Penrith City Council Sustainability Indicators

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Principle 7:	Empower people and foster participation
Indicator LA13:	Composition of governance bodies and breakdown of employees per category according to gender, age group, minority group membership, and other indicators of diversity.

2006/2007 Data

Why use this indicator?

A diverse workforce, particularly one that reflects the general characteristics of its local communities, will provide interest, strength and opportunities for an organisation.

This indicator measures diversity across and within an organisation, giving insights into its human capital.

What is the current situation?

Governance bodies that are responsible for the strategic guidance of the organisation include Council, CMT (Corporate Management Team, made up of Directors and Senior Managers) and the Joint Consultative Committee (made up of a broad range of Council employees, this team also has Union representation).

Permanent positions

The numbers of women and men employed permanently by Council are close (430 women to 375 men). More men (159) are employed in the occupational group of Field Operator, however the number of women employed in this area (21) continues to grow steadily each year as in the Trades group (44 men to 11 women).

Women outnumber men in the professional ranks (114 to 84), however men continue to dominate in the Manager/Administrator ranks.

Council largely has a middle aged and older workforce with 48% of all employees aged 30 - 50 and 37% aged over 50 years. 15% of Council's workforce are aged under 30.

People with disabilities can be found across all occupational groups with the highest percentage being found in the Customer Relations Officer occupational category (8%). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people can be found across all occupational categories except in Trades and Managerial positions. The highest concentration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people can be found in the Field Operator occupational group where they make up 3% of this group.

There has been no change to the current composition of Council's governance bodies.

Council has introduced and maintains a range of measures to recruit and support members of target groups. They include:

The Field Operator program - this program combines 12 months paid work with accredited training in the areas of horticulture and road construction and maintenance. This program has been very successful in introducing women to this traditionally male dominated work environment. Council is proud to say that one of the women employed through this program in recent years is now a Team Leader.
Traineeships for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
Traineeships for People with a disability
Workplace English Language and Literacy Program

Occupational Category by Gender
Occupational Category	Female	Male	Total
Field Operator	21	159	180
Customer Relations Officer	79	11	90
Clerk	59	8	67
Trades Officer	11	44	55
Para-Professional	85	38	123
Administrative Officer	56	6	62
Professional Specialist	114	84	198
Manager / Administrator	5	25	30
Grand Total	430	375	805

Occupational Category by Age Group
	Under 30	30-50	Over 50
Field Operator	38	71	71
Customer Relations Officer	16	39	35
Clerk	14	26	27
Trades Officer	1	28	26
Para-Professional	20	64	39
Administrative Officer	9	35	18
Professional Specialist	23	110	65
Manager / Administrator	0	13	17
Grand Total	121	386	298

Occupational Category by Disability
Occupational Category	Disability	No disability	Grand Total
Field Operator	8	171	179
Customer Relations Officer	7	83	90
Clerk	2	64	66
Trades Officer	1	54	55
Para-Professional	8	116	124
Administrative Officer	1	62	63
Professional Specialist	8	190	198
Manager / Administrator	1	29	30
Grand Total	36	769	805

Occupational Category by Racial Minority
	Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander	Ethnic Background	Non ATSI
Field Operator	5	10	164
Customer Relations Officer	1	10	79
Clerk	1	3	62
Trades Officer	-	6	49
Para-Professional	1	19	104
Administrative Officer	1	2	60
Professional Specialist	2	33	163
Manager / Administrator	-	2	28
Grand Total	11	85	709

Composition of governance bodies and breakdown of employees per category according to gender, age group, minority group membership and other indicators of diversity.

	Council	Corporate Management Team	Joint Consultative Committee
Males	10	5	7
Females	5	0	6
Vacancy	0	1	0
Non English Speaking Background	0	0	0
Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander	0	0	0
Staff Representatives	0	0	7
Management Representatives	0	0	6
18 to 30	1	0	0
31 to 40	3	0	2
41 to 50	4	1	3
51 to 60	7	4	6
60+	0	0	3

What is the desired trend?

An increase in the level of diversity across the organisation.

What does this mean for the Sustainability of Penrith Council?

Council is an equal opportunity employer and provides opportunities for all staff regardless of race, gender, age or disability. Ensuring diversity within the workforce improves the capacity of Council as employee breakdown is more likely to be representative of and empathetic to community needs and aspirations.