WGEA Archives - Women's Agenda https://womensagenda.com.au/tag/wgea/ News for professional women and female entrepreneurs Mon, 12 Feb 2024 22:10:37 +0000 en-AU hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.2 Time to end the lag in men accessing family-friendly workplace policies  https://womensagenda.com.au/business/time-to-end-the-lag-in-men-accessing-family-friendly-workplace-policies/ https://womensagenda.com.au/business/time-to-end-the-lag-in-men-accessing-family-friendly-workplace-policies/#respond Mon, 12 Feb 2024 20:34:32 +0000 https://womensagenda.com.au/?p=74879 Senator Raff Ciccone became the first father to bring his baby into the Senate. How did it take so long for a Dad to do so?

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Incredibly, Labor Senator Raff Ciccone became the first father to bring his baby into the Senate last week, two years after the Set the Standard report, which included recommendations to enhance the wellbeing, balance and flexibility of parliamentarians and workers. 

While Ciccone thanked his parliamentary colleagues for creating a “family-friendly environment” in the Senate and encouraged other fathers to bring their kids to work, the fact Ciccone’s proud, baby-holding moment came seven years after Senator Larissa Waters became the first federal politician to bring her baby into the senate was a subtle reminder of the lag that remains in men accessing family-friendly workplace policies. 

This issue could be addressed thanks to changes in how workplaces are required to report to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency. 

Most of us are well aware that the gender pay gaps of employers will be made public on the 27th of February when WGEA publishes such data from firms with 100 or more employees. But this is just one of several changes impacting workplaces that will ultimately affect employees with family responsibilities, thanks to the passage of the Workplace Gender Equality Amendment (Closing the Gender Pay Gap) Bill 2023, aimed at enabling more accountability and transparency on workplace gender equality. 

From April 1, employers who report to WGEA (those with 100 or more team members) will be required to answer new mandatory questions and provide CEO pay details and remuneration numbers for those in Head of Business and Casual Manager roles. These employers will also be required to report on sexual harassment, harassment on the grounds of sex or discrimination. 

Employers with more than 500 or more team members must go a step further. In addition to providing the above details, these employers must include details of their policy or strategy for each of the six gender equality indicators. 

The six Gender Equality Indicators include: 

  1. Gender composition of the workforce 
  2. Gender composition of governing bodies
  3. Equal remuneration between women and men 
  4. Availability and utility of employment terms, flexible working arrangements, & support for family & caring responsibilities
  5. Consultation with employees on gender equality in the workplace 
  6. Sexual harassment, including harassment on the ground of sex or discrimination. 

WGEA has long aimed to address all six of these indicators in their reporting requirements, but these new changes will mark the first time that employers are required to have policies or strategies in place that address all of them in some way. 

All six play an important part in enabling gender equality, but the fourth GEI is particularly interesting for bringing down barriers those with family and caring responsibilities continue to come up against. 

The key word in this indicator is “utility”. Making flexible working arrangements and various support for family and caring responsibilities available is always a good step, but the more difficult and important step is ensuring such support mechanisms are actually used. This means directly reporting the number of employees using such policies and breaking it down according to areas like job level, gender and other relevant metrics. 

The results of WGEA’s 2022-23 Census, launched in November 2023, highlight the opportunity for stronger progress on areas like workplace flexibility and providing greater support to families. 

One area is on paid parental leave, where employers are increasingly evolving their policies to offer better primary and secondary carer leave, as well as much stronger initiatives around removing labels altogether to offer the same amount of leave to all new parents. But the uptick in men taking leave is not moving fast enough.  There was little change in the proportion of men taking paid parental leave in WGEA’s 2022-23 Census results, rising just 0.6 per cent to 14 per cent of those taking employer-funded paid primary carer’s leave. 

And while there has been significant progress around workplace flexibility in recent years, the WGEA results show that part time work is still being penalised when it comes to promotions and opportunities. Just seven per cent of management roles are part time, indicating a “part time promotions gap” which is a problem, particularly for women, given thirty per cent of women work part time. 

While employers have been making progress against most of the six gender equality indicators since 2013-14, when WGEA reporting requirements began, the progress is too slow. The game-changer now is for employers to report on their policies and how such policies and initiatives are actually being utilised, effectively measuring their impact on closing the gap.

At Family Friendly Workplaces, we’ve seen the power of recording and tracking the effectiveness of family-inclusive policies and practices to support employees in combining work and family commitments. Collecting such evidence sees family-friendly workplace policies and practices evolving to meet an organisation’s ESG and gender equality targets. Family-friendly policies, including flexible work, modern paid parental leave, inclusive leadership, family care and wellbeing initiatives, ultimately support gender equality efforts while making the workplace better for everything. 

Senator Raff Ciccone is one of countless dads keen on taking up workplace policies to make their work more family-friendly. In Ciccone’s case, Senate rules changed in 2016 to end a ban on children entering the house during divisions. The focus then was on allowing female MPs to breastfeed in the chamber, but really it’s an opportunity for all new parents to care for their children during the long proceedings when needed, and to also nomalise the mix of family and work for everyone. 

One thing is for certain, workplaces will need to stay ahead of the curve by by embracing family-friendly policies to improve gender equality outcomes to close the gap. 

You can read Family Friendly Workplaces’ free guide on transforming family-friendly policies and practices into gender equality solutions here

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Here’s where Australian employers are at on gender equality https://womensagenda.com.au/business/employers/heres-where-australian-employers-are-at-on-gender-equality/ https://womensagenda.com.au/business/employers/heres-where-australian-employers-are-at-on-gender-equality/#respond Mon, 27 Nov 2023 23:52:27 +0000 https://womensagenda.com.au/?p=73318 More than 4.

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More than 4.82 million Australians work for one of the more than 5000 employers with a workforce of more than 100 employees.

Those employers are required to report on several workplace gender equality markers to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA), which analyses the data to create a compelling report card on where corporate Australia is at on workplace gender equality.

WGEA has just released its latest Gender Equality Scorecard based on their 2022-23 workplace census, the largest census in history.

The headline figure is that the total remuneration gender pay gap, which incorporates bonuses, overtime and additional payments in addition to base salary, is down to 21.7 per cent. Meanwhile, this year’s census will see employers having their individual gender pay gaps made public, which we have covered separately here.

Below, we have outlined some of the key figures to note from the WGEA data, released Tuesday, 28th November 2023.

