The gender pay gap within the public sector is 10.1%, according to a snapshot of 52 commonwealth public sector employers by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA).
However, when only the 40 APS agencies who participated are included in the calculations, the base salary gender pay gap narrows to 6.2%, close to the APSC’s calculations of 6%.
In other words, non-APS agencies widened the public sector gender pay gap for the organisations included in the snapshot.
WGEA CEO Mary Wooldridge told The Mandarin there has previously been a gap in transparency regarding non-APS Commonwealth employers, who fall outside the definition of APS and the private sector.
“But there’s a group in between [the APS and the private sector], which are the corporate Commonwealth entities and companies who actually haven’t had transparency in relation to their pay and composition, that are now actually coming into the fold with federal public sector reporting,” Wooldridge said.
“What we’re seeing in these results is — of those who participated in this voluntary process — are their gender pay gaps are higher.”
The snapshot, it should be pointed out, is not holistic but an analysis of those agencies which voluntarily participated.
With mandatory public sector reporting starting this year for employers with over 100 employees, WGEA will publish individual employer results.
“It will actually be the first time there’s been that transparency and accountability for those entities in the public sphere,” Woolridge said.
“We know that shining a light and bringing that transparency helps to drive change.”
The 12 non-APS agencies who participated in the voluntary snapshot were, in alphabetical order: Airservices Australia, ABC, Australian Federal Police, Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, the Australian Sports Commission, Clean Energy Finance Corporation, CSIRO, Department of the Senate, Indigenous Business Australia, NBN Co Limited, the RBA, and SBS.
However, the number of men taking parental leave was similar between the private and public sector in the snapshot: 13% and 13.5%, respectively.
The statistic surprised Woolridge, “despite an environment that I think people would think was more conducive and encouraging”.
“The other side of this is not just focusing on women as part of the strategy, but also focusing on men as part of the gender equality work, to create that environment where men are encouraged to and feel confident taking parental leave,” Woolridge said.
The CEO added “constant vigilance” was required to achieve gender equality.
The snapshot has been released before mandatory reporting of public sector employers to WGEA, with the submission period open from September 1 to October 31.
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