WGEA Employer of Choice

We are thrilled to announce that Lifestyle Communities® has just been awarded Employer of Choice for Gender Equality Citation (EOCGE) by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) in our first year of application.

The citation highlights the meaningful programs and initiatives that Lifestyle Communities® has created and imbedded within the organisation and throughout our communities enabling our team and homeowners to thrive. With over 67% of our team identifying as female, we are proud to be recognised for our commitment in leading the way and accelerating change for gender equality in the property/construction industry.

Simône de la Harpe, Head of People Experience reflected on our journey toward the citation:

“Prior to going through the application process, it was clear from my first day that Lifestyle Communities® was truly committed to creating a workplace and environment that supports and recognises team members, future team members, homeowners and suppliers. We have led the way in creating development opportunities, career growth, support programs and flexible ways of working that support the needs of our team. The citation is also a wonderful acknowledgement of the commitment to date from our Leadership team, Board and wider team to foster an inclusive, diverse and equitable workplace that has a positive impact on the lives our homeowners and continues to drive change within our industry and beyond”.

Coinciding with Lifestyle Communities® 20-year anniversary milestone, this citation further solidifies our focus on gender equality, particularly emphasising the amazing outcomes from our various programs and initiatives:

• A 50/50 gender split on our Board with 40/40/20 targets across our team. Our design and construction team is over 60% female which is a great achievement within a male dominated industry.
• A higher percentage of both full-time and part-time females in both Emerging Leader roles and subsequent Emerging Leader program.
• Flexible working programs that support all team members across various carer journeys including increased maternity (18 weeks) and paternity leave (8 weeks) options whilst continuing to deliver amazing experiences for homeowners.
• Tailored training and development programs to support inclusion, diversity and leadership.
• Strong results from our citation driven ‘lived experience check in’ with our team
• Partnering on a paid research project focusing on Dad’s and partner leave pre-and-post pandemic.

A direct quote from our Managing Director, James Kelly, upon receiving the news that we had been successful in our EOCGE application:

“24th February marks the 20th anniversary since I started Lifestyle Communities® with Dael and Bruce - this just could not have come at a better time! I feel so delighted that we have been able to create an organisation that is deserved of such recognition. It's been a lifelong passion of mine, incubated through university, to ensure that any company that I lead can make a difference to gender equality in Australia. This means a lot!”

The WGEA framework is the gold standard towards creating meaningful, positive change and Lifestyle Communities® is proud to hold ourselves to the highest standards. We will continue to evolve our programs to deliver key gender equality practices that have a positive impact.