Rhodes on track for International Gender Equality Certification

Vertically integrated building supply and construction company, Rhodes PNG, is making rapid progress towards yet another gender equality milestone – the achievement of the world’s leading workplace gender equality certification – the Economic Dividends for Gender Equality (EDGE) certification www.edge-cert.org.  The EDGE program focuses on the significant and positive business impact of having gender equal workforces.
Rhodes was audited by EDGE in Janurary and its senior managers and HR team have since finalised the necessary gender equality action plans and budget allocations.  Actual certification is anticipated to occur in March.
No other building supply or construction company in PNG, Australia, or the Pacific is EDGE certified, although numerous other industries are represented by global brands such as Allianz, IKEA, Marriott and Pfizer.  EDGE Certification will firmly position Rhodes as the employer of choice for women in not only PNG’s male dominated construction industry but the broader Pacific Region as well.
Rhodes Managing Director, Emanuel Papas, says that “although Rhodes has long sought to employ, train and promote as many women as possible, going through the EDGE program and receiving specialised technical assistance from the IFC’s gender equality advisory service is helping us fine tune and formalise the way we go about achieving greater equity in our workplaces.  As a result, EDGE is helping us to ‘do’ gender equality better and enabling us to take advantage of the economic benefits that flow from a gender diverse workforce.”

Rhodes ‘walks the talk’ on gender equality in various ways including employing women in non-traditional roles (e.g., electricians, forklift drivers, engineers) and in managerial roles (e.g., property development managers, project managers).  The company also promotes gender equality externally via the contributions it makes on the board of the Business Coalition of Women and through volunteering its time and expertise to participate in and speak at various gender equality forums and conferences.  Papas believes that “all male dominated industries will benefit from having more gender equal workforces” and views his company’s advocacy  and volunteerism as “a good way for Rhodes to make a meaningful contribution to not just PNG society but to the economy as well.”

About Rhodes
Rhodes PNG is a vertically integrated building supply and construction company with operations throughout PNG, Australia and the Pacific.  Rhodes deliver all sorts of buildings (warehouses, camps, sheds, training centres, hospitals, schools, staff housing) to all kinds of clients (extractives, government agencies, aid bodies, communities, corporates, families).  Experts in prefabricated steel buildings and solid construction systems, Rhodes offers full turn-key services and is a leader in technology-driven sustainability and innovation.  Its building systems deliver cost savings and efficiencies upwards of 25 percent at every stage from design all the way through to construction.

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