Evaluating Gender Equality in Australian Companies: A Comprehensive Analysis
Small businesses and heavy industries experienced significant pay discrepancies between male and female workers.
Analysis
Women are earning 21.7 percent less than men, making 78 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts, according to figures from the latest survey conducted by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency.
Despite comprising 51 percent of the total workforce, women hold only 21 percent of CEO positions and 37 percent of senior management roles. At the highest level, women make up 19 percent of board chairs and 34 percent of board members.
Although 25 percent of boards met the criteria for gender balance, with 79 percent having formal gender equity policies, and 55 percent having policies that apply to the board as well, only 31 percent of businesses consulted with employees on gender equity matters.
Small Employers Face Larger Pay Gaps
Among small employers (those with less than 250 employees), only 31 percent have achieved gender pay equity, with larger businesses performing better overall. Fifty-one percent of businesses with 1,000 to 4,999 employees reached the target, while 60 percent of those with over 5,000 employees achieved it.
| Sector | Average total remuneration gender pay gap (percent) |
| Accommodation and food | 6.4 |
| Administrative and support services | 13.0 |
| Agriculture, forestry and fishing | 16.9 |
| Arts and recreation | 12.0 |
| Construction | 28.3 |
| Education and training | 7.5 |
| Electricity, gas and waste services | 14.8 |
| Financial and insurance services | 26.2 |
| Health care and social assistance | 13.0 |
| Information media and telecommunications | 19.5 |
| Manufacturing | 12.7 |
| Mining | 12.7 |
| Other services | 16.0 |
| Professional, scientific and technical services | 22.8 |
| Public administration and safety | 15.9 |
| Rental, hiring and real estate services | 23.1 |
| Retail trade | 13.7 |
| Transport, postal and warehousing | 20.0 |
| Wholesale trade | 14.2 |
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Very few employers achieved complete gender pay equity, however, some notable exceptions included AHG Group, wherein there was no difference in wages between genders, and Louis Vuitton, which had a minor gap of 0.8 percent.
The YWCA and Village Cinemas paid their predominantly female workforce 3.5 percent more than their male counterparts, while larger retailers like 7-11 and The Reject Shop had minimal pay gaps between male and female employees.
Hospitality companies like Accor and Target also showed limited discrepancies in their pay structures, while supermarket giants had slightly larger gaps in pay between genders.
In heavy industries, businesses like ABC Paper, Alcoa, Allen and Unwin, and Aecom had notable pay differentials between male and female workers.
There were also significant discrepancies in pay among sports organizations like the Adelaide Football Club and Titans Rugby League, along with Indigenous-owned businesses like the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Health Service and the NSW Aboriginal Legal Service.
Popular social media companies like Tiktok, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, and Uber also displayed discrepancies in pay between male and female employees.
Overall, the gender pay gap continues to persist across various industries and sectors, highlighting the ongoing importance of gender equity in the workforce.
The data presented here is sourced from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency and represents only a selection of businesses chosen for comparison purposes.
