How to evaluate any employer using the same framework
Lists are useful, but most employers you’ll consider in your career won’t be on one. Here’s the framework you can apply to any employer.
Look for transparent paid parental leave (with benchmarks)
The headline weeks number is the easy part. The signal you’re looking for is specificity. A women-friendly employer publishes the exact number of paid weeks for primary and secondary carers, says whether super is paid during leave, names whether tenure-based eligibility applies, and explains how the policy works for adoption, surrogacy and pregnancy loss.
If the careers page just says “generous parental leave,” it’s not generous.
Look for genuine flexible work, not just a policy
Every employer of size has a flexibility policy. The question is whether it’s the default or whether it’s something you have to argue for. Look for language like “default flexible,” “hybrid by design,” or specific commitments to compressed hours or job sharing. If flexibility is described as a perk or a benefit, it’s likely the kind of thing managers can refuse on a whim.
Look for pay equity action, not just statements
A statement about pay equity is meaningless without action. Specific action looks like an annual gender pay gap analysis, an equal remuneration policy, salary band transparency, and a published explanation of the employer’s gender pay gap with what they’re doing about it.
For employers with 100 or more staff, you can check the WGEA Data Explorer to see their published gap and any improvement year on year.
Look for representation in leadership
Walk through the executive team page on any employer’s website. Count the women. Count the women in technical or operational leadership specifically, not just HR and marketing. Then check the board composition.
If senior leadership is heavily male and technical leadership is exclusively male, the policies on flexibility and parental leave matter less than the underlying culture.
Look for safety, anti-discrimination, and DV leave
The 2022 Respect@Work reforms made employers proactively responsible for preventing sexual harassment. Look for evidence the employer has acted on this: published policies, training programs, anonymous reporting mechanisms, and a stated commitment to Respect@Work standards.
Family and domestic violence leave is a good shorthand for whether an employer treats safety as a priority. Every Australian employer has a legal floor of 10 days paid. Employers who go above the floor are signalling something useful.
Red flags to watch for when researching an Australian employer
The flip side of the framework is the warning signs. A few stand out.
Vague answers on parental leave specifics
If you ask a recruiter or interviewer for the exact weeks of paid primary carer leave and they don’t know, or they say “you’d need to check with HR,” that tells you the answer isn’t impressive. Specific is good. Vague is a flag.
Flexibility that’s “by exception” rather than default
Watch for the language. “We support flexibility for the right candidate” is code for “you’ll have to ask permission.” “Our default is flexible” is the version you want.
No women in technical or operational leadership
Plenty of employers have women in HR, comms and finance leadership and zero women anywhere near operational P&L. This usually correlates with structural problems in how the business is actually run.
A WGEA gender pay gap report they don’t talk about
If an employer has published their WGEA report and not said a word about it on their careers page or in interview, they’re likely not proud of what’s in it. Check the Data Explorer yourself.
How to use WORK180 to compare endorsed employers side by side
Once you’ve got a shortlist, the platform is built to let you compare them on the things that matter.
Comparing by policy area
You can filter the directory by specific policy areas: flexible and remote working, paid parental leave, women in leadership, pay equity, career development, or policies and support. This surfaces the employers performing strongest on each.
Comparing by industry and location
You can also filter by industry, location, and company size, which is particularly useful if you want to compare like with like (a 200-person tech company isn’t directly comparable to a 50,000-person bank).
Reading the “what women say” insights
Every endorsed employer’s profile includes insights from the women already working there, because we ask. These aren’t reviews on a public site. They’re structured feedback collected as part of the endorsement process, and they tend to capture nuance that doesn’t make it onto careers pages.
Key takeaways
- The top 10 ranked employers in 2026 score consistently across all ten WORK180 standards, not just one or two.
- Use the same framework employers are ranked against to evaluate any organisation: parental leave specifics, flexibility as default, pay equity action, representation in leadership, and safety.
- Specifics are credible. Vague language about commitment is not.
- The WGEA Data Explorer is your friend. Every employer with 100 or more staff publishes their gender pay gap there.
- WORK180 endorsement isn’t a one-time tick. It requires clearing our minimum criteria and an ongoing commitment to progress.
