(June 11, 2009) --

BD Australia is delighted to announce that the company has officially been recognised as an EOWA Employer of Choice for 2009. This is the fifth consecutive year that BD Australia has been awarded this prestigious acknowledgement by the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Area.

The EOCFW citation is awarded to non-government organisations with more than 80 employees that have demonstrated that they have policies and practices that support women across the organisation and these have had a positive outcome for both women and the business. BD has been included in the wholesale trade category.

To be recognised as an EOWA Employer of Choice for Women, employers are required to meet stringent criteria each year which include:

• Offering a minimum of 6 weeks paid maternity leave after 12 months of service;
• Providing the ability for female managers to work part-time;
• Ensuring the percentage of female managers is the same or greater than 28% or the industry average, and
• Ensuring a pay equity analysis has been undertaken and any gap identified is less than their industry average.

In our application for the award, BD Australia demonstrated that our policies support the advancement and recognition of all our employees, not just our female associates.

As a company, BD is very proud of this achievement. The award is evidence that BD ANZ remains an Employer of Choice for attracting the best possible talent in a competitive marketplace. Furthermore, it acts as a challenge to ensure we keep thinking of ways to do things better for all our staff, regardless of gender.