Overall figures:

  • The WGEA Gender Pay Gap is at 21.7 per cent in 2023, down 1.1% from 2022
  • Men are nearly twice (1.9 times) more likely to be in the upper pay quartile than women, and women 1.5 times more likely to be in the lowest pay quartile than men
  • 42% of managers are women
  • 22% of CEOs are women
  • 52% of non-managers are women
  • 30% of ‘Head of Business’ are women, while women make up 37% of key management personnel and 36% of chief executives and general managers
  • 30% of women work part time. Just 7% of management roles are part time
  • 34% of board members are women
  • 1 in 4 boards have no women, just 25% have gender-balanced boards
  • 19% of employers now include data for non-binary employees, who make up 0.2% of the workforce.
  • Mixed-gender industries make up 50% of the workforce for the first time
  • Women make up 51% of the workforce

What are employers doing?

  • 55% of employers analyse their pay gaps, but just 60% of those take action on the result of the analysis
  • 45% of employers are setting targets. Of these, 57% have a target to increase the number of women in leadership positions. 42% to increase the number of women in male-dominated roles, and 42% to reduce the gender pay gap.
  • 63% of employers offer employer-funded paid parental leave, with one third of these offering it universally (label and gender free)
  • 14% of universally available or ‘primary carer’ paid parental leave’ is being taken by men
  • 70% of employers have a policy or strategy to achieve equal remuneration. But of these, just 61% had pay objectives as part of the policy.
  • 79% of employers have policies and/or strategies to support gender balance in their workforces
  • 37% of employers are measuring employee performance by performance rather than presenteeism, down from 54% in 2021-22.

The industry standouts on representation

  • Mining is the most male-dominated industry, at just 22% female. It is followed by construction, electricity, gas, water and waste services, and transport, postal and warehousing, all at just 26% female
  • Manufacturing is just 28 per cent female
  • Pubic administration and safety is 30 per cent female
  • Health care and social assistance is overwhelmingly dominated by women, at 78% female
  • Education and training is 65% female

Industry laggards/standards on remuneration gender pay gap

  • Construction has a 28.3% total remuneration gender pay gap (all employees)
  • Financial and insurance services: 26.2%
  • Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services: 23.1%
  • Professional, Scientific and Technical Services: 22.8%
  • Transport, postal and warehousing: 20%
  • Accommodation and Food services has the lowest total gap, at just 6.4%. Education and training is at 7.5%

So, what’s behind the gender pay gap?

WGEA offers several reasons in its gender equality fact sheet published today, noting that it results from social and economic factors that combine to reduce women’s earning capacity during their lifetime. Often, it stems from indirect forms of discrimination that limit women’s earning ability, including biases in progression and promotion.

Some of the factors outlined by WGEA include:

  • conscious and unconscious discrimination and bias in hiring and pay decisions
  • women and men working in different industries and different jobs, with female-dominated industries and jobs attracting lower wages
  • lack of workplace flexibility to accommodate caring and other responsibilities, especially in senior roles high rates of part-time work for women
  • women’s greater time out of the workforce for caring responsibilities impacting career progression and opportunities
  • women’s disproportionate share of unpaid caring and domestic work.

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Leadership? Not with a ‘part time promotion cliff’ still holding women back https://womensagenda.com.au/business/leadership-not-with-a-part-time-promotion-cliff-still-holding-women-back/ https://womensagenda.com.au/business/leadership-not-with-a-part-time-promotion-cliff-still-holding-women-back/#respond Wed, 15 Nov 2023 01:04:27 +0000 https://womensagenda.com.au/?p=72978 Just 7 per cent of management positions are part time, highlighting a promotions gap that overwhelmingly impacts women.

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Just seven per cent of managers work part time in Australia, a staggering figure highlighting a clear barrier for women’s progression, given women are overwhelmingly more likely than men to work part time.

This single-digit management figure shows a “part time promotion cliff” continuing to limit career progression, and illustrates just how lacking promotion opportunities actually are for those who don’t meet the availability requirements of “full time worker”.

It’s a promotion gap that is preventing employers from accessing the best possible leadership talent, and one that may be preventing people from bringing the out-of-work experience and knowledge workers gain during their time outside of paid employment into leadership positions.

The figures comes from new analysis from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency released today, based on the almost five million employees covered in its Employer Census from the 2022-23 period, with employers with 100 or more employees required to report to the agency.

The data reveals that time has done little to shift perceptions that a management position is a full time position, with the number of managers working part time rising just one percentage point from the six per cent recorded in 2018-19.

The higher up the management and leadership chain you go, the less likely you are to find managers working part time. Just five per cent of Key Management Personnel work part time, and a tiny three per cent of CEOs worked part time during the period analysed, with men more likely to account for the 149 part time CEOs the dataset revealed (58 per cent of those CEOs).

WGEA CEO Mary Wooldridge described the findings as indicating a “promotion cliff” for part time workers in Australia, which makes closing leadership pay and gender gaps even more challenging given the high proportion of Australian women working part time (accounting for 30 per cent of women, compared to 11 per cent of men).

“This new analysis shows there are severe constraints on them doing so at senior levels and helps explain why we see much lower proportions of women in leadership roles,” Wooldridge said.

“This risks women’s skills and talents being underutilised and can leave them languishing in more junior roles than they are capable of.”

The “part time promotion cliff” is not only limiting career options for those working part time, it’s limiting organisations from accessing the best leadership talent and the opportunity for role models to demonstrate different modes of successfully pursuing a management career.

If employers truly want access the best managers and create the best experiences for those who are managed, they need to consider the impact of the part time management gap. That means moving away from the mindset that management can only be done on a full time basis. It means redesigning roles, considering job-sharing arrangements, and removing any bias from promotion opportunities that are limiting those working part time and flexibly.

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New report uncovers the best ways to close the gender pay gap https://womensagenda.com.au/latest/new-report-uncovers-the-best-ways-to-close-the-gender-pay-gap/ https://womensagenda.com.au/latest/new-report-uncovers-the-best-ways-to-close-the-gender-pay-gap/#respond Thu, 05 Oct 2023 00:47:42 +0000 https://womensagenda.com.au/?p=71966 Businesses with strong, long-term pay equity policies in place tend to be more advanced and more successful in closing the gender pay gap.

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Businesses with strong, long-term pay equity policies in place tend to be more advanced and more successful in improving gender equality and closing the gender pay gap, new research has found.

The Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) and the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC) released their eighth report in the Gender Equity Insights research series on Thursday, spotlighting the role of gender pay parity approaches in how well a business performs within industry sectors.

Collecting data from WGEA from 2019-2022 across 4,800 Australian employers and their gender equality strategies, the researchers found the leading 25 per cent of Australian businesses in gender equality reduced gender pay gaps by 5.3 percentage points over three years.

Report co-author and BCEC Director Professor Alan Duncan said while we are progressing in the gender equality space, Australian businesses are still many years off closing the gender pay gap.

