Women workers prepared to leave if their company has a gender pay gap

“Oh no, it’s the consequences of my own actions,” is what a number of companies will be saying to themselves if their women workers decide to leave based on discovering a gender pay gap.

The Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) has begun publishing the gender pay gaps in private sector organisations with more than 100 employees. This information will inform employees and the public of what’s going on behind the scenes through the pay books and could have interesting findings, with strong consequences.

According to a HiBob report, over half (61 per cent) of Australian women would consider leaving their job if they find out their organisation has a gender pay gap – regardless of how big the gap is. Thirty-six per cent of men were also willing to leave their company if the gender pay gap exists, signalling a growing sense of solidarity and shared concerns regarding pay disputes.

This release of the gender pay gap looks to be the straw that will break the camel’s back for many women in the workplace, with fewer women (36 per cent) compared to men (55 per cent) saying that their organisations are doing enough to close the gap. Meanwhile, a third of women (31 per cent) go as far as to say that their organisation will never prioritise closing the gap, partaking in somewhat of an act of self-destruction in terms of retaining women workers.

On the other side of this, a thing that would encourage women to consider a new job at a new company is pay, which has skyrocketed to the top of the list of reasons, with 78 per cent saying they’d consider a new job for more money (up 36 per cent since last year). Healthy company culture is high on the priorities list (43 per cent), with flexible work models just behind (42 per cent).

Nirit Peled-Muntz, chief people officer at HiBob, said: “Pay is the foundation of the relationship between employees and employers – and if there’s a gap between genders, nothing damages that relationship more.”

The organisations that do have a gender pay gap will be ostracised by their employees and perhaps the public. However, Ms Peled-Muntz believes that organisations could indirectly be perpetuating this indiscretion.

“I don’t believe organisations deliberately set out to pay one gender more than another, but we do have a problem in Australia, and it’s something organisations need to prioritise fixing. Because not only is pay equality fair, it helps improve profitability,” Ms Peled-Muntz said.

“Research by McKinsey says that companies with the highest levels of gender and ethnic diversity are 15 per cent and 35 per cent more likely, respectively, to have financial returns above their industry’s average.”

As for possible solutions to this ongoing issue, 83 per cent of women said that organisations should conduct annual pay equality audits, and a further 84 per cent said that organisations should conduct performance and promotion audits annually to ensure they’re being done fairly.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is a practice that is becoming more prominent in the workplace. Eighty-four per cent of women would like to see those principles applied towards things like leadership and business values so that it creates an inclusive culture.

“Fixing the gender pay gap is the big ‘people challenge’ of our time, but an organisation can’t fix it if it doesn’t have the right employee remuneration data easily to hand. Getting that information is key to understanding why a gender pay gap exists within an organisation so you can take steps to rectify it,” concluded Ms Peled-Muntz.

Pay is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to disparities that Australian women face in the workplace. Forty per cent of women believe that men are promoted more often or at a faster rate than women within their company (compared with 18 per cent of men who think this), indicating a huge disconnect in perceptions between genders. One in four women (26 per cent) said that a colleague has made them feel uncomfortable or less qualified in the workplace based on their gender.

These issues should be focused on by organisations with a much more concerted effort. The buck shouldn’t stop at pay alone, especially when a wide range of issues are taking place in workplaces across Australia that are negatively affecting women. What may arise from the release is accountability, which is vital to push forward towards a progressive, inclusive and equal pathway.