News

Aurizon Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Lance Hockridge accredited Aurizon’s diversity program as the catalyst for significant change within the Company.

“Our Company’s journey to becoming a more inclusive workplace has begun relatively recently and one of the most significant drivers has been the establishment of a Diversity Council to help effect real change,” he said.

“This company has a long proud history close to 150 years but for much of that time the role of women has been secondary. With more than 85 per cent of employees being men, we know there is a long way still to go to getting the balance better.

“We acknowledge that we need to shake things up to address the imbalance. The long term goal is for diversity to get to the point where it is just an everyday part of how we operate at Aurizon and it becomes business as usual.

“Diversity is not just about age, gender, cultural backgrounds but also about life and work experiences and this new partnership with the UN will give us a unique insight into the life experiences of women from across the world.

“I am pleased to announce that on behalf of Aurizon, I have signed The Women’s Empowerment Principles. Just under 600 companies from around the world have signed up to these principles and only 10 signatories are CEOs from Australian companies. I am proud to add Aurizon to that group.

“We’ve got a range of diversity initiatives underway at Aurizon and I am sure this latest initiative will provide huge impetus to the improved outcomes Company is seeking.”

The Women's Empowerment Principles are a set of Principles for business offering guidance on how to empower women in the workplace, marketplace and community. They are the result of collaboration between the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) and the United Nations Global Compact.

Aurizon’s partnership with the Australian National Committee for UN Women will focus on a number of areas, including:

• Promoting women’s leadership
• Building economic empowerment
• Ending violence against women
• Supporting projects involving women
• Working towards development goals

UN Women Background

Gender inequalities remain deeply entrenched in every society. Women lack access to decent work and face occupational segregation and gender wage gaps. They are too often denied access to basic education and health care. Women in all parts of the world suffer from violence and discrimination. They are underrepresented in political and economic decision-making processes. UN Women was created to address such challenges. It works as a dynamic and strong champion for women and girls, providing them with a powerful voice at the global, regional and local levels