Gender pay gap at Mecca driven by men in tech versus women in retail

Beauty giant Mecca’s C-suite pay gap favours women but lower wages for its hundreds of female retail workers, compared to higher paid men in its technology team, are an issue.

Mecca Cosmetica founder Jo Horgan. Picture: Aaron Francis

Beauty giant Mecca brands has recorded the fifth-largest gender pay gap of the nation’s biggest employers, after Qantas, Virgin and a major hospital.

Data released by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency reveals Mecca, which has a female-dominated workforce and markets itself as a female-led company targeting products to women, has a 30 per cent average total remuneration pay gap.

WGEA reported that the business, which employs 6772 staff, has a median gender pay gap of 5.1 per cent, down from 10.3 per cent last year.

It means the cosmetic giant has clocked a pay gap that is more than double the midpoint of 12.1 per cent.

“We know we’re not perfect, but we’re focusing on progress, which we’ve seen in this year’s results,” a Mecca spokeswoman said.

The WGEA’s analysis of 7800 employers reported 50 per cent of employers had an average total remuneration gender pay gap above 12.1 per cent and 50 per cent have a gender pay gap below.

Compared with companies that similarly have 5000 plus employees, Mecca has the biggest average total remuneration pay gap after airlines Virgin (41.7 per cent), Qantas (39.2 per cent), a division of recruitment agency Chandler Macleod (36.2 per cent) and Mercy Hospitals (34.4 per cent).

WGEA’s report on Mecca says that while the company has a formal policy on equal remuneration, it does not commit the company to “be transparent about pay scales and or salary bands”.

As well, while the company conducted a gender pay gap analysis, it did not take action to report pay equity metrics externally or internally to employees.

Mecca also did not set targets to reduce gender pay gaps, according to WGEA.

By comparison, WGEA reported rival cosmetic outlet Sephora – which employs 1196 staff – clocked an average total pay gap of 14.4 per cent with a median total pay gap of -5.9 per cent in favour of women.

Mecca said 94 per cent of its workforce are women, “which means that the data for the small number of men who work at Mecca has a disproportionate, amplifying effect on our gender pay gap results”.

“Eighty-two per cent of our team work in stores, of which 97 per cent are women, and we have no pay gap across our store teams,” the spokeswoman said.

“The data also shows that Mecca pays its store team members, and its broader workforce, higher salaries than average in the retail sector.”

Jo Horgan is preparing to open the business’s newest and biggest flagship store in Bourke Street. Picture: Britta Campion

A Mecca statement online attributed the gap to men dominating the company’s technology team.

“For our senior leadership roles (C-Suite, General Manager/ Head of), of which 77 per cent are filled by women, we have a GPG of -6.8 per cent (a pay gap in favour of women),” the company said.

“The most effective ways for us to reduce this gap is to increase the number of women working in our technology team, and the number of men working in our retail stores, which we’re working on.

“Of the 5 per cent of men who work at Mecca, 42 per cent work at our support centre and most work in our technology team (57 per cent).

“This workforce composition, which is dominated by women employed in stores on pay rates set at least at the Retail Award, and men employed in professional support centre roles has resulted in an average (mean) total remuneration gap that was 30 per cent in favour of men.”

Jo Horgan, who founded Mecca in Melbourne’s South Yarra with a single store in 1997, is preparing to open the business’s newest and biggest flagship store in Bourke Street.

According to the latest data from IBIS World, Mecca generates $1bn of revenue per year.

It has been reported Ms Horgan and husband Peter Wetenhall could consider cashing out of the successful business.

As at March 31 last year, 82 per cent of Mecca staff worked in retail stores and 97 per cent of those staff were women, according to the company.

According to the retail award, minimum hourly casual rates for adults start at $25.65.

The average gender pay gap is influenced by high and low salaries, and shows if earnings are concentrated for one gender.

The median is less influenced by high or low salaries, and gives a good picture of typical earnings.

Originally published as Gender pay gap at Mecca driven by men in tech versus women in retail