Flexibility is becoming increasingly recognised as a key enabler of gender equality by organisations across Australia. Making workplaces more flexible and responsive to the needs of employees is a way of attracting and retaining diverse talent, future-proofing the workplace.

Flexibility in employee work time, patterns and locations benefits both employers and employees and can improve gender equality in the workplace and the home, improve employee wellbeing and reduced exhaustion, burnout, and fatigue.

This Workplace Gender Equality Agency report finds flexible working during the pandemic has also been associated with improved productivity and more women in leadership, but also a blurring of the lines between work and home.  It could boost women’s workforce participation and more equitable access to male-dominated workplaces and leadership roles.

Men working from home have experienced the demands of family, care and domestic work, leading to greater appreciation the value of flexible working. This could change gender norms at work and at home for good.

WGEA data shows that the pandemic has created widespread support for flexible working, amongst employees and employers. Organisations planning a return to the office need to consider how flexible working can be embedded in organisational culture, supported by strong policies and strategies.