You don’t know until you do a pay-gap analysis, a new government campaign warns
You don’t know until you do a pay-gap analysis, a new government campaign warns
This is not an industry that’s shy about money, far from it. But when it comes to men getting paid more than women, it seems that 48.4% of organisations in the finance sector have never bothered to look into the subject. That’s according to data released by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) as part of a new campaign to promote equal pay.
“Gender bias impacts pay for women, unless you do a pay gap analysis to address the inbalances” warns Yolanda Beattie, WGEA’s executive manager. In fact a disparity is almost inevitable, she claims: “every employer that we’ve ever spoken to says you will find instances of gender bias impacting pay outcomes for women”. The WGEA says current legislation mainly indicates occupational segregation – where one gender dominates management roles – whereas they want to expose instances of men and women being paid less for the same work.
The campaign is backed by a number of CEO’s, including those of ANZ and NAB. However Beattie insists that it’s actually easier for small businesses to do a pay-gap analysis: “We suggest you pull up your pay roll, and have a look! Stack up the women against the men and ask yourself: who’s doing the same work and adding the same value in this organisation, and are they being at the same level, if the role is like-for-like. If not, why not?”
Can the WGEA’s campaign be applied to broking? “I know the broking industry is a pretty blokey industry” Beattie replies. Brokers should look to close pay-gaps “to reflect your customer base…women are such a big part of the customer base of the mortgage-broking industry, and to capture this customer base broking needs to attract more women into the industry”. Beattie accepts that commission can reflect performance, buts warns that any wage structures with a base-salary component need to go through a pay-gap analysis.
WGEA is not interested in ‘naming and shaming’, Beattie argues; it want encourage transparency with regard to remuneration, presently “a no-go area in Australian business culture”. Pay equality is critical to running a good business, she concludes: “people talk about salaries, people get a sense if they’re not being paid fairly. If there is any sense of unfairness or any actual unfairness, people leave. This is fundamental to attract and retain the best talent.”
Has your pay suffered because of your gender? Have you done a pay-gap analysis? Tell us your experiences.
This is not an industry that’s shy about money, far from it. But when it comes to men getting paid more than women, it seems that 48.4% of organisations in the finance sector have never bothered to look into the subject. That’s according to data released by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) as part of a new campaign to promote equal pay.
“Gender bias impacts pay for women, unless you do a pay gap analysis to address the inbalances” warns Yolanda Beattie, WGEA’s executive manager. In fact a disparity is almost inevitable, she claims: “every employer that we’ve ever spoken to says you will find instances of gender bias impacting pay outcomes for women”. The WGEA says current legislation mainly indicates occupational segregation – where one gender dominates management roles – whereas they want to expose instances of men and women being paid less for the same work.
What you can do as an employer
> You can find a gender pay calculator on the campaign’s website, as well as guides for managers
> The WGEA does not recommend publishing pay gaps once identified. However it recommends telling employees what you’re doing to close these gaps. They can see if you've done a wage-gap analysis on the WGEA's website.
> Find tips for closing gaps on the campaign website. One particular area Beattie recommends looking at is the hiring process, where women tend to negotiate less aggressively.
> You can find a gender pay calculator on the campaign’s website, as well as guides for managers
> The WGEA does not recommend publishing pay gaps once identified. However it recommends telling employees what you’re doing to close these gaps. They can see if you've done a wage-gap analysis on the WGEA's website.
> Find tips for closing gaps on the campaign website. One particular area Beattie recommends looking at is the hiring process, where women tend to negotiate less aggressively.
The campaign is backed by a number of CEO’s, including those of ANZ and NAB. However Beattie insists that it’s actually easier for small businesses to do a pay-gap analysis: “We suggest you pull up your pay roll, and have a look! Stack up the women against the men and ask yourself: who’s doing the same work and adding the same value in this organisation, and are they being at the same level, if the role is like-for-like. If not, why not?”
Can the WGEA’s campaign be applied to broking? “I know the broking industry is a pretty blokey industry” Beattie replies. Brokers should look to close pay-gaps “to reflect your customer base…women are such a big part of the customer base of the mortgage-broking industry, and to capture this customer base broking needs to attract more women into the industry”. Beattie accepts that commission can reflect performance, buts warns that any wage structures with a base-salary component need to go through a pay-gap analysis.
WGEA is not interested in ‘naming and shaming’, Beattie argues; it want encourage transparency with regard to remuneration, presently “a no-go area in Australian business culture”. Pay equality is critical to running a good business, she concludes: “people talk about salaries, people get a sense if they’re not being paid fairly. If there is any sense of unfairness or any actual unfairness, people leave. This is fundamental to attract and retain the best talent.”
Has your pay suffered because of your gender? Have you done a pay-gap analysis? Tell us your experiences.
