessments can be positive or negative and can switch on without us knowing or with any real control. These are called our unconscious biases and are very different from our known biases which we often hide to appear as being politically correct. These are our conscious biases.
In the workplace Unconscious bias can bring unintended discrimination into the workplace. It may result in poor decision making and can reduce the chance of creating a diverse and inclusive working environment. Unconscious bias can affect recruitment, mentoring and promotions, and can cause discrimination against women into management and leadership positions.
Stereotyping
EQUITY AND RESPECT WORKPLACE TOOLKIT
