Working environments where women employees are subjected to insecure work, low recognition and rewards, poor organisational justice, and gendered violence and sexual harassment, present a complex web of inter-related psychosocial hazards with many negative outcomes. A gendered pay gap can be both a result, and a cause in maintaining the structural systems that allow these hazards to persist.
The Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) is responsible for collecting and reporting on gender equality data in Australian workplaces. Since 2024, they have been required to publicly release gender pay gap data from Australia's largest employers.
This didn’t just happen - it is the result of union women campaigning to change the law to ensure this information was made public. By having gender pay gap data, we can organise around it and step up pressure on employers to address pay inequality.
Unsurprisingly some of the biggest Australian corporate giants continue to have massive pay gaps. Airlines are one of the worst industries for pay inequality with Jetstar reporting a 43.6% pay gap. Banks also continue to pay their women workers less – Westpac and Commonwealth Bank average a 28.5% pay gap. Even companies that claim to be by and for women fail those women, with Valley Girl reporting a massive 62.5% pay gap.
These retail pay gaps reveal systemic inequality. Women are disproportionately employed in low-paid and insecure customer-facing roles, while men benefit from the stability and higher pay of full-time roles higher up in the managerial hierarchy.
Some employers are getting it right. Some retail stores reported very small, or no gender pay gaps at all. On top of that, some companies have improved substantially since last year, making it clear that publishing this data is driving real change in some workplaces.
For example, last year the activewear brand Lorna Jane reported a pay gap of 37.1%. For a company that describes itself as "devoted to empowering women” this was a nasty look. But this year, Lorna Jane has made a dramatic turnaround. They’ve reduced their pay gap to just 2.9% showing that transparency works.
In other industries like finance, the pay gap has reduced by nearly 4% in a single year - the fastest on record.
When companies are held accountable, they are forced to take action and improve pay equity for women.
What you can do:
- Search your workplace’s pay gap: Use the WGEA data explorer to look up your employer’s data. Talk to your co-workers and use it as a starting point to organise collectively
- Join your union: Union members are paid on average 26% more than non-union members. Union workplaces are safer and more equal. If you’re not already a union member, join!
- Research before you shop: Look up the pay gaps of the brands you support and make informed decisions about where to spend your hard-earned money
- Get informed: Learn more about how union women are fighting for equal pay at our WRAW Fest online panel discussion ‘How we’re winning equal pay’. More details here
- Get active: Join us at the Melbourne International Women's Day Rally on March 6 where, among other things, we will be demanding equal pay and respect for our work. More details here
Union women have been fighting for change, campaigning to end pay secrecy, access casual conversion to secure employment, have superannuation paid on parental leave and secure two extra weeks of paid parental leave, lobby for better equal pay laws, challenge gender undervaluation in different industries, push for multi-employer bargaining, and fight for stronger protections against sexual harassment and discrimination.
By organising in our workplaces, demanding better from employers, and making informed choices as consumers, we can drive real change.
Read more: Employer gender pay gap data has just dropped- We Are Union VTHC
Employer Gender Pay Gaps Report | WGEA | 2023-24 data release
