The Great Divide: Understanding and Addressing the Gender Pay Gap

Exactly how great is ‘the great divide’? The short answer: vast.

In March this year as International Women’s Day events were underway in workplaces across the country, the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) published data on Australia’s pay equity landscape. For the first time, anyone curious about the true  extent of the gender pay gap could access this data on organisations employing 100 or more people, allowing for comparison across nearly 5,000 companies. Alongside the data, employers were required to disclose their commitment to addressing these disparities.

The reality is stark. According to WGEA, two-thirds of these companies reported a gender pay gap of 5% or more, with many hovering around 20-21%. The Australian Bureau of Statistics puts the overall workforce gender pay gap at approximately 11.5%. In February 2022, Minister for Finance Katy Gallagher highlighted the economic cost of Australia’s gender pay inequity, estimated at $51.8 billion annually - a gap too vast to bridge with a single solution.

A recent HunterWiSE event drew a diverse audience from some of the region’s major employers to confront this pressing issue. ‘The Great Divide – Understanding and addressing the gender pay gap’ was an opportunity to gain insights into the issue and discuss action through an interactive workshop.

Led by Kate Ramsay, leadership consultant and author of A Hell of a Lot of Glass – Achieving Gender Diversity in the Workplaces of Australia, the event audience worked through a series of tough questions starting with the big-picture issues: the challenge of defending the existence of the gender pay gap and disputing common misconceptions, such as the idea that enterprise bargaining guarantees equal pay for equal work.

Group discussions also considered the role that policies such as parental leave and flexible working arrangements play in either exacerbating or mitigating the gender pay gap. Effective policies supporting both men and women in balancing work and family responsibilities were identified as key to progress in this area, while mentoring to help hone negotiation and self-advocacy skills were identified as strategies to support women. Kate Ramsay described a ‘double-glazed glass ceiling’ of intersectional disadvantage, and how this intensifies the barriers that some women face in achieving pay equity.

During the HunterWiSE event, it became clear that the gender pay gap is not just a statistic but a reflection of how we value women and their work. The discussions revealed that women's contributions are often undervalued compared to their male counterparts, impacting both compensation and career progression.

The event highlighted that addressing this gap requires more than just acknowledging the problem - it demands active leadership at all levels to drive attitudinal, systemic, and cultural change. Effective solutions involve reassessing how we value women’s work and implementing improvements through leadership and policy reforms. Bridging the divide involves fostering a culture that recognises and rewards contributions equitably, in a move towards a more inclusive and fair work environment.