Closing the gender pay gap remains a key priority in Australia. This disparity is particularly evident in high-earning sectors such as finance, construction and mining. Recent data released by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency indicates that we’ve started to move the needle. Yet despite this progress, large gaps remain.
About the Author
Donia Abdel-Mageed is principal talent management specialist at a Fortune 100 medical technology company. She’s insistent that developing career pathways for women is key to closing both of these gaps.
That collective voice, calling for reform at every level, is necessary to make systemic change. So Abdel-Mageed highlights the power of that collective voice. “I feel that I’m really privileged to be the byproduct of leaders throughout my career who have advocated for me, who have allowed me to be in rooms where I wasn’t quite ready for, to develop and grow,” she states. Her dedication to leadership is her path to service and change-making through her industry.
This is welcomed by Katy Gallagher, the Australian Minister for Women, as recognition that we are moving in the right direction. She acknowledges that’s just the beginning of our journey. She notes, “I think there’d probably be plenty of views it’s not happening fast enough but we are seeing consistent change in the right direction with the publication of each one of these reports.” Gallagher’s leadership role allows her to advocate for women’s advancement in the workplace.
The data collated by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency is underpinned by 10,500 Australian companies employing close to six million Australian workers. Mary Wooldridge, the agency’s CEO, brings us buoyant news. A higher proportion of employers are successfully reaching the target range for gender pay equality than last year. She cautions that the national midpoint indicates 50 percent of employers still have a pay gap of 11.2 percent.
Wooldridge cautions that the crisis is by no means over. “That women still dominate the lowest-paying roles should offer a reality check for anyone who thinks that Australia has already achieved equality at work,” she states. Moreover, she argues that there is not a single answer – a magic bullet – to solve these gaps. “What every workplace needs to do is do the analysis to understand what’s driving their gender pay gap,” she advises.
Steven Asnicar, Managing Director of Diversity Australia, highlights the economic impact of the gender pay gap. He reveals that it costs approximately $1.27 billion per week in lost tax revenue due to unequal pay for equal work. The economic cost makes clear just how important it is to focus on the harms in this way.
Even so, these barriers can’t overshadow the well-established momentum of women now occupying leadership roles, which has recently surpassed 45 percent. Abdel-Mageed feels proud of this achievement and emphasizes the importance of advocacy. “The one thing that I really hope that those that are starting on their journey can do is to advocate for themselves as early as possible,” she encourages. By giving women the confidence to own their career narrative and journey, she knows that change can happen faster.
