Gender pay gap bill passes in Parliament

Legislation that will require Australian employers to disclose their gender pay gap has passed in Federal Parliament.

The Workplace Gender Equality Amendment (Closing the Gender Pay Gap) Bill 2023 passed in Federal Parliament today (30 March). The legislation will require businesses with over 100 employees to disclose their gender pay gap to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) from 2024. The legislation affects private sector and Commonwealth public sector employers, seeing it cover approximately 40 per cent of the nation’s workforce.

The legislation, which was first put forward in February, is designed to encourage employers to help close Australia’s gender pay gap, which currently sits at 13.3 per cent.

“Women have waited long enough for the pay gap to close – let’s not wait another quarter of a century. On average, women working full-time can expect to earn 14.1 per cent less than men per week in their pay packets,” commented Minister for Women Katy Gallagher during the February announcement.

“The gender pay gap is also holding our economy back with $51.8 billion a year lost when it comes to women’s pay. On current projections, it will take another 26 years to close the gender pay gap. The bill will also reduce red tape for businesses, making it easier to report.”

WGEA chief executive Mary Wooldridge welcomed the passing of the bill while acknowledging the leadership of Minister Gallagher in delivering these “crucial reforms”.

“For the first time, from 2024, employees will have access to the key indicator of how their organisation is performing on gender equality,” Ms Wooldridge said.

“Employees and prospective employees are placing high value on jobs that support gender equality. Publishing employer gender pay gaps will provide deeper insights on their employer’s progress, while jobseekers can get a clearer indication of a prospective employer’s commitment to ensuring the contributions of all employees are equally valued and rewarded.

“This is also an opportunity for employers who may have been slow to prioritise gender equality to get serious about change.”

Ms Wooldridge noted that international research shows that publishing employer pay gaps can be a powerful motivation for companies to prioritise gender equality and to lower their gender pay gaps – flagging the UK as a prime example.

“In the UK, the approach has already motivated employers to substantially narrow the wage gap between men and women,” she said, noting “a key aim of publishing gender pay gaps is to help employers show improvement over time”.

“That is why an essential part of the legislative reforms is to give employers the option to provide a statement that gives context to their gender pay gap results and outlines their plans for action.

“WGEA will continue to actively support all reporting employers to make progress on gender equality in Australian workplaces as these reforms are implemented,” she said.