There are positive signs that the battle to close the gender pay gap is finally paying off, thanks to new transparency requirements introduced by the Albanese Federal Government.
In the last 12 months, the total remuneration gender pay gap in the finance sector dropped 4% per cent. That compares to a drop of just 4.6% in the previous five years combined.
It bodes well for the government’s plan to increase transparency further, with proposed legislation to require businesses with 500+ employees to set measurable targets for closing their gender pay gap.
The Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) senate committee recently released its report on this Bill. Encouragingly, most of the report’s recommendations are in line with recommendations made by the FSU in our recent submission, including that WGEA consult unions when developing guidance materials for reporting entities on target selection and compliance.
Speaking at the public hearing into the government’s proposed legislation, FSU National Secretary Julia Angrisano said shining a light on the gender pay gap – something that is now finally happening thanks to the Albanese government’s focus on gender equality – is having real-world impacts.
“As an example, in 2022 the FSU highlighted the impact of pay secrecy at the Commonwealth Bank, where we calculated that the gender pay gap was resulting in reduced compensation for workers by at least half a billion dollars each year,” Julia told the committee.
According to last year’s WGEA data, CBA’s gender pay gap was 29.9%. Yet CBA’s 2023 annual report claimed it was just 1%.
“When we put that to CBA and asked them to further explain the difference in the gender pay gap […] they said that they look at remuneration of roles across the same level of classification.”
In other words, like for like.
“As you can appreciate, we found this type of response from the biggest employer in the industry disappointing.
“It failed to address the complexity of the issue and, rather, sought to relegate it to just like for like as if that was the solution to the gender pay gap problem.
“It further underscores the need for meaningful targets that demonstrate employers are committed to meaningful change.”
The FSU hopes the government’s new Bill, if passed, will deliver this much-needed change.
On 4 March, WGEA will publish its next gender pay gap report, allowing all Australians to see what progress organisations from across the country have made in the last 12 months. We’ll be providing a full analysis, so stay tuned!
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