‘Part of our DNA’: The a2 Milk Company’s family-friendly approach

We learn more about the a2 Milk Company’s family-friendly initiatives and policies aimed at supporting parents, carers and women, thanks to our partnership with Family Friendly Workplaces. One of the first things team members see on The a2 Milk Company (a2MC) CEO David Bortolussi’s desk is a black and white photo of his family. As […]
Leadership culture ‘makes or breaks’ even the most generous workplace policies

Employers are still feeling the pressure to compete for the best talent in a continuing tight labour market, despite the challenging economic headwinds from the rising cost of living and doing business. This is driving a renewed focus from astute employers, keen on revamping workplace leave policies, office perks and other inclusion initiatives as a […]
How Workday elevated support for employee wellbeing

Melissa Bowden is at a unique point in her career where she’s excelling within an international leadership role, while also dealing with competing care-related pressures. Bowden is a mother to a ten-year-old son, the sister of an intellectually-disabled brother whom she is the legal guardian for, and supporting her 80-year-old mother. With her husband’s […]
Can Australia accelerate the take up of men sharing parental leave?

From July 2023 new parents will have more flexibility in how they apply for and share parental leave, as well as access to the new childcare reform package. For a child born or adopted from July 1 2023, the Commonwealth-funded Paid Parental Leave is up to 20 weeks (or 100 payable days). The payment is flexible, […]
Grandparents leave and 18 weeks paid parental leave for all new parents: HCF’s ‘support from day one’ focus

We learn more about HCF’s family-friendly initiatives and policies aimed at supporting parents and carers, thanks to our partnership with Family Friendly Workplaces. Angela Wilcox remembers the “treadmill” of school and childcare drop-offs well, and personally knows the value of anything that can ease the pressure of balancing a leadership career with family life. […]
Announcing the new Family Friendly Workplaces Advisory Group

We are thrilled to announce the creation of the Family Friendly Workplaces Advisory Group, a high-profile team of industry influencers dedicated to making Australia one of the best places to work for families. The group is representative of our founding partners, subject matter experts and advocates, they cover major private sectors of the economy […]
We must crack the code on women’s attrition in STEM

A strong and diverse workforce is essential across the science, tech, engineering, and mathematics sectors (STEM) to address some of our nation’s most confronting and enduring challenges: including domestic and family violence, climate change, equality, and social justice. It’s also vital for tapping into the full potential of the population, driving innovation, and especially […]
4 day work weeks and stronger leave policies: The top workplace trends we’ll see in 2023

In many respects the illusive future of work has arrived – the monumental shifts in how and where we work that have occurred over the past three years are vast and have tested the boundaries of the employee-employer relationship at work and at home like never before. Flexible work took on a whole new dimension […]
The ‘investment’ over ‘deficit’ of paid parental leave – is Australia family-friendly enough?

It’s fair to say there’s been a reboot and reinvigorated discussions around the criticality of investing in paid parental leave reform this year from across political divide, industry and community groups. There’s a broad recognition that Australia scores poorly on paid parental leave funding and that we need more fathers incentivised to use it. […]
First responders, loaner phones and emergency accommodation: How Lion is responding to domestic and family abuse

Lion’s revamped domestic and family violence abuse policy sets a new benchmark for supporting employees to access the help they need. Revamped in 2021, the policy builds on offering paid domestic and family violence leave to now also providing emergency short term accommodation for individuals and their immediate families in crisis. They […]