Majority of large employers still favour men on pay despite new reporting rules
More than half of large Australian employers have gender pay gaps exceeding 11.2% in favour of men, according to new data released by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA), underscoring persistent inequality ahead of International Women's Day.
WGEA on Tuesday published its Employer Gender Pay Gaps Report, which shows that while overall gaps have narrowed over the past year, a majority of employers still have sizeable disparities.
More than 50% of employers have a gender pay gap larger than 11.2% in favour of men. Employers in high‑paying, male‑dominated industries are more likely to record the largest gaps.
According to WGEA's findings, men are 1.8 times more likely than women to be in the highest-paid quarter of earners, on an average salary of $221,000, while women are 1.4 times more likely than men to be in the lowest-paid quarter, on an average salary of about $60,000.
"The fact that men are nearly twice as likely as women to be in the highest-paid roles and that women still dominate the lowest-paid roles should offer a reality check for anyone who thinks Australia has achieved equality in the workplace," said WGEA CEO Mary Wooldridge.
Large differences in discretionary payments such as performance bonuses and overtime remain a key driver of employer gender pay gaps.
This gap comes despite progress that WGEA reported, where half of employers now have an average total remuneration gender pay gap smaller than 11.2%, down 0.9 percentage points from the previous year.
The proportion of employers in the agency's "target range" of a pay gap within plus or minus five per cent has also edged up to 22.5%, from 21.4% in 2023–24.
The public release of employer-level data has also prompted many organisations to re-examine how they recruit, pay and promote staff after years of stalled progress, according to Wooldridge.
"Many employers have told us publishing their information has helped them prioritise fairness and equality and led to deeper engagement from the C-Suite and Board," the WGEA CEO said.
"Results since 2024 show more employers now analyse how managers recruit employees, decide their pay and performance bonuses and determine promotions. Many are also looking past composition and pay to examine women and men's different experiences of access to parental leave, flexible working arrangements or safety in the workplace."
'Profound collapse' in women's confidence
WGEA's Employer Gender Pay Gaps Report covers nearly 10,500 employers and nearly 5.9 million workers across the private and Commonwealth public sectors.
For the first time, Commonwealth public sector employer gender pay gaps have been released alongside private-sector data.
The report comes after the government mandated employers to publish their data on gender pay gaps to boost transparency and gender equality in the workplace.
However, a new report from HiBob finds that women's belief that public reporting can drive change has fallen sharply, from 57% in 2025 to 42% in 2026.
Only 35% of women now believe their employer is actively working to address the pay gap, down from 51% a year earlier, compared with 51% of men who think organisations are fixing the problem.
Anna Volkova, Head of People & Culture at HiBob, said the findings described a "quiet but profound collapse in confidence" among women in Australia.
"As we approach this year's WGEA pay gap data drop, we are witnessing a quiet but profound collapse in confidence among women in corporate Australia. While legislative pressure is mounting, HiBob's research reveals a significant disconnect between the intent of these laws and the reality on the ground," Volkova said in a statement.
WGEA's report also came ahead of International Women's Day on March 8, and ahead of a new mandate where companies with 500 or more staff will be legally required to set new gender equality targets starting April 1.
"To prevent the upcoming April 1 targets mandate from becoming a mere box-ticking exercise, businesses must actually show employees the path to parity due to some blind spots in the workplace," Volkova said.
"For these new targets to succeed and to establish greater transparency for stronger trust, leaders need to move beyond high-level reporting and provide a visible, tangible path to parity. This will prove to their employees that equality is a cultural priority, not just a compliance requirement."
