Australian women earn nearly $30,000 less than men a year, the governments latest pay gap report finds

Original article by Kate Lyons, Eelemarni Close-Brown
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 4-Mar-25

Data from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency shows that the gender pay gap narrowed at 56 per cent of employers in the year to March 2024. However, the data indicates that the gender pay gap at 72.2 per cent of employers still favours male workers, while just 6.5 per cent have a pay gap that favours women; some 21.3% of employers have a neutral gender pay gap, whereby the difference in wages for male and female workers is no more than five per cent. Meanwhile, the gender pay gap is largest in male-dominated industries such as construction and financial services.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. WORKPLACE GENDER EQUALITY AGENCY

Finance sector has gender balance – except the pay gap

Original article by Helen Trinca
The Australian – Page: 15 : 4-Mar-25

The Workplace Gender Equality Agency’s latest annual report shows that women now comprise 53 per cent of workers in Australia’s banking, finance and insurance sector. However, the report notes that the gender pay gap in this sector is 22.3 per cent, compared with the national pay gap of 12.1 per cent. The average gender pay gap for the nation’s four major banks ranges from 18.8 per cent to 22.4 per cent; in contrast the average pay gap at Morgan Stanley is 58.6 per cent, although its base salary gap is just 37.3 per cent. Meanwhile, women comprise just 36 per cent of the top remuneration quartile in the financial services industry, and predominantly work in roles that have lower pay.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. WORKPLACE GENDER EQUALITY AGENCY

Female-focused businesses among worst for pay equity

Original article by Jenna Clarke, Sarah Ison
The Australian – Page: 5 : 28-Feb-24

The Workplace Gender Equality Agency’s landmark report shows that there is a significant gender pay gap at some companies whose products are primarily targeted at women. The report shows that the national median gender pay gap is 14 per cent; however, the gender pay gap is 44.5 per cent at bikini brand Seafolly and 36.3 per cent at female-focused activewear label Lorna Jane. Likewise, the gender pay gap at jewellery retailer Lovisa is 26.4 per cent. Deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley says it is unacceptable that some big-name brands make profits off the products they market to women while not having pay parity in their own workforces.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. WORKPLACE GENDER EQUALITY AGENCY, SEAFOLLY, LORNA JANE EXERCISE WEAR PTY LTD, LOVISA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX LOV, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Named: the big businesses with (very) large gender pay gaps

Original article by Helen Trinca
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 27-Feb-24

Landmark data from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency shows that the national total median remuneration gender pay gap is 19 per cent across private sector businesses with more than 100 employees. The base salary gap is in turn 14.5 per cent. However, the gender pay gap is more than 50 per cent at 37 companies, while women are paid 40-50 per cent less than their male colleagues at 107 companies. The data shows that Macquarie Group, Telstra and Woodside Energy are among the large companies that have a significant gender pay gap. WGEA CEO Mary Wooldridge says employers ignore gender gaps at their peril, while Minister for Women Katy Gallagher says the gender pay gap costs the economy $51.8bn a year. The WGEA’s gender pay gap data in 2025 will include public sector employers.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. WORKPLACE GENDER EQUALITY AGENCY, MACQUARIE ADVANCED INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, WOODSIDE ENERGY GROUP LIMITED – ASX WDS

Women’s Leadership a key factor as Roy Morgan aces the first Workplace Gender Equality Agency gender pay gap test

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 27-Feb-24

Roy Morgan has aced the Workplace Gender Equality Agency’s first ‘gender pay gap’ test with a ‘median total remuneration gender pay gap’ of 0.0% in 2022-23, compared to the industry comparison group average of 29.3% – an outperformance of 29.3% points in favour of Roy Morgan. The ‘median base salary gender pay gap’ is also at 0.0%, compared to an industry average of 27.3%. Even more impressively, Roy Morgan’s ‘gender pay gap’ has remained at 0.0% for a third consecutive year, both for median total remuneration and median base salary. Roy Morgan understands the immense value women bring to a company in leadership roles and strives to bring talented women into the company and on pathways to managerial and executive leadership roles. This policy is succeeding and in 2022-23 Roy Morgan has an even spread of managers by gender, with nine women and nine men filling these 18 managerial roles – a 50:50 split. Roy Morgan’s board also outperforms the industry comparison when it comes to representation of women. Women comprise a clear majority of 67% of Roy Morgan’s board – more than double the average of our industry peers at only 32%.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. WORKPLACE GENDER EQUALITY AGENCY

