Written by Alasdair Pal and Christine Chen
SYDNEY (Reuters) – A recent government report in Australia has shed light on the ongoing issue of gender pay inequality, revealing a slight narrowing of the gap. However, women continue to earn nearly one-fifth less than men, with significant disparities persisting in industries such as finance, mining, and construction.
The latest survey conducted by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency unveiled that 72.2% of employers exhibited a gender pay gap favoring men, while 21.3% fell within the target range of +/-5%. The remaining organizations showed a pay gap in favor of women. The median pay gap for the year ending in March 2024 stood at 18.6% in favor of men, a marginal improvement from the previous year’s 19%. Encouragingly, 56% of companies managed to reduce their pay gaps during this period.
Mary Wooldridge, the Chief Executive of the agency, emphasized, “Where an employer’s gender pay gap extends beyond the target range of +/-5%, it indicates a disparity in representation of genders in higher paying roles.”
Notable large listed companies with significant pay gaps favoring men included Macquarie Group, the top investment bank, with a gap of 41.8%, and Woodside, a gas producer, with a gap of 25.6%. Woodside demonstrated progress from its previous year’s 30.2%, while Macquarie’s data was not previously compiled. These substantial gaps persist despite both companies having female chief executives.
In response to inquiries about the gap, Macquarie CEO Shemara Wikramanayake highlighted the firm’s commitment to not rushing female employees into senior positions prematurely. She expressed, “It’s important to allow progress to happen naturally rather than pushing for immediate change.”
Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill acknowledged that achieving gender balance in the workforce would require time. She stated, “Given the size of our workforce, it will take time for women to advance to more senior roles.”
Thomson Reuters (Professional) Australia, the local subsidiary of Reuters’ parent company, reported a median pay gap of 25% favoring men, reflecting a 3.5 percentage point improvement from the previous year. A spokesperson for Thomson Reuters attributed the gap to a gender imbalance across different levels within the organization.
Australia took a significant step in addressing the issue by passing legislation in 2023 that mandates the reporting of gender pay gaps for companies with over 100 employees, aligning with other nations like the United Kingdom with similar mandatory reporting requirements.
(Reporting by Alasdair Pal and Christine Chen in Sydney; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
