In May, 2020, we released the results of an 18-month research evaluation project conducted in partnership with Victorian Office for Women and Macquarie University that validated the impact of the Grace Papers platform on employees balancing caring responsibilities.

The research, “Dismantling The Parental Wall”, came as a result of a pilot program funded by the Victorian State Government and sought to assess against 16 indicators, the attitudes and behaviours of the 350 participants across the Victorian Public Service, entering parental leave.

Participants in the pilot program who accessed the Grace Papers Program and Leadership System as a key means of support, were found to have measurably improved workforce participation, career advancement and economic security, as well as better management of workplace flexibility.

While the findings were wide ranging, of the 350 participants in Grace Papers Project, Macquarie Researchers found:

• 70% of participants gained a better understanding of how to initiate, control and manage their career transitions.

   

• 78% of participants felt more confident to approach their manager about career related issues including parental leave and flexible work arrangements.

   

• Participants identifying as LGBTIQ+ or culturally diverse experienced higher gains from the Grace Papers platform.

   

• Attitudes measured revealed an urgent need for workplaces to mandate line manager literacy to address the impact ambition bias has on the careers of those who take parental leave and access flexibility.

   

• The Grace Papers platform supported an increasingly positive perception of gender equality policies and workplace culture in the Victorian Public Sector – both for women and men.

   

• Further promotion and encouragement of the interventions, and improved and/or equal access to paid parental policy entitlements are required to increase the take-up of parental leave entitlements and flexible work arrangements by fathers.

   

“Survey data tells us LGBTIQA+ people will naturally edit themselves out of policies, network groups or workplace benefits and entitlements when it’s not explicitly stated that they are included. So, it’s important that organisations provide explicit statements on inclusion for people of diverse genders, sexes and sexualities within all policies”

Dyllyn Tierney – Origin Energy