According to the media release, as of November 2022, on average, women working full-time earned a base salary of $1,653.60 per week, while men working full-time earned $1,907.10. This means women earn $253.50 less than men every week due to gender.

WGEA Director, Mary Wooldridge, underlined that gender pay gaps are a reflection of the way we value women's and men's contributions in the workforce: "Employers who don't make gender equality a priority will fail to attract and retain female talent and won't benefit from the increased productivity, innovation and profitability that flows from embracing diversity in your workforce." 

She also explained that the gender pay gap only reflects the base salary for full-time workers and doesn't include bonuses, overtime payments, or superannuation. In contrast, the total remuneration gender pay gap is consistently 5% greater than the gender pay gap for base salaries alone.

WGEA's annual gender pay gap data, released in November, comes from the yearly Employer Census. Under the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012, non-public sector employers with 100 or more employees annually report on gender equality indicators, including gender composition, equal pay for equivalent work, and flexible work arrangements. 

For 2023, organisations required to report will have between 1 April 2023 and 31 May 2023 to complete and submit their questionnaire, workforce management statistics, and workplace profile.

Last February, The Government also introduced the Workplace Gender Equality Amendment (Closing the Gender Pay Gap) Bill 2023 that, if passed, will require the WGEA to publish the gender pay gap of relevant employers, aiming to promote transparency and address the gender pay gaps.

This reporting requirement also includes information on sexual harassment, harassment on the ground of sex, or discrimination. 

It confirms the growing importance of gender equality in the workplace and the need for employers to address inequality through a reporting obligation on their gender equality performance.

You can access an overview of the WGEA's workplace gender equality data, including gender pay gaps by industry, in the latest Gender Equality Scorecard.