“Crucially, the report provides a roadmap to organisations to support continuous improvement towards gender equality within their workplaces and, in doing so, ensure we do not derail the progress of women’s economic equality in Australia,” Professor Duncan said.

The report exposed a significant divide between the best and worst performing businesses in improving gender equality within certain industry sectors, including: mining, manufacturing, retail trade and professional, scientific and technical services.

Professor Duncan said WGEA and BCEC’s latest report is important in highlighting the gaps within and between businesses, rather than approaching gender equality more broadly within industries.

“Focusing on industry-wide changes to gender pay equality and women’s workforce representation can hide some significant differences in progress between businesses,” he said.

“For example, the most advanced businesses in the mining sector are seven times more likely to set targets to reduce gender pay gaps and four times more likely to report pay equity metrics to senior executives compared to businesses that are early on in their journey towards workplace gender equity.”

How do businesses improve gender equity in the workplace?

The gender equity policies and approaches that the report found were the most effective involved conducting regular pay equity audits and reporting gender pay metrics to senior leadership and governing boards.

“The best performing businesses also have enhanced parental leave provision for secondary as well as primary carers, as well as reporting, training, and accountability for flexible work,” Professor Duncan said.

Mary Wooldridge, the CEO of WGEA, said the way to accelerate change in gender equity within workplaces can be achieved by implementing the recommended strategies.

“Employers who do more, achieve more,” Wooldridge said.

“This analysis shows that when employers pursue a deliberate strategy of long-term, meaningful change they are achieving progress to close their gender pay gaps.

On March 30 this year, the Workplace Gender Equality Amendment (Closing the Gender Pay Gap) Bill 2023 was passed in Parliament. From early 2024, under these new changes, WGEA will publish employer gender pay gaps from all Australian employers with 100 or more employees.

Wooldridge said these legislative reforms will incentivise employers and businesses to implement strategies such as the ones suggested in their latest report with BCEC in order to fast track gender equity in the workplace. 

“International experience indicates publishing the individual gender pay gap results of companies is an important step that can accelerate change,” she said.

“Industry averages can mask the true picture of progress. Publishing employer gender pay gaps offers a deeper insight into industry performance and business performance that may have been hidden by averages in the past.

“This new roadmap can help companies look at their policies and develop actions to better inform their own pathway for improvement.”

Women in managerial roles

WGEA and BCEC’s report also spotlighted problems of representation of women in high-paying or managerial positions within an organisation. Notably, the report found women are significantly under-represented among the top 20 per cent of earners in most industry sectors.

While it is important to tackle the representation issue for women in senior roles, co-author of the report Associate Professor Astghiok Mavisakalyan said leaders of businesses should aim to achieve gender equality in all levels of the organisation.

“Businesses should plan for continual improvements, enhanced actions and higher standards of practice in gender equality policies as internal and external expectations develop,” Associate Professor Mavisakalyan said.

“Business leaders need to be careful not to focus attention on one employee group at the expense of others. For example, a commitment to progress gender equality for managers and executives should not diminish the attention given to improving gender equality outcomes among non-managerial occupations.”

“Gender diversity in decision-making and on Boards is a key driver of organisational change. While there’s been progress in the past three years, employers must keep up the pace to avoid leaving women under- represented in the boardroom for decades to come.”

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Gender pay gap drops to 13 per cent, with women earning $252.30 less each week https://womensagenda.com.au/latest/gender-pay-gap-drops-to-13-per-cent-with-women-earning-252-30-less-each-week/ https://womensagenda.com.au/latest/gender-pay-gap-drops-to-13-per-cent-with-women-earning-252-30-less-each-week/#respond Thu, 17 Aug 2023 05:41:41 +0000 https://womensagenda.com.au/?p=70794 Australia's gender pay gap has dropped to 13 per cent, down from 13.3 per cent, according to new data from the ABS.

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Australia’s gender pay gap has dropped to 13 per cent, down from 13.3 per cent, according to new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

As of May 2023, women in Australia earn 87 cents for every dollar earned by men, accounting for a difference of $252.30 in men’s and women’s average weekly ordinary earnings.

The average weekly ordinary earnings for men was $1938.30, as of May, with women’s average weekly ordinary earnings sitting at $1,686.

As the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) highlighted today, over the course of one year the difference in earnings between men and women adds up to $13,119.60 – a signficant figure, especially when considered in the context of the current high cost of living.

WGEA CEO Mary Wooldridge said the latest figures are a signficant drop in the gender pay gap but there was still room for improvement.

“As we celebrate today the incredible performance by the Matildas and the fact their semi-final was the most watched TV event in Australian history, we are also energised by the lowest ever national gender pay gap,” Wooldridge said.

“This momentum is a springboard for renewed action for employers to prioritise gender equality and ensure that we continue to work towards closing the gender pay gap.”

While the overall gender pay gap has dropped, the gap in 10 out of 18 industries has actually increased over the last six months.

However there were some decreases in certain sectors, including a 3.4 percent decrease in the construction industry. There were also decreases in information, media and telecommunications, and education and training.

There are some big changes coming to organisations from 2024, when those with 100 or more employees will be required to keep a public record of their gender pay gaps.

Wooldridge noted that next friday, 25 August, is Equal Pay Day – a marker of the 56 days from the end of the financial year that women have to work to earn the same, on average, as men.

“This year we are calling on employers to recognise that ‘what’s missing matters’ in a whole range of situations, and particularly the missing pay for women matters. And we are asking employers to do something about it,’ Wooldridge said.

“Employers have a key role to play in addressing the entrenched gender norms and stereotypes that are a barrier to women’s progression or full participation in the workplace,”

“With dedicated, intentional action to address the gender pay gap in their organisation, Australian employers will contribute to accelerating progress to close the national gender pay gap.”

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New data shows higher pay gap for women in Australia’s private sector compared to public https://womensagenda.com.au/business/new-data-shows-higher-pay-gap-for-women-in-australias-private-sector-compared-to-public/ https://womensagenda.com.au/business/new-data-shows-higher-pay-gap-for-women-in-australias-private-sector-compared-to-public/#respond Mon, 03 Jul 2023 01:23:35 +0000 https://womensagenda.com.au/?p=69674 New data has revealed that women working in Australia’s private sector experience higher gender pay gaps than those in the public sector. 

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New data has revealed that women working in Australia’s private sector experience higher gender pay gaps than those working in the Commonwealth public sector. 

Women in the private sector are only paid 77 cents on the dollar compared to men, according to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA). This compares to 88 cents on the dollar in the public sector– a figure just released by WGEA’s Commonwealth Public Sector Gender Equality Snapshot.

This is a result of a total remuneration gender pay gap of 22.8 per cent in the private sector and 11.6 per cent for this sample in the Commonwealth public sector. 

