The Workplace Gender Equality Agency has issued advice about new pay transparency laws that will reveal private sector company gender pay gaps. BPW Adelaide submitted a resolution to the 2018 BPWA National Conference on pay transparency, which was passed. A policy statement was developed and our then President and Director of Policy took it to all political parties prior to the 2022 federal election. The new government outlawed pay secrecy contracts and has gone on to make pay gaps transparent too.
WGEA has published the gender pay gaps for Australian private sector employers with 100 or more employees, as a result of amendments made to the Workplace Gender Equality Actin March 2023. Making gender pay gaps public provides a deeper understanding of workplace gender equality in Australia and is an important step towards accelerating employer action on workplace gender equality.
What has been published?
WGEA has published median base salary and total remuneration employer gender pay gaps as well as the gender composition per pay quartile. To view employer gender pay gaps visit WGEA’s Data Explorer and search by organisation. This is also where you’ll be able to access a link to Employer Statements, if the employer has chosen to publish one. You can also learn more on our interactive webpage and in our Employer Gender Pay Gap Snapshot.
Why is this important?
Publishing gender pay gaps and the other legislative reforms have been designed to encourage employers to deploy and drive workplace policies, practices and environments that support gender equality, creating meaningful shifts in Australian workplaces.
What happened in the United Kingdom after employer gender pay gaps were published?
In the UK employers with 250 or more employees have been required to calculate and publish their gender pay gaps since 2017. Research indicates that this initiative has brought attention and action to gender inequality both within organisations and at board level and motivated some employers to narrow their gender pay gaps. Read more.
