Pay parity report reveals the best and worst places for women to work

Shocking figures show most employers are paying men more than women but some major companies are making progress in closing the gender pay gap.

The gender pay gap at popular women’s fashion brands is on the rise, as shocking new figures reveal nearly three in four Australian employers pay men more than women on average.

Workplace Gender Equality Agency data released on Tuesday shows almost 80 per cent companies nationwide are not in the target gap range.

But some of the biggest employers are leading the way, with Target, Kmart, McDonalds, Liquorland, Ritchies and Hungry Jacks not significantly favouring either gender.

Plus-size brand City Chic’s gender pay gap, based on median total remuneration, increased from 57 per cent to 65 per cent in the year to 2023-24.

The gap at swimwear label Seafolly jumped 11 per cent to 56 per cent, Forever New had a 2 per cent rise to 53 per cent, and Blue Illusion soared from 6 per cent to 30 per cent. Jewellery brand Pandora reduced its gap 8 per cent to 44 per cent.

McDonalds is leading the way in the gender pay gap. Picture: Pascal Guytot

The analysis of 7800 employers with at least 100 employees, and 1700 corporate groups, shows that while some companies such as Kia Australia had a small 5 per cent reduction compared to 2022-23, the gap at Collingwood Football Club fell from 44 per cent to 17 per cent.

New corporate group data shows the Brisbane Broncos Ltd had a 67 per cent gender pay gap, based on average total remuneration, while Port Adelaide Football Club’s was 40 per cent.

Airlines Virgin Australia and Qantas had gaps of 45 per cent and 41 per cent respectively.

Health insurer Medibank Private had a 24 per cent gap, while beauty superstore Mecca had a 30 per cent gap.

Slightly outside the employer target range of plus or minus 5 per cent was Bunnings at 5.9 per cent, Coles supermarkets at 6.2 per cent, Aldi at 7.5 per cent and Woolworths at 10.7 per cent.

The latest WGEA report covering 5.3 million workers across 19 industries found that only 6.5 per cent of employers had an average gender pay gap that favoured women, compared to 72 per cent in favour of men.

Half of employers had an average total remuneration gender pay gap larger than the national average of 12 per cent.

Three out of four fashion brands pay men more than women. Picture: Julian Smith

For every $1 a man earns, women earn 78 cents on average. This equates to $28,425 less, with payments such as superannuation, overtime and performance bonuses making up $11,204 of the difference.

Workplace Gender Equality Agency chief executive Mary Wooldridge said the publication of gender pay gaps had been a catalyst for employers to assess the differences in their workplace.

Ms Wooldridge said at least 56 per cent employers improved their average total remuneration gender pay gap in the year to 2023-24.

“It’s promising to see the big increase in the number of employers working to understand what is driving their gender pay gap, beyond unequal pay,” Ms Wooldridge said.

“For employers that haven’t made progress, it’s time to ask why.”

She said one gender could be more likely to be over-represented in higher paying roles due to structural or cultural differences.

News Corp Australia, which publishes the Herald Sun, had a total average remuneration gap of 10.5 per cent, while Nine Entertainment reported a 17 per cent gap and Seven West Media had 13.9 per cent.

For the first time, the data also included remuneration for CEOs, heads of business, and casual managers.

Originally published as Pay parity report reveals the best and worst places for women to work