Wage war on pay gap

Original article by Ellen Ransley
Herald Sun – Page: 7 : 8-Mar-23

The Australia Institute has released the findings of research which concludes that the gender pay gap means that on average, women on median earnings will be $1.01m worse off over their working lives. The research, which has been released to coincide with International Women’s Day, also shows that women retire with $136,000 less in superannuation than male workers. Eliza Littleton from the Australia Institute’s Centre of Future Work says the gender pay gap costs women more than $3bn across the economy every week. Official data shows that the gender pay gap is currently about 13.3 per cent.

CORPORATES
THE AUSTRALIA INSTITUTE LIMITED. CENTRE FOR FUTURE WORK

Eighty years ago Roy Morgan’s first "Gallup Poll" asked Australians about Equal pay for men and women

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 6-Oct-21

Australia’s first "Gallup Poll" was conducted by Roy Morgan, the founder of Roy Morgan Research, on ‘equal pay for men and women’ eighty years ago. Interviewing for the survey began on September 15, 1941 and on October 4, 1941 the first finding was released showing that 59% of Australians agreed with equal pay for men and women. The survey in 1941 was conducted as women were increasingly active in the workforce of the war-time economy. At the time there were clear differences in response to the question based on personal circumstances; only 35% of the ‘well-to-do’ favoured equal pay, compared to 53% of people ‘comfortably off’, 63% of ‘artisans’ and 68% of ‘the poor’. There was little difference based on where people live, with 58% of Australians living in Capital Cities in favour of equal pay for men and women, 56% of those living in Rural areas and 61% of people living in Other cities and towns. Two out of three Labor supporters (66%) voted in favour of equal pay, compared to 52% of supporters of other parties. Sixty-seven years later in May 2008, a Morgan Poll found that a nearly unanimous 98% of Australians believed in equal pay for women.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

$25k gap shows gender pay parity a distant dream

Original article by Stephen Lunn
The Australian – Page: 2 : 19-Nov-19

New data from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency shows that the gender pay gap has narrowed by 0.5 per cent in 2019, to 20.8 per cent. Meanwhile, the agency’s latest gender equality scorecard shows that more than 50 per cent of employers have yet to introduce employer-funded paid parental leave, while the proportion of female CEOs remains unchanged at 17.1 per cent. However, WGEA director Libby Lyons notes that more employers are now offering paid domestic violence leave.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. WORKPLACE GENDER EQUALITY AGENCY

Matildas have AFLW to thank for pay parity

Original article by Michael Bailey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 7-Nov-19

Deakin University’s Professor David Shilbury says the success of the women’s Australian Football League was a major driver of the pay-parity deal for the national women’s soccer team. He notes that negotiations over new pay deals for female cricketers and soccer players only made progress following the AFLW’s launch in 2017, which provided those sports with competition for female athletes.

CORPORATES
DEAKIN UNIVERSITY, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, AFLW, FOOTBALL FEDERATION AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MATILDAS, SOCCEROOS, CRICKET AUSTRALIA

Pay gap worsens for women barristers

Original article by Michael Pelly
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 33 : 11-Oct-19

Female barristers received 25 per cent of reported briefs in 2017-18, according to the Law Council, but only 17 per cent of the value of those briefs. This is according to a report to be released by the Council on 11 October, with the eight per cent gap between the number of briefs and their value up from five per cent in the previous financial year. The Law Council adopted an equitable briefing policy in 2016, setting a target of 30 per cent of briefs for women and at least 30 per cent of the value of brief fees by 2020.

CORPORATES
LAW COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA