New data released by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) has revealed only 21 per cent of Australian employers — a mere one in five — have achieved an average gender pay gap within the target range of -5 to 5 per cent.

The Employer gender pay gaps report 2023-24 found women in Australia are only bringing home 78 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts, amounting to a hefty $28,425 per year.

While 56 per cent of employers had made some pay gap progress over the past 12 months, almost three-quarters still have a pay gap favouring men.

“Each employer has a unique set of circumstances that impacts the size of their gender pay gap,” said Mary Wooldridge, WGEA CEO.

“This can be a sign of structural or cultural differences for one gender within an occupation, organisation or broader industry.”

“For employers that haven’t made progress, it’s time to ask why,” added Wooldridge.

“Dig into the data to find out what’s causing any gender differences and use evidence-based solutions to address them.”

Is the transparency law working?

This report comes nine months after the introduction of the Workplace Gender Equality Amendment of 2023, which requires large Australian companies to share their gender pay gap data.

In a press conference yesterday, minister for women Katy Gallagher championed the progress made so far to address inequality in the workplace and beyond.

“We’ve made no secret since coming to government that addressing women’s economic equality in this country has been a key priority for the Albanese Labor Government,” said Gallagher.

However, research conducted by HR tech firm HiBob found many Australian women think the transparency law hasn’t done enough.

Of the 1,000 women surveyed, only 51 per cent said their organisation was taking action to close the pay gap, and 37 per cent believed it would never be a priority for their employer.

At a national level, the average total remuneration gap actually increased in the past 12 months from 21.7 per cent to 21.8 per cent.

However, median total remuneration, average base salary and median base salary figures all decreased in the same period, continuing the downward trend of the last ten years.

Can I have a pay rise?

Further research by survey software company QuestionPro revealed only one in four Aussie women plan to ask for a pay raise this year despite being less satisfied with their pay than their male counterparts.

Among tech roles, where men are almost universally paid more than women, pay inequality is a key barrier to representation.

Tech-related roles fall into two industry categories under the WGEA data: information media and telecommunications and professional, scientific and technical services.

On median base salary data alone, both industries reduced their gender pay gap by more than 10 per cent from 2022-23 to 2023-24, but were still above the national average of 6.3 per cent.

Progress is happening, but more action needed

The WGEA report also discovered more employers have started investigating the causes of inequity in their organisations.

“It’s promising to see the big increase in the number of employers working to understand what is driving their gender pay gap beyond unequal pay,” said Wooldridge.

“Over the past year, employers have told us that publication of employer gender pay gaps is a catalyst to assess gender-based differences in all areas of their workplace.”

Some are even turning to tech-based solutions, like those offered by EvenBetter.ai, a Sydney-based tech startup.

The platform uses an AI model to analyse and interpret pay gap data, allowing companies to access targeted insights to inform future strategy, with organisations like Knight Frank and Fuji Australia already on board.

Other changes on the horizon include legislation requiring organisations to meet gender equity targets, which could position Australia as a global leader in gender equality.