Data shows putting effort into gender equality reduces pay gaps

Research has found that companies that make proactive steps towards gender equality in the workplace have recorded lower gender pay gaps.

The Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) found that organisations that have been awarded the Employer of Choice for Gender Equality (EOCGE) citation have recorded:

• Gender pay gaps of 17.4 per cent on average, which is 26 per cent lower than non-EOCGE certified employers
• More women in leadership positions: 37.2 per cent compared to 31 per cent
• Greater primary carer parental leave policy: 14.1 weeks compared to 11.2 weeks
• Male managers taking primary carer’s leave: 34 per cent compared to 18 per cent

“EOCGE employers have made gender equality an integral component of their business strategies and they’re seeing results,” commented WGEA director Mary Wooldridge.

To become EOCGE certified, an employer must take on a zero-tolerance policy towards gendered discrimination and sexual harassment.

“With the upcoming legislative reforms requiring WGEA to publish employer gender pay gaps, the results of this new analysis show that with intentional leadership and a commitment to gender equality, an employer can reduce their gender pay gap for the benefit of all their employees,” explained Ms Wooldridge.

“Critically, EOCGE employers are delivering an approach that results in better support structures in place for working families; stronger actions to address pay inequalities; and strategic recruitment, promotion and retention practices that encourage the full participation of women at work.”

The research was conducted between 2014 and 2019 in partnership with the University of Queensland.

According to a statement from WGEA, the report “found that citation holders were seeing a faster reduction in their gender pay gaps, have a higher proportion of women in management and a stronger pipeline of women moving into senior management”.

Ms Wooldridge continued: “Through the application process, CEOs told us that being an employer of choice continues to expose their blind spots, that it’s a good framework that challenges and drives them to continually improve and keeps them focused on their gender equality objectives.”

“In many cases, CEOs admit they wish they hadn’t waited to address gender equality in their workplace, with one leader telling us: ‘once you go down this path and see the benefits, you wish you had started earlier’.

“EOCGEs are proving that enlightened employers can reap benefits to employee satisfaction, productivity and profitability with innovative actions to improve gender equality at all levels of the organisation.”

WGEA has been reporting continued improvements to gender equality in the workplace. Recent data published found that the gender pay gap had dropped to 13.3 per cent.

Increased attention from the government may be playing a role in the turnaround, as the Workplace Gender Equality Amendment (Closing the Gender Pay Gap) Bill 2023 was recently introduced to Parliament.