Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Pratt for the question and for the work that she's done over many years in addressing and seeking gender equality in Australia. The Workplace Gender Equality Agency released its 2022-23 gender equality scorecard today, and the scorecard confirms that the gender pay gap, as calculated by WGEA, has dropped 1.1 per cent to 21.7 per cent. And can I put on the record my thanks for the hardworking staff at WGEA. I had the opportunity to meet with them last week in person—and, for those staff that work outside the Sydney office, online—and I know they'd all been working incredibly hard to get this gender equality scorecard finalised and ready for release. The results of the scorecard are great. It's the biggest reduction since 2015, and it comes after the WGEA gender pay gap had stagnated over the last two years. That 1.1 per cent reduction might sound abstract, but it's the equivalent to narrowing the gap by $1,322 a year.

However, there is much more work to do, with a gap the equivalent of $26,393 a year remaining. These results in the scorecard are from the largest-ever employer census, covering 4.82 million employees. The gap is calculated on total remuneration and on a full-time equivalent basis, which gives us a full picture of how men and women are faring in the workplace. WGEA is doing important work to help identify the drivers of the gap and where we need to focus our effort to close it. The data collected by WGEA is an invaluable resource and a critical evidence base. The data shows there are a range of issues that drive the gender pay gap as well as showing what is helping to close it. It helps us at an economy- and sector-wide level, but it also helps industries and individual employers understand where their challenges lie.