Five steps to closing your organisation’s Gender Pay Gap
We have entered a new era of visibility, transparency and accountability when it comes to the collection and reporting of data on the Gender Pay Gap; a significant milestone for those of us who’ve spent a career dedicated to gender equity.
While some results are not ideal, mandated transparency is designed to accelerate progress that can otherwise feel agonisingly slow.
The way we see it — these regulatory changes are not about expecting immediate shifts, or naming and shaming those with bigger gaps. Instead, it’s about creating the conditions for greater awareness, better data collection, and more concerted action.
So, as the ‘real work’ to close the pay gap ramps up, here are some things to consider when deciding how to tackle a bigger than expected gender pay gap in your organisation.
1. Accept and investigate, before you act
The reality is that every industry, and almost three in four employers, still have a gender pay gap larger than five percent in favour of men. In some industries, like Construction or Financial and Insurance Services, that gap is as high as 25-30%.
While each organisation will have its own set of obstacles and challenges to navigate, companies must resist the urge to get defensive, blame external factors, and bury their heads in the proverbial sand, before examining what’s really going on.
Instead, now is the time to figure out if there are specific factors that can adequately ‘explain’ why your gap exists. Because a gap only tells you that there’s a problem, it doesn’t tell you what the solution is or what to do next.
2. Understand what the data is telling you
Effectively analysing your workforce data involves not only looking at the numbers but understanding the story behind them. The best place to start is often with who sits among the company’s highest earners. Hint: unless you’re in the Education and Training or Healthcare and Social Assistance industries, it’s likely that a high concentration of men in your top quartile of income earners is a key driver of your gender pay gap. Then, you might consider:
Are certain departments or levels more affected than others?
At what age or level does the gender pay gap widen?
Is there a trend towards part-time work that’s affecting women's earnings?
Is there a correlation or causation between part-time work and lack of remuneration progression or promotion?
What can’t we see as a result of a lack of intersectional data?
Be honest. Have the uncomfortable conversation. Then, once you feel confident that you have identified the root causes of your gap, you must decide what’s ‘justified’ (i.e. what can be substantiated by differences in tenure, portfolio size, number of direct reports) and what might be the result of gendered biases in recruitment, promotion and remuneration processes. The answers to these questions will inform your best course of action moving forward.
3. Set meaningful, measurable goals
Based on the scope and specifics of your gender pay gap, it’s time to set clear, achievable goals for reducing it. These can be SMART, but they should also be grounded in the reality of your data analysis and your organisational capacity. This includes having the necessary expertise to act in an evidence-based way. Can you confidently say that’s the case in your organisation? If not, why not, and how can you rectify this? Here is one place to start…
The data shows 70% of employers currently have a policy on remuneration and around half of these include specific pay equity objectives. This has to be a key priority. But not all your goals will be explicitly linked to remuneration, given there are many complex factors that drive a gender pay gap.
Perhaps your company needs to look at offering superannuation payments and standard pay increment increases during parental leave.
Perhaps it’s time to develop conversation guides to support fair and transparent salary negotiations or introduce a more comprehensive flexible work policy.
Or maybe what’s needed is a more deliberate focus on integrating training sessions on unconscious bias, sexual harassment or gender equity into your corporate training calendar.
No matter your goals, what’s critical is that you have buy-in from all levels — especially leadership, HR and hiring managers, or anywhere structural power sits. For many companies, getting that buy-in will likely need to be a goal in itself.
4. Monitor progress and communicate next steps
Workplace gender equality or closing a gender pay gap is not something to tick off, and never revisit. Things change, and this is data you will need to report on every year.
Regularly monitor your progress against the set goals and be prepared to adapt your strategies if they’re not working. This might mean revisiting initial assumptions about what is driving your gap, undergoing further training, or implementing new policies. Regular reporting on progress can also help to maintain momentum.
Communicating your findings, intentions, and proposed actions clearly and transparently with all stakeholders, including employees, leadership, and external partners, is also critical. It builds trust and triggers accountability. It also prepares the ground for the cultural shifts needed to create a workplace truly free from all forms of discrimination, across all roles and at all levels.
5. Don’t shy away from doing ‘the work’
In 2023, the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) reported that while 55% of employers conducted a gender pay gap analysis, 40% of those did nothing to act on the results. Don’t be one of those companies. Because while stakeholders might be willing to give you a chance now, they might not be so forgiving in years to come.
What we know is companies who are serious about closing their gender pay gap, actually do it. So, perhaps a bigger-than-expected gap is the wake-up call you need to really commit to doing the work.
What to do next
As you decide what to do as an organisation, it’s important to remember that the goal is not, and never has been, to only close the Gender Pay Gap. Instead, this work forms part of a much broader, and deeply necessary, scope of activities to uproot systems and structures that enable inequality and inequity to thrive in the first place.
Only then can we replace them with fundamentally more equitable, inclusive — and even profitable — societies where people of all genders can truly reach their potential.
GenderWorks Australia is a trusted and accredited provider of workplace gender equality training and programs.
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