The WGEA’s snapshot is based on voluntary reporting by 52 employees from the Commonwealth public sector. It’s the first set of WGEA insights on the sector’s performance on gender equality.

“What we can see from the 2022 Snapshot is an indication of overall trends that are likely to shape future reporting,” said WGEA CEO Mary Wooldridge.

“In this way, the Snapshot serves as an appetiser for policy makers, employers and the broader public to understand gender equality in the Commonwealth public sector.”

Wooldridge said the results were a promising indicator of workplace efforts to address gender equality but that more needs to be done. 

“Policies like publicly-advertised salary levels, target setting, regular employee consultation and comprehensive access to paid parental leave help the public sector lead in workplace gender equality,” she said.

“However, these results also show that many of these policies have focused on women, rather than all employees. This is particularly the case for support for parents and carers. The result is that the uptake of paid primary carers leave by men is at a rate similar to the private sector (13.5 per cent in the public sector and 13 per cent in the private sector).”

To shift this dial on gender equality, Wooldridge points to changing gender stereotypes that continue to place unequal parental responsibility onto women– a cultural norm that acts as a barrier to women’s workforce participation.

“This Snapshot indicates some employers may still be approaching gender equality as a ‘women’s issue’,” she said. “However, meaningful change requires a focus on improving the workplace experiences of women and men.”

Beginning this year on 1 September, Commonwealth public sector employers with 100 or more employees will be required to report to WGEA on gender equality. This is a result of recommendations from the Respect@Work Report. 

Wooldridge said this mandatory reporting will enable the WGEA to publish an annual Scorecard, similar to the private sector. The Scorecard will track progress on the gender pay gap and allow for comparisons of the Commonwealth public sector’s performance with the private sector for the first. 

“For nearly a decade now we’ve used WGEA’s world-leading dataset to inform and drive gender equality change for women and men working in the private sector,” said Wooldridge. “Recent legislative reform means that for the first time we will add comprehensive insights on the Commonwealth public sector into the mix.”

WGEA also announced, over the weekend, that this year’s Equal Pay Day will take place on 25 August. This date marks the 56 additional days from the end of the previous financial year that women must work, on average, to earn the same amount as men.

Over the past four years, progress has been slow, with only a change from 59 days in 2019 to 56 days in 2023.

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The gender pay gap has stagnated at 22.8 per cent https://womensagenda.com.au/latest/the-gender-pay-gap-has-stagnated-at-22-8-per-cent/ https://womensagenda.com.au/latest/the-gender-pay-gap-has-stagnated-at-22-8-per-cent/#respond Mon, 12 Dec 2022 01:23:13 +0000 https://womensagenda.com.au/?p=66191 Progress on the gender pay gap has stagnated, with new data showing women are earning, on average, $26,600 less than men.

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Progress on the gender pay gap has stagnated for the first time in 2022, with new data showing women are earning on average $26,600 less than men, and 7 in 10 employers reporting gender pay gaps in favour of men.

Data from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) released today reveals that the gender pay gap remains at 22.8 per cent, which means women are paid 77 cents for every $1 earned by men.

“At a time when Australia is experiencing a critical skills and labour shortage, WGEA’s annual Employer Census shows that too many employers have failed to step up on gender equality leaving many women no better off than they were 12 months ago,” Director of WGEA Mary Wooldridge said on the findings.

“A pay gap of 22.8% means women earn an average of $26,600 less than men, based on their gender. This failure to improve needs to be a clarion call for all employers.”

A massive 7 in 10 employers have pay gaps that favour men, with men more likely to hold managerial positions across sectors, including those which are dominated by women like heath and education.

Only 22 per cent of CEOs are women, according to the data, and just 1 in 5 governing bodies are gender-balanced. More than 1 in 5 boards have no women at all.

For women who are in key managerial positions, they took home nearly $100,000 or 24.5 per cent less than men in similar positions in the 2021-22 period.

Wooldridge said the disappointing figures should be a wake-up call to employers.

 “Lasting change requires employers to make bold, creative choices that send a signal to all employees that gender equality is a core part of their business strategy and a priority for those in leadership and managerial roles,” Wooldridge said.

“Leading employers are already putting solutions in place that address challenges like workforce shortages by tailoring factory shifts around school pick-up and drop-off times or promoting – and role-modelling – flexible hours or part-time work arrangements among managers and executives.”

New voluntary reporting shows more than half (53 per cent) of employers have set some form of targets for gender equality in the workplace. Of these employers, more than half did so to increase the number of women in leadership positions.

Far fewer employers have done so to close the gender gap or pursue other initiatives like increasing the number of men who take parental leave and flexible work arrangements.

However, data shows more employers are focusing on moving to an “all roles flex” work model, with 2 in 5 employers reporting they have done so. An ‘all roles flex” approach switches workplace focus to output rather than time spent in the office.

Employers can compare how their organisations are tracking on gender equality measures using WGEA’s Data Explorer.

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The fight for fair flexibility set for new battle https://womensagenda.com.au/latest/the-fight-for-fair-flexibility-set-for-new-battle/ https://womensagenda.com.au/latest/the-fight-for-fair-flexibility-set-for-new-battle/#respond Fri, 25 Nov 2022 01:30:45 +0000 https://womensagenda.com.au/?p=65822 There are promising permanent shifts in employers offering flexible work, and signs of a growing divide in who can access such flexibility. 

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There are promising permanent shifts in employers offering flexible work, and signs also of a growing divide in who can access such flexibility

Today, new data released by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) on the strong take up in an “all roles flex” policy by employers puts solid numbers on this shift, and also highlights the industries that are falling behind. 

Of the 78 per cent of almost 5000 employers to answer the voluntary question on whether they had implemented an “all roles flex” approach to flexible work, 38 per cent said they had done so.  

That “all roles flex” approach means that staff can determine how, where and when they work. It puts an emphasis on work output and outcome, over hours physically spent in an office. Researchers suggest it’s a key tool for driving workplace gender equality

And other research finds that the overwhelming majority of Australian workers (nine in 10) want workplace flexibility. Australians have also grown to expect it, with a third of employees currently working flexibly saying they would quit their current role or start searching for another position, if they are told to return full time to the office. 

We know COVID significantly accelerated the shift to more flexibility, particularly in men accessing flexibility. But this data highlights how employers are quickly adopting the approach. 

Indeed, it wasn’t so long ago that “all roles flex” was seen as particularly forward and progressive, notably when Telstra introduced the policy across its workforce many years before the pandemic. 

