What other factors are considered by women before departing their employer?
Having a gender pay gap at an organisation is enough to drive 61% of Australian women to a new employer, according to a HiBob report, which found that pay has topped women's list of reasons to find a new job.
HiBob's third annual Women in the Workplace report found that a gender pay gap might just be the "final straw" for many women in the workplace, regardless of how wide the gap is.
This is also the case for 36% of men, who also expressed a desire to leave if their organisation has a gender pay gap.
The findings come in the heels of the publication of gender pay gaps for nearly 5,000 Australian organisations with more than 100 employees.
The publication revealed a 21.7% gender pay gap across Australia, with 50% of employers in the report having a gender pay gap of over 9.1%.
"Pay is the foundation of the relationship between employees and employers — and if there's a gap between genders, nothing damages that relationship more," said Nirit Peled-Muntz, chief people officer at HiBob, in a statement.
"I don't believe organisations deliberately set out to pay one gender more than another, but we do have a problem in Australia, and it's something organisations need to prioritise fixing."
Pay as main driver of departures
HiBob's findings also revealed that pay is the main driver for women in looking for a new job.
More than three in four (78%) of the report's female respondents said they'd consider a new employer for more money. Other drivers include:
- Strong and healthy company culture (43%)
- Flexible work models (42%)
- Clearer path to promotion (36%)
These drivers reflect the experiences of women in the workplace, where 40% said men are promoted more often or quicker than women in their organisation.
Another 26% of women also said a colleague has made them feel uncomfortable or less qualified in the workplace because of their gender.
Addressing the gender pay gap
Fixing Australia's gender pay gap is a major "people challenge" in this era, according to Peled-Muntz.
For the women in the survey, 83% employers can address the gender pay gap by conducting annual pay equality audits.
Another 84% said implementing performance and promotion audits annually would help ensure that they're being paid fairly.
The same percentage of women also underscores that organisations should promote and support diversity in leadership, while 79% said employers should make diversity a core business value and foster an inclusive culture.
Peled-Muntz added that organisations won't be able to rectify gender pay gaps if they don't have the right employee remuneration data easily.
"Getting that information is key to understanding why a gender pay gap exists within an organisation so you can take steps to rectify it," the CPO said.
