On the 27th February, Australians will find out the gender pay gaps that exist in companies with 100 or more employees.
The Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) will publish the median gender pay gaps of organisations, expressed as the percentage difference between women’s and men’s earnings. It may come as a rude shock for some companies, especially for those with a high concentration of men employed in senior leadership roles and women in lower paid, “pink collar” roles.
The move will be a powerful catalyst for change on workplace gender equality, and comes as a result of amendments made to the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012, which was passed in federal parliament in March 2023.
Katriina Tähkä, Managing Director of Cultivate Sponsorship, who has spent years of her career working to help improve outcomes for women in organisations, says the transparency that will come as a result of publicly disclosing gender pay gaps, is a total game-changer.