An overview of progress to date — summary

• The Action Plan is committed to eliminating the gender pay gap in the Public Service with substantial progress within this Parliamentary term.

• The Public Service gender pay gap has had its largest annual decrease since 2002: it is now 10.5%
• 23/33 agencies reduced their gender pay gaps in 2018–19.

• Transparency of measurement through the development of annual agency action plans.

• All agencies have developed gender pay gap action plans for 2019 and 2020, and their plans will be published on their agency websites for the first time this year.

• Action through collaboration.

• Guidance and workshops have been developed by the Taskforce, agencies and the PSA
• Many agency action plans have been developed in collaboration with unions and employees.

Equal pay

• By the end of 2020, all agencies will have closed any gender pay gaps within the same roles
• Pay Equity Principles are used to address pay equity claims in the Public Service and State Sector.

Equal pay

• 22/33 agencies have closed gender pay gaps within the same or similar roles and the remainder are working to achieve this in 2020
• Pay equity claims in the Public Service and State Sector are following the Pay Equity Principles.

Flexible work by default

• By the end of 2020, all agencies will be flexible by default
• Flexible options are equally available to men and women and do not undermine career progression or pay.

Flexible work by default

• 23 agencies are piloting flexible by default working
• Remaining agencies are progressing to implement flexible by default working.

Removing bias and discrimination

• By the end of 2018, there will be no gender pay gaps in starting salaries for the same roles
• By mid-2020, all agencies will have remuneration systems and human resource practices designed to remove bias and ensure transparency
• By mid-2020, all managers will understand the impacts of bias and be equipped to address it.

Removing bias and discrimination

• 11 agencies had either closed or confirmed they had no gender pay gaps in starting salaries by the end of 2018
• Remaining agencies are closing starting salaries as part of their work on equal pay
• Agencies are reviewing their human resources policies and practices to eliminate gender bias.

Gender balanced leadership

• By the end of 2019, women will hold at least 50% of the roles in the Public Service’s top three tiers of leadership
• By the end of 2019, all agencies will set a target date and plan for achieving gender balance in their own top leadership positions.

Gender balanced leadership

• Women hold 50% of the roles in the top three leadership tiers in the Public Service
• Agencies without gender balance in their leadership teams are including a plan and target date to achieve this in their 2020 agency action plans.

Success factors

Challenges ahead

• A Government priority with a Ministerial mandate
• A joined-up approach by Government, chief executives and unions
• Concrete milestones
• A dedicated Gender Pay Taskforce to lead and co-ordinate action
• Targeting multiple drivers of organisational gender pay gaps
• Scope for individual agencies to tailor their actions for the gender pay gap drivers in their own agency.
• Acting now based on the best evidence currently available, rather than waiting for perfect solutions
• Monitoring progress and learning as we go
• The parallel development of the Gender Pay Principles for the State sector by a bipartite group of unions and state sector agencies
• The broader environment of pay equity settlements and lifting low pay in the State sector, has helped raise the profile of gender pay issues and contributed to the drop in the gender pay gap from 2018 to 2019.

• Ensuring gender equity remains a priority, especially when resources and attention may be focused on the response to COVID-19
• Addressing bias in decision-making – this is essential to reducing gender pay gaps but likely to be the most challenging aspect of this work
• Gaining traction at all management levels and ensuring managers’ practice is consistent
• Addressing the compounding effects of gender, ethnic and other biases
• Ensuring that progress is consistent across all agencies
• Embedding and sustaining change – closing the gender pay gap will take time and sustained effort
• Generating action in the wider State and private sectors.