Grant Thornton's Partner and National Head of Corporate Finance, Holly Stiles, interviewed Mary Wooldridge and Grant Thornton CEO on gender equality and closing the gender pay gap.
The panel discussed navigating the new legislation, preparing for change, and taking meaningful steps to champion gender equity, followed by a dynamic Q&A session with a lively group of senior executives committed to advancing gender equality.
Key takeaways from the discussion:
- Gender and workplace equality require top-down commitment. Leaders must be willing and active to remove obstacles for women’s full and equal participation.
- Businesses should start with a gender analysis and pay gap review to know their gender pay gap causes and employee experience.
- Flexible work has aided women, but true gender equity requires predictable flexibility due to women’s typical caregiving roles.
In Australia the gender pay gap sits at 22.8% and, whilst it is trending in the right direction, progress has been relatively slow. Following the Workplace Gender Equality Amendment (Closing the Gender Pay Gap) Bill 2023, from early 2024 WGEA will be publishing the employer gender pay gap of every Australian employer with 100 or more employees. In countries such as the UK, publishing gender pay gaps has led to an acceleration of the pace of change and it is an important and exciting development for Australia.
"We discussed a broad range of practical strategies and drivers for gender equality, examples of simple changes that can facilitate greater female participation in the workplace, the role of the CEO and leaders in taking action on gender equality, the importance of predictability in flexibility of work and the steps we have taken and are taking at Grant Thornton," said Holly.
"For c-suite executives, business owners and board directors, I would recommend the WGEA website for information on the new reporting requirements and a wide range of resources, tools and information on how to work towards gender equality in your organisation."