Still, it’s clear that certain industries — especially those with a strong mixed-gender workforce base — are offering this approach over others, with around half such industry types doing so (48 per cent). The number drops to 30 per cent across male and female dominated industries, a fall that WGEA suggests reflects the fact these industries can be more likely to require being physically present, like in nursing and mining. 

The WGEA data finds that in 2022, 71 per cent  of employers report having a formal policy for working from home, a massive jump from 35 per cent  in 2019 (pre-COVID levels) and even from 66 per cent in 2021.

But is it enough to simply offer some form of flexibility, when it comes to supporting staff? 

On the findings, WGEA Director Mary Wooldridge noted that flexibility needs to be creative, and extend beyond just offering remote working options. 

“Flexible work is a key driver for gender equality, but employers should be creative to enable their employees to have flexibility that meets their specific needs,” she said. 

“Innovative actions we’ve seen from employers include creating shifts specifically within or outside of school hours and offering job sharing or part-time work arrangements for managerial or executive roles. These types of measures make it easier for men and women to equally participate in the workforce – whether that’s from the office or home.”

The flexible working shifts some have experienced have also not always been positive. Some Australians report working longer hours due to hybrid work arrangements, while some report losing access to leadership and key career advancing opportunities 

As Wooldridge said: “COVID has undoubtedly changed how we think about remote working, and while that is a big shift, it risks creating a two-tiered system – one for employees returning to workplaces and another for those who are not – if it is not implemented well,”

It’s incredible to think how far we’ve come on workplace flexibility in just the past three years —from CEOs once claiming to work “flexibility” because they left the office early once a week to pick up their kids, only to log back on that night, and big employers making headlines on announcing “all roles flex” initiatives. It a now been proven how quickly adjustments can be made to accommodate needs and emergencies that are bigger than any one employer. But the fight for real flexibility that supports all careers and broadens access to opportunities for everyone is far from over. 

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Greater gender balance in all industries will help close gender pay gap https://womensagenda.com.au/latest/greater-gender-balance-in-all-industries-will-help-close-gender-pay-gap/ https://womensagenda.com.au/latest/greater-gender-balance-in-all-industries-will-help-close-gender-pay-gap/#respond Thu, 20 Oct 2022 00:48:08 +0000 https://womensagenda.com.au/?p=65093 If employers in Australia ensured 40 per cent of their employees were women, the nation’s gender pay gap would narrow by more than a third.

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Employers who can reimagine traditional gender roles in their workplaces will play an important role in reducing Australia’s gender pay gap.

That’s according to Director of the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) Mary Wooldridge, as the organisation releases its Gender Equity Insights 2022 report with Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC).

If employers across industries in Australia ensured 40 per cent of their employees were women, the nation’s gender pay gap would narrow by more than a third. That’s one of the major findings of the report, which looked at how much gender pay gaps would change if workforces were more gender balanced.

The report is the first of its kind, drawing on insights from postcode level location data that was voluntarily reported by employers to WGEA in the 2020-21 reporting period.

Professor Alan Duncan, one of the report’s authors, said the report highlights the need to increase the share of women working in male-dominated occupations, as well as increasing the share of men in female-dominated occupations.

“We need to see an increase in the share of women in leadership positions from CEO through to executive manager, in roles in the professional, scientific, technical and trades sectors, and a rise in the share of men working in health, community and social services,” Professor Duncan said.

“We also need to reflect on whether the salaries paid to health care, social assistance and community sector workers adequately reflect the true value of their contribution to society.”

Western Australia has the largest gender pay gap

Western Australia has the largest gender pay gap of any state or territory in the country, with an average salary difference of 32.1 per cent, or $41,410, in remuneration between men and women.

The report found that this gap would halve in Western Australia if a 40:40:20 gender balance was achieved across all industries in the state. 40:40:20 refers to a workplace make-up of 40 per cent men, 40 per cent women, 20 per cent any gender.

“We found the gender pay gap was wider in states where more men were employed in higher paying jobs in the highest-paying industries, such as mining and construction,” Professor Duncan said.

“We also found women made up a lesser percentage of the workforce for key industries in those states, including only 16 per cent of the construction sector workforce in WA, compared to 31 per cent in Victoria and 27 per cent in New South Wales.

“On the other hand, we found women made up 80 per cent of the workforce in the health care and social assistance sector, and two thirds of workers in the education and training sector. The evidence indicates that women don’t have the same opportunities to earn higher wages as their male colleagues.”

Employers have a role to play in reducing the gender pay gap

WGEA Director Mary Wooldridge said the report was important because it provides a deeper, location-based analysis of the gender pay gap, and it makes clear that employers have a significant role to play.

“What we can see with this analysis is that without clear and actionable gender strategies and targets for improvement, progress on gender equality will stall,” Wooldridge said.

“Employers who reimagine traditionally gendered roles are reaping the benefits of larger and more diverse recruitment pools, improvements in productivity and profitability and reductions in the gender pay gap.

“Further, Australia has one of the most highly gender-segregated industrial structures in the developed world. We need to actively challenge gender stereotypes, including those that start informing our children from an early age, to realise improved gender balance across industries and occupations.”

The report also shows the gender pay gap is higher in remote areas, compared to major cities, with men on average being paid $17,8000 more than women in very remote areas.

The pay gap also grows for women as they get older, with women aged 55 and over facing larger differences in remuneration. In the construction sector, renumeration for men and women diverges from the age of 20, with the gap rising to more than 35 per cent after the age of 45. In education, the pay gap favours women up until the age of 30, with men then earning more than women on average at older ages.

Co-author Dr Silvia Salazar said the data raises questions about the values employers put on work.

“The data shows that gender pay gaps increased for older age female workers, as well as for women working in remote and very remote areas across Australia,” Dr Salazar said.

“These findings raise some important questions about the value that businesses put on the work and contributions of women in older age cohorts compared to men at the same age. It also highlights the impact of the gender inequalities for salary caused by the challenges that women face in accessing the same higher paying roles in the same industry sectors as men.

“It is inevitable that gender pay gaps will persist if more women continue to work in lower paid industry sectors and jobs, and men are employed in higher concentrations in sectors that pay high salaries.”

What can employers do differently?

In the report’s foreword, Wooldridge mentioned a range of measures employers can take to get more women and men into their workforces.

“Employers can attract both women and men to their workforces by de-biasing and degendering processes for recruitment, retention, promotion, and pay as well as thinking innovatively about opportunities for training and upskilling,” she wrote.

“Workplace cultures that are supportive of gender-neutral flexible working arrangements and all employees with caring responsibilities are also key.

“Importantly, employers must analyse the data within their organisations and industries and set targets to achieve change. Research tells us that targets work. Clear, realistic, timebound targets set in motion the process and framework for achieving gender equality outcomes.”

