Officially, men are paid more than women in many of the country’s major companies, including banks, retail stores, law firms and mining, but what is being done to address this? I wonder if there is one?
The latest gender pay gap report reveals that women earn an average of $18,000 less per year than men.
For the first time, many workers can now see what the gender pay gap in the workplace looks like, but it can be difficult to read.
The report, released yesterday by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA), shows there is a gender pay gap across all sectors in Australia, and it is worse in industries that rely on bonus schemes and overtime.
How is the gender pay gap calculated?
Australian companies with 100 or more employees are now required by law to publish the gender pay gap between their male and female employees.
The gender pay gap is calculated by calculating the difference between the median wages of men and women within the same company.
This figure is expressed as a percentage of a man’s income, and salary can be defined as base salary or gross salary.
Part-time and temporary pay will be converted to equivalent full-time annual pay.
Because it uses the median rather than the average, it is not biased by extreme values.
What can be done to address the gender pay gap in the workplace?
Many companies now plan to hold information sessions for employees about the gender pay gap over the next month, and experts say employers should ask an organization to do this if they don’t already have one. Says.
Gemma Lloyd spent 10 years in the tech industry and founded Work180, a recruitment platform that pre-screens employers to ensure women’s careers are supported.
She said the onus is on the employer, not the worker, but it’s a good time to start a conversation with your boss.
“I scheduled a meeting with the human resources department and said, ‘I know there’s this big pay gap, and I’d love to know what steps this organization is taking to close that gender gap.’ I’m going to say it,” Lloyd said. .
“If HR doesn’t have an answer, as a woman in that workplace, I would be concerned and I would probably say, ‘Is there a strategy to close the pay gap?'”
“It can be a difficult conversation to have, but it’s certainly a valuable one.”
What if an employer doesn’t disclose the gender pay gap?
Currently, companies with fewer than 100 employees are not required to disclose their gender pay gap.
But Kristen Hilton, convenor of the Champions of Change Coalition, a group of business and community leaders working to increase women’s representation in leadership, says she wants to talk to her boss and help companies measure the gap. He said it was reasonable to ask if he had done something.
“You can ask if you’re being paid equally and if you’re entitled to overtime equally,” she says.
“Employers are often unaware that their systems and structures are unequal, promoting some people and holding others back.”
Ms Hilton, who is also a former Victorian human rights commissioner, said there were examples of gendered remuneration across industries, including retail.
“Is it because women don’t want to work overtime, or because their caring responsibilities prevent them from working overtime or paying bonuses?” she said.
Paypacket is no longer a secret
Corinna Dowling, an employment law expert at Barry Nilsson, said the increased visibility of the gender pay gap, coupled with recent changes to pay secrecy rules, meant that workers were no longer aware of where they actually wanted to work. This means being able to make informed decisions about
“These two particular changes will no doubt cause debate among individual employees and subsequent questions for employers,” she said.
“In a tight labor market, some employees may look at this data and decide where they want to work based on the gender pay gap.”
Ms Dowling said the gender pay gap could worsen as employers encourage staff to return to the office.
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“Some of these employers are offering higher salaries to people who are willing to come into the office.
“This could have implications for a scenario where women who prefer the flexibility of working from home are again unfairly disadvantaged, and where the gender pay gap exists, it will be exacerbated.” It will be.”
Message to employers
Gemma Lloyd said there were lessons to be learned from the UK, which has required companies to report on gender pay gaps since 2017.
“One of the worst things I’ve seen in the UK is a letter from a CEO very defensive of the pay gap, making excuses as to why the pay gap exists and acknowledging that it’s legitimate. That’s not true.
“That’s a big red flag for me,” she said.
“Either take this seriously or be prepared to lose a lot of talented employees because the market is so competitive.
“The power of choice is in the hands of women, and they will be able to see what you are doing and what you are not doing,” she said.
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