The Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) has issued its latest gender equality scorecard revealing that over the past five years employers across Australia have steadily improved their performance.
Director of WGEA, Libby Lyons said the report’s data recorded a steady increase in the number of women in management roles and strong growth in areas such as overall gender equality policies and strategies, pay equity and flexible work.
“The gender pay gap has declined every year and this year has seen the biggest single-year drop (1.1 per cent) in the average full-time total remuneration gender pay gap,” Ms Lyons said.
“However, we still have a long way to go. There are pay gaps favouring men in every industry and occupation and women earn, on average, just 79 per cent of men’s full-time total remuneration salaries.”
She said the five-year data trends also showed virtually no movement in gender segregation across Australian industries and little improvement in either access to paid parental leave or the representation of women at chief executive level or on boards.
Ms Lyons said the Agency’s dataset revealed that employer action had delivered real outcomes but that women still faced considerable barriers in Australia’s workplaces.
“The five years of data collection demonstrates the value of measuring workplace gender equality,” Ms Lyons said.
“We have clear evidence that employer action delivers real results and we should recognise the great work many employers have done in addressing issues such as pay equity.
“As employers have taken action, the gender pay gap has declined and gender equality outcomes for women and men across Australia have improved.”
The WGEA’s 19-page Scorecard can be accessed at this PS News link.
