Private sector gender gaps set to be released on 4 March

The Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) has recently announced it will publish the next set of Australian private sector gender pay gaps on 4 March 2025.

WGEA has set a date for its next release of the Australian private sector’s employer gender pay gaps. On 4 March, 9,200 private sector employers will have their 2023–24 gender pay gaps displayed and published on the agency’s website.

Recent legislative changes have ensured that WGEA’s second release of this data will include a more detailed view of the state of gender equality in the private sector. This time, CEO remuneration will be in employer gender pay gap calculations.

Alongside that, the data will display employer gender pay gaps by median for total remuneration and base salary and the gender composition of the workforce by pay quartile.

“In Australia, we have a strong sense of fairness and the right to a fair go, but a national gender pay gap of 21.8 per cent means women earn, on average, just 78 cents for every $1 men earn,” said WGEA chief executive officer Mary Wooldridge.

“The gender pay gap limits women’s ability to meet costs of essentials like groceries, fuel or rent or the ongoing costs of children’s education. This financial pressure has a flow-on effect.”

“With less money left over after paying for daily essentials, a woman’s ability to build long-term financial security for themselves and their family is reduced. They also have less money to put aside extra savings to invest for retirement, but we know that women, on average, live longer than men.”

Woolridge believes the data puts the onus on employers to be catalysts for change, creating equal environments regardless of gender.

“Employers are in a unique position to take action to create environments where all people are fairly represented and equally valued and rewarded in the workplace,” she said.

According to WGEA, the data published will be from the 2023–24 period, representing employer gender pay gaps for corporate groups, subsidiaries of corporate groups and standalone employers, where each organisation has 100 or more employees.

WGEA believes that compared to the previous publication of this data, this next release will represent a far more comprehensive outlook on the private sector gender pay gaps.