Gender Equity Insights series

Using data from WGEA's Employer Census, the eighth report in the BCEC | WGEA Gender Equity Insights series has uncovered the most valuable actions employers can take to increase workplace gender equality and reduce gender pay gaps. 

Gender Equity Insights 2023 series examined why progress towards narrowing gender pay gaps has been slow, and what actions and targets were needed to accelerate the pace of change.

The researchers found employers could be differentiated based on their approach to driving improved gender equity outcomes. BCEC's new ‘maturity framework’ categorises employers into four levels of maturity from 'base' to 'integrated' based on their actions.

Employers can use the maturity framework as a roadmap filled with evidence-based actions that create real change.

What is BCEC | WGEA Gender Equity Insights?

Gender Equity Insights is an annual report produced by Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC) in collaboration with the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA). The reports identify trends, policies and practices that work to address gender inequality in the workplace.

The analysis is based on data collected in the annual WGEA census of private sector employers with 100 or more employees.

Download the BCEC | WGEA Gender Equity Insights 2023 report

Watch the live report release event

Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC) and WGEA will release Gender Equity Insights 2023 on Thursday 5 October with a special online panel event.

Hosted by ABC Finance Presenter Madeline Morris, the report release event panel includes WGEA CEO Mary Wooldridge, Stockland Chief People and Stakeholder Engagement Officer Karen Lonergan, HESTA Chief Experience Officer Lisa Samuels and BCEC Director Professor Alan Duncan.

Alan Duncan and BCEC Principal Research Fellow, Associate Professor Astghik Mavisakalyan will present the research findings with Bankwest Marketing and Communications General Manager Jodene Murphy to give the opening remarks.

The online event will be held on Teams. Go to: BCEC|WGEA Gender Equity Insights 2023 online report launch - BCEC to find out more. 

 

Key Insights

  • How to accelerate the reduction in your gender pay gap
  • How to reduce women manager resignations
  • How to boost the proportion of women on your Board

How to accelerate the reduction in your gender pay gap

Australia’s gender pay gap has fallen consistently over the past eight years to 22.8% in 2022, but the pace of change has been gradual.

This report found the leading 25% of businesses reduced gender pay gaps within their organisations by at least 5.3 percentage points over three years.

When employers undertook a gender pay audit, the improvement to the gender pay gap more than doubled.

How to reduce women manager resignations

Women are consistently underrepresented among the top 20% of earners in most industry sectors. One way to change this is by increasing women’s representation in management positions and creating pathways for women in leadership.

Employers that integrate workplace gender equality into their businesses and strategies reduced the number of women leaving management roles to just 0.3 percentage points. 

How to boost the proportion of women on the Board

Boards and governing bodies are key for keeping businesses accountable. Increasing women’s representation on boards ensures that diverse perspectives are represented in decision making.

When employers improved their gender equality performance, they increase the share of female board members by 3.3pp in three years.

The gender pay gap is a measure of how we value men and women in the workforce. But what exactly does that mean?

The gender pay gap is a simple equation that always stays the same. Find out the maths behind the numbers. 

WGEA's Communications 10 Point guide is for communications teams and company representatives who are responsible for talking to key audiences about your organisation's approach to gender equality.