Australia Releases New Gender Pay Gap Data

New Australian pay data indicates that 62% of employer gender pay gaps are over 5% and favor men, impacting many U.S. multinationals.   

HR Policy Global’s take: Publication of individual company results increases reputation risks for companies operating in Australia and could further push actions to address gender inequality.  

The big picture: Prior to 2024, Australia’s Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) published aggregated pay information and provided analysis based on industry and occupation. The Agency released the gender pay gaps of more than 5,000 private sector companies, with individual company data accessible through the WGEA Data Explorer.  The data includes Australian, multinational and non-Australian headquartered organizations employing over 100 people in Australia. 

Significant variations exist across industries. While the average Total Remuneration Gender Pay Gap was 21.7%, the male dominated Construction industry (78M/22F) showed a median pay gap of 31.8%. This contrasted with the mixed gender Accommodation and Food industry (52M/48F) gap of 1.9%. On a positive note, more than a third of all companies reported gender pay gaps of less than 5% - the benchmark for gender pay parity.  

The release of gender pay data has led to a flurry of media coverage.  Of particular note is the negative brand impact for companies targeting women as consumers or employees – and failing to meet the 5% gap benchmark. 

Recommended Actions: 

• Familiarize yourself with the Gender Equality Scorecard – a comprehensive report on all aspects of gender equality in Australian organizations.
  
  
• Review your company’s results (where applicable) through the WGEA Data Explorer, and understand the actions needed for any improvement.
  
  
• Consider attending the WGEA Gender Equality virtual classes to build your understanding of the organizational factors impacting gender equity.

Australia follows in the footsteps of the UK, Brazil, and Japan among other nations. In addition, the stringent EU Pay Transparency Directive will be implemented in two years. These new requirements impose an unprecedented level of compliance and reputation risk on multinational employers.