About us

Family Friendly Workplaces™ is a global movement to transform the future of work through family-inclusive policies that support wellbeing, inclusion, and gender equality.

Backed by policymakers, industry leaders, and community organisations, we empower businesses worldwide to align with best-practice Global Work + Family Standards. For societies and economies to thrive, businesses and governments across the globe must unite to accelerate the adoption of family-friendly workplace policies, creating a more inclusive, productive, and sustainable future for all.

Parents At Work is a membership-based organisation providing work and family education and policy advisory services. Parents At Work aim to bridge the work and home divide by embedding flexibility, wellbeing, parental transition and wider caring services to enable workplaces and their people to thrive. As advocates and change drivers, we partner with UNICEF and other human rights agencies to improve gender equality and work life wellbeing outcomes.

UNICEF (The United Nations Children’s Fund) is the world’s largest organisation working to protect children/ the world’s largest children’s charity. Across 190 countries, they work to ensure every child has access to clean water, health care, education and a safe place to grow up. Active in Australia since 1966, UNICEF Australia amplify children’s voices, defend their rights, and help them fulfil their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

Patron

Ann Sherry

Chair of UNICEF Australia

“As Chair of UNICEF Australia, I am delighted to offer my support for the Family Friendly Workplaces initiative. As a business leader, I have always been driven to progress equality, and have consistently championed the importance of work/life balance and staff wellbeing in the organisations I have led.

More than ever, flexibility and family inclusive workplaces are vital for working parents, to ensure children’s physical, mental and emotional wellbeing is met.

The flow on effects of this initiative are significant – we know that family friendly workplace practices benefit children, but they also promote inclusion and gender equity, increased workforce participation for women and caring opportunities for men. The productivity gains are not just for individual businesses, but for the wider economy.

We all benefit when children are supported to thrive, and given every opportunity to achieve their potential.”

Our patron, the honourable Ann Sherry AO has written a letter of endorsement for the Family Friendly Workplace standards, encouraging the business leaders of Australia to step up and make a call to improve their employees and their business’s wellbeing. You can view Ann’s letter via the button below.

AMBASSADORS

Our Ambassadors are leading advocates for family-friendly workplace culture in Australia.

Family Friendly Workplaces provide a certification program to embed family-friendly policies and practices, and training for employers, leaders and employees for ongoing implementation, measurement and management.

Why Family Friendly?

ADVISORY GROUP

Our Advisory Group includes a high-profile team of industry influencers dedicated to making Australia one of the best places to work for families. Made up of global thought-leaders, subject matter experts and advocates, they cover major private sectors of the economy and include representatives from business, community and not-for-profit organisations.