WGEA has published the individual gender pay gaps for 120 Commonwealth public sector employers and 2 corporate groups for the first time, in the WGEA Commonwealth Public Sector Gender Equality Scorecard.
The report also contains analysis of the employer reports against each of the 6 gender equality indicators for 2023.
Download the Scorecard
Commonwealth Public Sector Gender Equality Scorecard: Key Employer Results from 2023
The results indicate that Commonwealth public sector employers have lower gender pay gaps than their private sector counterparts.
The public sector had an average total remuneration gender pay gap of 6.4%, compared to the private sector’s 21.1% gap.
45% of employers had a median gender pay gap in the target range of + or – 5%, compared to 31% in the private sector.
The public sector also achieved gender balance in workforce composition at the manager level, as well as in the upper pay quartile, (excluding CEO or Agency Head roles which WGEA will publish data on next year).
Some 51% of employers reduced their gender pay gap compared to the previous year.
Key data
- The average total remuneration gender pay gap is 6.4%. This is 14.7 percentage points lower than the gap in the private sector.
- Women in the public sector earn, on average, 94 cents for every dollar men earn. This difference adds up to $8,200 each year.
- The employer gender pay gap mid-point is 4.8%, meaning half of employers had a gender pay gap below this point. The mid-point in the private sector is 8.9%.
- The balance of women and men in the workforce and at all levels of management is a key contributor to the lower gender pay gaps in the sector. 55% of all employees are women and 45% are men. Women comprise more than half of management roles (54%), and 47% of the highest paid positions, in the Commonwealth public sector’s upper pay quartile.
- The sector has achieved gender-balance in governing bodies.
- There has been a significant increase in the number of employers with policies to deal with sex harassment and discrimination that contain a grievance process.
- 93% of employers consulted with employees on workplace gender equality issues, a15pp increase on the previous year.
- Support for men’s engagement in flexible work and parental leave are priority areas, with men only accounting for 11% of primary carer’s leave taken in 2023.
Positive action on gender equality
51% of employers reduced their median total remuneration gender pay gap on the previous year, and 3% maintained the same gap.
The results indicate that employers are taking positive action to improve gender equality in their workplaces.
In 2023, 72% of Commonwealth public sector employers conducted a gender pay gap analysis, an increase of 8pp on the previous year.
Three quarters of those employers which conducted a gender pay gap analysis took action as a result, an 11pp increase.
Almost all employers (93%) consulted employees on workplace gender equality issues, up 15pp.
Governing bodies
The sector has achieved gender-balance in governing bodies, with women holding 49% of governing body seats (both Chairs and members) and men holding 51%.
On individual boards, 48% of governing bodies are gender balanced, meaning women and men occupy between 40-60% of seats. The government’s efforts to set targets for women’s representation on Boards is likely a strong contributor to this.
Men are still more likely to hold the position of Chair. The government has established new targets for 50% of Board positions and 50% of Chair and Deputy Chair positions to be held by women.
The composition of governing bodies is a contributor to the state of gender equality in a workplace. Research shows that having more women on governing bodies contributes to workplace gender equality outcomes and company performance.
Sexual harassment and discrimination
The proportion of employers with a policy or strategy in place to deal with sexual harassment or discrimination remains similar to the previous year (98%). However, there has been a significant increase in the number of employers with policies that contain a grievance process.
Key areas for improvement
Payments above base salary, such as overtime, performance bonuses and superannuation payments are a key area for employers to assess when planning action to improve their gender pay gaps.
The value of these additional payments adds $5,373 or 3.6pp to the gender pay gap, indicating that these payments offer more financial reward to men than women.
While the sector has achieved gender-balance, men do still comprise a greater proportion of the upper pay quartile compared to women. The median total remuneration gender pay gap of 5.7% is slightly lower than the average gender pay gap of 6.4%, indicating that men’s representation in high-paying roles is having a greater impact on the gender pay gap than women’s representation in lower-paying roles.
Flexible work and parental leave
Support for men’s engagement in flexible work and parental leave are priority areas.
Men only accounted for 11% of primary carer’s leave taken in 2023, indicating a key opportunity for employers to help normalise men’s shared responsibility for care.
Almost all employers have a policy or strategy in place for flexible work, and most offer a full suite of flexible working arrangements. This likely contributes to the high rates of full-time work by both women and men in the Commonwealth public sector.
Increasing men’s uptake of part-time, flexible working arrangements and parental leave will improve workplace gender equality and help reduce the gender pay gap.
Progress is happening
The findings outlined in this Scorecard show that Commonwealth public sector employers have a strong foundation of gender equality, with progress in certain areas. However, there are key areas for future opportunity and improvement.
Download the full Public Sector Scorecard, including the individual gender pay gaps of Commonwealth employers
Earlier reports
Watch WGEA's webinar for Commonwealth public sector employers, recorded in June 2024.
Join one of WGEA's masterclasses and live learning events designed to assist employers, to deepen understanding of workplace gender equality, and narrow gender pay gaps.
Designed in partnership with the BETA, the Action Planning Tool helps reporting employers identify actions they can take to improve gender equality in their workplace