Professor Duncan said the report invited solutions to break down barriers faced by women.

“Gender composition differences across different industries and sectors is not a justifiable explanation for high gender pay gaps. Instead, this report shines a spotlight on the impact of gender inequalities in terms of pay and most importantly the challenges women face in accessing the same higher-paying roles in the same industries as men,” Professor Duncan said.

“Businesses can take action to level the playing field for women within their organisations or for those looking to join the workforce by ensuring effective policies and practices related to recruitment, retention and promotion are in place to promote gender equality opportunities for women across all industries.

“These include a positive attitude towards flexible work, support for people with family and care responsibilities, specific targeted policies to eradicate sexual harassment and promote greater respect at work, and support measures to assist people experiencing family and domestic violence.”

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Let’s stop the annual “best practice” gender pay gap farce https://womensagenda.com.au/business/employers/lets-stop-the-annual-best-practice-gender-pay-gap-farce%ef%bf%bc/ https://womensagenda.com.au/business/employers/lets-stop-the-annual-best-practice-gender-pay-gap-farce%ef%bf%bc/#respond Tue, 22 Mar 2022 23:59:52 +0000 https://womensagenda.com.au/?p=59975 "My question is this: when are we going to name the elephant in the room? This annual “best practice” bonanza is emblematic of the Morrison government’s softly, softly -- and ultimately ineffective – approach to closing the gender pay gap."

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The vibe this International Women’s Day was pretty interesting. It was decidedly angry and impatient. I suspect that reflects the layer upon layer of issues that have been piling onto women’s shoulders, particularly these last two years of the pandemic and in the year since the historic Women’s March. 

There was a real sense of growing impatience with business as usual on the gender equality front, whether that be the standard pink cupcake breakfast with an inspirational speaker guiding women to “power pose” their way to the top, or a gender equality campaign that some feel missed the mark in terms of reflecting a broad range of women’s interests and needs.  

With that in mind, I would like to draw attention to the annual farce we all seem to partake in when the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) releases its yearly “Gender Equality Score Card” and “Employer of Choice” citations. The former was released in February and the latter just last week. Both are usually released alongside a suite of “best practice” case studies that are duly covered by various media outlets, including The Sydney Morning Herald The Age and right here at Women’s Agenda.

My question is this: when are we going to name the elephant in the room? This annual “best practice” bonanza is emblematic of the Morrison government’s softly, softly — and ultimately ineffective – approach to closing the gender pay gap. 

Because the message is clear: here are some employers doing the “right” thing, why don’t you (coughs, voluntarily) follow their example? There’s always an accompanying quote alongside the “best practice” case studies from the WGEA director of the day, currently Mary Wooldridge, chiming in cheerfully about how — choose your own gender equality adventure — conducing a gender pay audit, offering paid parental leave that doesn’t differentiate between “primary” carers (usually women) and “secondary” carers (usually men) is a “win/win” for everyone. 

The hope is that more employers can be nudged to do the right thing. The reality is that many don’t — and won’t. 

For example, Wendy Tuohy’s article in The Age earlier this week was entitled, “There’s no excuse: Top employers boost women’s pay to equal men’s”. But the fact is, many employers seem to still find lots of excuses, and this is somewhat buried in the story among all the “best practice”.

Even the “employers of choice”, the article revealed, have an 18 percent gender pay gap, and while overall only 50 percent of companies have done a pay audit, only half of those have taken any action to address what they’ve found. That’s called the “action gap” by WGEA, and can I just add that going through the trouble of conducing a gender pay audit only to ignore that information is also rather farcical. 

What’s needed is the full implementation of the recommendations from the Workplace Gender Equality Act (2012) Review, which was also launched just prior to International Women’s Day, but to much less fanfare. Among the recommendations: mandatory, public reporting of individual employers’ gender pay gaps. At the moment, WGEA only publishes that information as an industry composite. Women have no way of knowing what the size of the gender pay gap is at their workplace.  As they say, sunshine is the best disinfectant. 

For those who loved the UK’s Gender Pay Gap Bot, which called bullshit on UK employers’ soft focus IWD social media promotions by retweeting them alongside the size of the gender pay gap at that particular organisation — some called the bot the hero of 2022 IWD — this is how we could get from here to there in Australia. Many lamented publicly on social media, “awesome, can we have that here”. No, we can’t, because that information is not (yet) publicly available. 

But the Minister for Women Marise Payne has only said that the Morrison government is “working towards” implementing all the recommendations from the review, including  mandatory public gender pay gap reporting subject to “further consultation with business”. 

What does that even mean? I remember that the Morrison government said something similar about Kate Jenkins’ Respect@Work sexual harassment inquiry, and it still hasn’t implemented the central overarching recommendation for a positive duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment from happening in the first place. Another consultation on the implementation of that duty closed last week ….. more than two years after Jenkins’ submitted her final report. 

When I asked the Equality Rights Alliance, one of the six government funded national women’s alliance’s which “welcomed” the announcement that the government was “working towards” implementing the review’s recommendations whether mandator public gender pay reporting was really going to happen, they couldn’t quite tell me.  

That’s something I would like a straight answer to. Not more glowing coverage of the minority of “best practice” employers who are doing the right thing. I want to know more about those who aren’t doing f-all — and how we can do more than “nudge” them to up their game. 

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The 120 organisations named employers of choice for gender equality https://womensagenda.com.au/business/the-120-organisations-named-employers-of-choice-for-gender-equality/ https://womensagenda.com.au/business/the-120-organisations-named-employers-of-choice-for-gender-equality/#respond Tue, 15 Mar 2022 23:19:53 +0000 https://womensagenda.com.au/?p=59863 The Workplace Gender Equality Agency has announced its list of employers of choice for gender equality for 2022, naming 120 organisations.

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The Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) has announced its list of employers of choice for gender equality for 2022, naming 120 organisations who have received the citation, including 12 first time recipients.

The WGEA yellow tick is awarded to organisations that are driving progress towards gender equality for their employees and is awarded after a rigorous application process.

Employers with the citation are set apart from other organisation due to a range of factors, like have a lower gender pay gap, better paid parental leave policies, and more women on their boards.

According to WGEA’s data set, these employers have an average gender pay gap of 18.9 per cent compared to 23 per cent for other organisations, and 35 per cent have women on their boards compared to 28 per cent for others. They are more likely to have longer periods of paid parental leave with 14 weeks available on average, they pay superannuation to employees on employer-funded paid parental leave, and have more male managers taking up paid parental leave opportunities.

Director of the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, Mary Wooldridge said the agency’s employer of choice list is driven out of evidence-based assessment, highlighting those employers doing the most to drive change.

