Progress on gender pay gap in Australia

WGEA has collected employer data since 2014, with the 2023 Gender Equality Scorecard showing the gender pay gap has fallen 1.1 per cent year-on-year to a new low of 21.7 per cent.

This was driven by an increase in the proportion of women in management and in the upper pay quartiles, with the proportion of women managers now at 42 per cent (up from 41 per cent last year).

It still means on average, for every $1 men earn in Australia, women earn 78 cents, with the annual pay average discrepancy at $26,393.

Every industry and almost three in four employers still have a gender pay gap larger than five per cent in favour of men.

Key progress

In 2023, employers made strong progress in the following key areas:

• Gender Pay Gap: The average total remuneration gender pay gap decreased by 1.1 percentage points.
• Workforce composition: The proportion of employees working in non-highly gender segregated industries reached 50 per cent for the first time.
• Flexible work: 84 per cent of employers have a flexible work policy and for the first time more than half also hold leaders to account for improving flexibility.
• Parental leave policies: 63 per cent offer some form of employer-funded paid parental leave. Of those employers, 33 per cent offer it equally to women and men without using labels that define a carer’s role in the family unit as ‘primary’ or ‘secondary’ (up nine per cent from 2022) and 86 per cent pay superannuation on that leave (up three per cent).

Slight improvements

More marginal improvements were made on:

• Gender pay gap analysis: 70 per cent of employers have a policy or strategy to achieve equal remuneration, but only 55 per cent conducted an analysis to understand what is driving their gender pay gaps.
• Uptake of parental leave: Women still account for most primary carer’s leave taken and men account for the majority of secondary carer’s leave taken. The proportion of men who make up all paid primary carer’s leave taken increased just 0.6 per cent to 14 per cent.
• Empowering a workplace culture that promotes flexible work: While most employers now have a flexible work policy, only 43 per cent provide managers with specific training on flexible work and the proportion offering team training has dropped to 35 per cent.

Work to do

Further attention is required for:

• Women’s representation on boards: The proportion of women members on boards stayed the same as the previous year at 34 per cent.
• Flexibility in management: While 57 per cent of women work part-time or casually, just seven per cent of all manager roles are part-time.
• Industry segregation: Compared to male-dominated industries, female-dominated industries are three times less likely to analyse their payroll for gender pay gaps and take action as a result.
• Consultation: 47 per cent of employers reported they consult employees on gender equality, only three in 10 employers have a formal policy or strategy to do so. This figure has not changed from 2021-22.

The Gender Equality Scorecard 2022-23 is based on the results of WGEA’s largest ever Employer Census, covering 4.82 million Australian employees.

WGEA Chief Executive Officer Mary Wooldridge said: “Increased discussion and debate around gender equality, a tight labour market and impending legislative reform have helped drive action on workplace gender equality over the last year.

“This is promising as it signals that employers are increasingly prioritising gender equality as a core business measure and taking action to tackle workforce composition at the manager level.

“If we want real change, we need employers to take bold action. We need employers to look across the drivers of gender inequality and be imaginative in their solutions.

“This Scorecard is a starting point for employers to assess their performance on the national scale and relative to their industry peers and identify where there is room for improvement.”

Read the full report at WGEA Gender Equality Scorecard 2022-23.

Chamber Change

The Victorian Chamber is committed to doing its part in fostering workplaces that empowers and values every individual, ensuring that we drive gender equality and continue to evolve as a workplace that celebrates and supports equity, diversity and inclusion.

In our Gender Equity Plan, the Victorian Chamber pledges to: raise awareness, understanding and capability to progress gender equality in the workplace; maintain gender balance in leadership roles; achieve gender balance across the organisation; reduce employer gender pay gap and be a role model organisation known for progressing gender equality.

Our Chamber Change program provides women in business with the opportunity to mentor, network, empower and grow alongside each other.

Launched in 2022, the program’s success in a short timespan was recognised by making the finals of the Gender Equality category of the World Chambers Competition at the 13th World Chambers Congress in Geneva.

Being recognised on the world stage showcases the impact the program has had on female empowerment and growth potential.

With the last session of Program Four of Chamber Change wrapped up in 2023, we’ve just launched Program Five and Six for 2024, which is now open for our member base to apply via expressions of interest.