top of page

Is your business ready for the new gender pay gap reporting?

Writer's picture: Rachel HowardRachel Howard

International Women’s Day will look quite different 12 months from now. The Closing the Gender Pay Gap bill currently before Parliament will rapidly change public expectations and perceptions of your organisation.


In 2024, newly published gender pay gaps will shine a light on gender inequality in organisations, particularly at senior levels. Are you ready for the changes? Let Equal Workplaces help.


What does the legislation mean for your business?

Here’s a quick recap on the legislation for those who missed it. From 2024, the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) will publish gender pay gaps of employers with 100+ workers.


While public gender pay gap reporting has previously focussed on industry trends, the legislation currently before Parliament will significantly increase public accountability by publishing your organisation’s specific gender pay gap on the WGEA website.


Your 2024 gender pay gap will be based on the reporting period to 31 March 2023 and you will have an opportunity to provide a statement outlining your actions to address the gender pay gap.


What is the gender pay gap?

The gender pay gap is sometimes misunderstood as equal pay for equal work. That is not the case. WGEA defines the gender pay gap as “the difference between the average earnings for men and women, expressed as a percentage of men's average earnings.” (1)


This means that organisations with predominantly male senior management teams (earning high salaries) but with more women in junior or administrative roles (earning lower salaries) will demonstrate a gender pay gap.


What should I expect?

There is no doubt that employers will need to continue watching this space very closely, especially if developments in the United Kingdom are anything to go by. Since 2017, the UK government has required organisations to report annually on their gender pay gaps.


Frustrated by platitudes, sentiments and inaction, a freelance copywriter and software consultant in the UK developed the Gender Pay Gap Bot. The Bot automatically responds to International Women’s Day tweets by posting the relevant company’s gender pay gap.


The Gender Pay Gap Bot organisers explained, “It’s all publicly available data - but too few people knew about it, and even fewer companies were acting on it. So we used it to provide a neutral, factual counterpoint to emotion-led International Women’s Day social media posts”. (2)


Is it only about the gender pay gap?

The reality is that Gender Pay Gap legislation is just the beginning.


At last year’s Jobs and Skills Summit the Government resolved to “Strengthen existing reporting standards to require employers with 500 or more employees to commit to measurable targets to improve gender equality in their workplaces”. (3) The timing for this measure is currently unknown.


Further measures may also be included in the National Strategy to Achieve Gender Equality. The Strategy was originally set for the first half of the year but is now expected in the second half of 2023.


What happens if a business does not comply with WGEA?

If an employer fails to comply with WGEA, then WGEA may name the employer in reports to the Minister, in published reports on their website, or in the media.


It is also important to note that employers must provide a WGEA letter of compliance in order to be considered for Australian Government procurement contracts.


Now is the time for organisations to get their houses in order, preempt possible fallout and prioritise the challenge of improving gender equality, particularly at senior levels.


 
Are you ready? Let Equal Workplaces help.

Equal Workplaces will work alongside you to help identify, create and track actionable steps to achieve gender equality in a way that matters to the women you employ, as well as your critical stakeholders.


Equal Workplaces can help you: analyse your current gender equality status; understand your existing talent and their potential; and action meaningful gender equality strategies that make a difference in your organisation.


We offer a high calibre, multidisciplinary team that places a media, reputation-management and stakeholder-relations lens on an issue that usually resides with People and Culture.


Make 2023 the year where you proactively develop actionable and impactful gender equality strategies. Don’t let reputation damage in 2024 and beyond hamper your capacity to address this challenge.

This is not tick-and-flick. This is real change, in real time.

And you need to start now.



Follow us on LinkedIn

 

Are you ready? Let Equal Workplaces help.

© 2023 Equal Workplaces.  All rights reserved.  ACN 665 426 264. 

bottom of page