Australian workplaces are at a turning point with the potential to capitalise on a highly capable workforce, but only if they are willing to reshape work and social norms, according to new Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) CEO Christine Castley.

Speaking at the University of Sydney Business School on Wednesday evening, Ms Castley compared the current potential for workplace revolution to the changes brought by World War II, when many women entered the workforce for the first time out of necessity.

“They did not suddenly acquire intelligence, judgement or technical skill. The capability had always existed. What changed was whether society was prepared to recognise and allow it,” Ms Castley said.

“Australia didn’t grow new capability; Australia discovered capability it had overlooked.”

Ms Castley challenged employers to consider where current workforce capability remains overlooked due to social norms and outdated ways of organising work. 

“If history teaches us anything, it is that capability has rarely been the problem. Time and again, our greatest advances have come when old assumptions were challenged, barriers were broken through, and capability that had always been there was finally recognised. Today’s barriers are often less about immovable settings and more about culture, assumptions and systems designed for another era. 

“Every generation inherits something. We inherited workplaces built for a different Australia. Our opportunity is to build workplaces worthy of the Australia we have become.” 

The address was followed by Ms Castley fielding questions from the audience on topics including the anti-diversity backlash movement, workforce gender segregation in Australia, and the impact of domestic and family violence on inequality. 

Professor Leisa Sargent, Dean of the Business School, and Professor Rae Cooper, Director of the Australian Centre for Gender Equality and Inclusion at Work, each thanked Ms Castley for her lecture. 

“WGEA is a strong institution and a national asset, and the importance of your work resonates with everyone here. The opportunity to partner for good with us at the University of Sydney is fundamentally important to our futures,” Professor Sargent said. 

Professor Cooper said: “Working in partnership helps us ask better questions, produce better evidence, and ultimately make a greater contribution, both to scholarship and to society.  

“Tonight is a wonderful example of that philosophy in action. It brings together the partnerships that sit at the heart of our Centre, and we are delighted to welcome one of Australia’s most important public leaders on gender equality to continue that conversation.” 

Read the full transcript of Ms Castley’s address here.