“Critically, these organisations are delivering on a formula that sees better support structures in place for working families; stronger actions to address pay inequalities; and strategic recruitment and promotion practices that help to encourage the full participation of women at work,” she said.

Wooldridge said research produced in partnership with the University of Queensland shows the approach is “paying clear dividends”.

“Our WGEA Employers of Choice are closing their pay gaps faster, have a higher proportion of women in management, a stronger pipeline of women moving into senior management, a higher representation of women on their Boards and a higher proportion of female employees working full-time than other employers,” she said.

“We extend our congratulations to these leading employers and look forward to working with them closely to help accelerate positive change across all Australian workplaces.”

See the employers included in this year’s list below.

OrganisationYears heldStateIndustryCitation year
AbbVie Pty Ltd4NSWWholesale Trade2021-23
Accenture7NSWManagement Advice and Related Consulting Services2021-23
AECOM Australia Pty Ltd10VICEngineering Design and Engineering Consulting Services 2021-23
Alcoa of Australia Limited21WAManufacturing2021-23
Allens18NSWLegal Services2021-23
Allianz Australia Services Pty Ltd14NSWFinancial and Insurance Services2021-23
Arcadis Australia Pacific Pty Ltd5QLDEngineering Design and Engineering Consulting Services2021-23
Arup Australia Services Pty Ltd14NSWEngineering Design and Engineering Consulting Services2020-22
AstraZeneca Pty Ltd1NSWManufacturing2020-22
ASX Limited11NSWFinancial and Insurance Services2020-22
Aurecon Australasia Pty Ltd7VICEngineering Design and Engineering Consulting Services2021-23
Australian Catholic University Limited12NSWHigher Education2021-23
AustralianSuper Pty Ltd11VICFinancial and Insurance Services2021-23
Avanade Australia Pty Ltd5NSWComputer System Design and Related Services2021-23
AwareSuper7NSWFinancial and Insurance Services2021-23
Bain and Co3NSWManagement Advice and Related Consulting Services2021-23
Baker McKenzie Australia13NSWLegal Services2021-23
Bank of Queensland Limited1QLDFinancial and Insurance Services2020-22
Baxter Healthcare Pty Ltd13NSWHealth Care and Social Assistance2021-23
BlackmoresNewNSWManufacturing2021-23
Boston Consulting Group4VICManagement Advice and Related Consulting Services2021-23
British American Tobacco AustraliaNewNSWCigarette and Tobacco Product Manufacturing2021-23
Carsales.com Limited8VICAdvertising Services2021-23
Challenger Limited5NSWFinancial and Insurance Services2021-23
Charles Sturt University4NSWHigher Education2021-23
Charter Hall1NSWOther Auxiliary Finance and Investment Services2020-22
Clayton Utz13NSWLegal Services2021-23
Clough Group2WAEngineering Design and Engineering Consulting Services2021-23
Corrs Chambers Westgarth16VICLegal Services2021-23
Daimler Truck and Bus Australia Pacific Pty Ltd4VICWholesale Trade2021-23
Deloitte Australia21NSWManagement Advice and Related Consulting Services2021-23
Dexus 5NSWRental, Hiring and Real Estates Services2021-23
Diageo Australia Ltd4NSWSpirit Manufacturing2021-23
DLA Piper9NSWLegal Services2021-23
EclipxNewVICFinancial and Insurance Services2021-23
FB RiceNewNSWLegal Services2021-23
Frasers Property4NSWRental, Hiring and Real Estates Services2021-23
Genworth8NSWFinancial and Insurance Services2021-23
GHD7VICEngineering Design and Engineering Consulting Services2020-22
Gilbert + Tobin13NSWLegal Services2021-23
Hall & Wilcox4VICLegal Services2021-23
Hatch Pty Ltd4QLDEngineering Design and Engineering Consulting Services2021-23
HESTA7VICFinancial and Insurance Services2021-23
Holding Redlich15VICLegal Services2021-23
IMB Bank1NSWFinancial and Insurance Services2020-22
Individual Empowerment Network Pty Ltd1QLDHealth Care and Social Assistance2020-22
ING Bank AustraliaNewNSWFinancial and Insurance Services2021-23
Investa Office Management Pty Ltd2NSWRental, Hiring and Real Estates Services2021-23
Jacobs Group (Australia) Pty Ltd8VICEngineering Design and Engineering Consulting Services2021-23
Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies in Australia 3NSWWholesale Trade2020-22
KearneyNewNSWManagement Advice and Related Consulting Services2021-23
Kellogg (Aust) Pty Ltd2NSWCereal, Pasta and Baking Mix Manufacturing2021-23
Kimberly-Clark Australia Pty LtdNew 2*NSWSanitary Paper Product Manufacturing2021-23
King & Wood Mallesons10NSWLegal Services2021-23
Laing O’Rourke Australia2NSWEngineering Design and Engineering Consulting Services2021-23
Landers & Rogers2VICLegal Services2021-23
Lion Pty Ltd5NSWBeer Manufacturing2021-23
L’Oreal Australia Pty Ltd4VICWholesale Trade2021-23
Macquarie University7NSWHigher Education2021-23
Maddocks18VICLegal Services2021-23
Maurice Blackburn Lawyers5VICLegal Services2021-23
Max Solutions Pty Ltd1QLDAdministrative and Support Services2020-22
McCullough Robertson Lawyers13QLDLegal Services2021-23
McInnes Wilson LawyersNewQLDLegal Services2021-23
McKinsey & Company7NSWManagement Advice and Related Consulting Services2021-23
Medibank7VICHealth Insurance2021-23
Medtronic Australia Pty LtdNew 5*NSWWholesale Trade2021-23
Mercedes – Benz Financial Services Australia Pty Ltd8VICFinancial and Insurance Services2021-23
Mercedes-Benz Australia/Pacific Pty Ltd8VICWholesale Trade2021-23
Mercer (Australia) Pty Ltd2VICFinancial and Insurance Services2021-23
Mercy Health15VICAged Care Residential Services2021-23
Merri Community Health Services Limited4VICOther Social Assistance Services2021-23
Metcash Trading Limited4NSWWholesale Trade2021-23
MinterEllison14NSWLegal Services2021-23
Monash IVF GroupNewNSWHealth Care and Social Assistance2021-23
Motorola Solutions Australia Pty Ltd6VICEngineering Design and Engineering Consulting Services2021-23
MSD10NSWWholesale Trade2021-23
Norman Disney & Young4VICEngineering Design and Engineering Consulting Services2021-23
Norton Rose Fulbright Australia12NSWLegal Services2021-23
Novotech (Australia) Pty Ltd2NSWScientific Research Services2021-23
ORIX Australia Corporation Limited2NSWOther Auxiliary Finance and Investment Services2021-23
PepsiCo Australia Holdings Pty Ltd12NSWPotato, Corn and Other Crisp Manufacturing2021-23
Pernod Ricard Winemakers Pty Ltd1SAWholesale Trade2020-22
Perpetual Limited7NSWOther Auxiliary Finance and Investment Services2021-23
Philips Electronics Australia Limited5NSWWholesale Trade2021-23
pitt&sherry1TASEngineering Design and Engineering Consulting Services2020-22
PwC Australia13VICManagement Advice and Related Consulting Services2021-23
Queensland Law Society1QLDLegal Services2020-22
RMIT University14VICHigher Education2021-23
Russell Kennedy Lawyers5VICLegal Services2021-23
Sanofi1NSWWholesale Trade2020-22
Seven West Media LimitedNewWAInformation, Media and Telecommunications2021-23
Smartgroup Corporation Ltd2NSWFinancial and Insurance Services2021-23
SMEC Australia Pty Ltd2VICEngineering Design and Engineering Consulting Services2021-23
Sparke Helmore Lawyers11NSWLegal Services2021-23
St Barbara Limited9VICMining2021-23
Stockland Development Pty Limited13NSWConstruction2021-23
Suncorp Group11QLDFinancial and Insurance Services2021-23
Super Retail Group Ltd2QLDRetail Trade2021-23
Tabcorp12VICArts and Recreations Services2021-23
TAL Dai-ichi Life Australia Pty Limited11NSWFinancial and Insurance Services2021-23
TEG Pty Ltd2NSWAdministrative and Support Services2021-23
Telstra Super Pty Ltd4VICFinancial and Insurance Services2021-23
The GPT Group5NSWRental, Hiring and Real Estates Services2021-23
The NRMA2NSWOther Services2020-22
The Star Entertainment GroupNew 2*QLDArts and Recreation2021-23
The Trustee for KPMG Australian Service Trust16NSWManagement Advice and Related Consulting Services2021-23
Thermo Fisher Scientific2VICWholesale Trade2021-23
Thoughtworks Australia Pty Ltd11VICComputer System Design and Related Services2021-23
Toyota Finance Australia4NSWFinancial and Insurance Services2021-23
Transurban Limited9VICConstruction2021-23
UBS AG18NSWFinancial and Insurance Services2021-23
Unilever Australia Limited5NSWWholesale Trade2021-23
UOW Global Enterprises20NSWHigher Education2021-23
Victoria University4VICHigher Education2021-23
Viva Energy Australia Pty Ltd5VICManufacturing2021-23
Western Sydney University20NSWHigher Education2021-23
Woolworths Group Limited1NSWRetail Trade2020-22
WSP Australia Pty Ltd4NSWEngineering Design and Engineering Consulting Services2021-23
YWCA Canberra11ACTOther Services2021-23

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Can we stop justifying gender pay gaps because women dominate care sectors? https://womensagenda.com.au/latest/on-justifying-gender-pay-gaps-because-women-dominate-care-sectors/ https://womensagenda.com.au/latest/on-justifying-gender-pay-gaps-because-women-dominate-care-sectors/#respond Mon, 14 Feb 2022 01:36:38 +0000 https://womensagenda.com.au/?p=59145 But women choose to work in lower paid sectors like health, education and childcare! They say, as if that makes a pay gap OK.

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It’s now been a few days since new data from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency was published, highlighting the average $25,800 less in total remuneration women took home than men in 2020-21 for full time work.

The data covers four million employees, around 40 per cent of Australia’s total labour force, across organsiations with more than 100 employees.

So the data’s pretty comprehensive in the story it tells.

Still, anyone reporting on this new data has by now already received some helpful advice as to why the gender pay gap doesn’t actually exist or (and this is worse) justification for why the gender pay gap does exist and is therefore not worth discussing.

The explanations have been rolling into our inboxes here at Women’s Agenda – where the emails straddle both extremes in terms of tone. On one side such emails can be blatantly abusive, on the other they can be aggressively polite.

These gender pay gap explainers or justifications may take the softer approach, such as that gender pay gaps are impossible because it’s illegal to pay women less. They’ll take the attempted logical approach: this research does not offer “role for role comparisons” (that’s not what this gap has measured not what WGEA claims to have presented). And then they’ll veer into their own reasons for gender pay gaps being OK: because lower-paid care sectors like early childhood education and nursing, are dominated by women.  

As if there’s nothing to see in the data, because these female-dominated industries are underpaid anyway. And, worse, they should be underpaid as they predominantly involve caring for or educating others.

Let’s leave aside for the moment, the fact WGEA has found that every one of the 19 industries in Australia has a gender pay gap in favour of men – including healthcare and social assistance. Sure, the gap’s narrower than others, like in construction.

But anyone who attempts to justify gender pay gaps off the idea that women are choosing to go into lower-paid professions has clearly not been paying attention the past couple of years.

These are the sectors that supported every other part of the economy these past couple of years. The educators who kept childcare centres open. The nurses who’ve run vaccination clinics, ICU units and have held the hands of dying COVID patients. The aged care workers who’ve supported older Australians through lockdowns.

If you’ve not personally been assisted by those who work in these sectors during the pandemic, you at least have a loved one who has.

These sectors also now happen to be those with employees who’re feeling burnt out, are looking for other options, and in some cases taking to the streets to demand better pay.

Despite those that continue to offer their explanations or justifications for the gender pay gap, a good number of employers are moving forward to do something about the gaps that exist in their businesses. WGEA reports that 42 per cent of employers have reduced their pay gaps since 2020.

Still, that leaves 37 per cent of employers where the gap has actually widened, and 21 per cent where it’s remained static.

Other positive news came in data we published earlier this week, finding that three in five employers are now offering paid parental leave.  

Meanwhile, female managers are on the rise: making up 41 per cent of all managers, up from 36 per cent in 2013. One in five CEOs across reporting entities are female, and one in three board members.

So there has been some, tiny, progress on the data covering two-fifths of the working population in Australia. Unfortunately, the gap could very well be worse across the rest of the population, given it would involve employees working across smaller businesses with less scrutiny over their equal opportunity and employment practices.

Other key stats from the data:

  • 51% of employers are now offering paid domestic violence leave, up from 12 per cent in 2015-16
  • Men twice as likely as women to be in the top earnings quartile, earning $129,000 and above
  • Women are are 50 per cent more likely than men to be in the bottom quartile, earning $60,000 and less
  • There’s a 14.4 per cent gender pay gap in health care and social assistance, despite the sector being dominated by women.
  • 22 per cent of board are still male-only
  • 74 per cent of boards are more than 60 per cent male  

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