Pay gap transparency as workplace salary data published

* Private-sector employers with 100 or more workers have had their median gender pay gaps published by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency

* The release includes all employee salaries other than CEOs, heads of business, casual managers, furloughed employees and those who report as non-binary

* The data has been calculated for both the median base salaries and total pay which includes superannuation, overtime and bonuses

* The release includes pay gaps favouring both women and men

* The agency considers pay gaps within the plus or minus five per cent range to be neutral, meaning they do not favour either gender

MAIN POINTS

* Of the nearly 5000 employers included in the data release, half have a median employer gender pay gap lower than 9.1 per cent and half have a gender pay gap higher than 9.1 per cent

* Gender pay gaps differ widely across industry types

* Workplaces with 5000 or more employees in male-dominated industries have the largest gender pay gaps

* Employees in female-dominated industries are the most likely to work for an employer with a neutral gender pay gap

* Of employers in female-dominated industries, 44 per cent have a neutral gender pay gap, compared to 30 per cent in mixed-gender industries and 18 per cent in male-dominated industries

* There is also a clear link between more women in leadership and a lower gender pay gap

EMPLOYER RESPONSES

* "We're expanding our outreach into high schools to promote aviation as a career which hopefully results in more girls choosing subjects that put them on track to become pilots and engineers of the future." - Qantas Group chief people officer Catherine Walsh

* "Our focus is on improving the gender pay gap by increasing participation of women in senior roles as well as specialist areas such as institutional banking and technology. We're proud to have 49 per cent women in our senior leadership positions, but we recognise there is more work to do." - Westpac spokesperson

* "We made solid progress towards NAB's gender representation targets and pay equity in 2023, but acknowledge there is more work to do. NAB has an ongoing focus on pay equity and driving greater representation of women in leadership roles across all areas of the bank." - NAB Group Executive people and culture Sarah White

* "As part of our ongoing and demonstrated commitment to close the gender pay gap, we have, and will continue to, play our part to improve gender equality outcomes. This includes goals to increase the proportion of women in both more senior roles and higher paying roles." - CBA spokesperson

OTHER REACTIONS

* "We've got to develop the pipeline... it's not a successful outcome if companies are just poaching senior women from each other without growing the pool." - Workplace Gender Equality Agency CEO Mary Wooldridge

* "For me, giving consumers the knowledge, giving them the information ... what they do with that, it's up to them." - Federal Minister for Women Katy Gallagher on whether consumers should vote with their feet to reflect corporate performance on gender pay gaps.

* "To move towards a truly equal society, we also must challenge and change the current norms around paid parental leave. It's not just about offering more leave; it's about ensuring that men feel supported and encouraged to take this leave, making shared caregiving the norm rather than an exception." - The Parenthood CEO Georgie Dent.

*"A focus in the policy we develop with our members is pulling down the barriers women face when it comes to career advancement in the workforce, because a big part of the problem is that women are not yet getting their share of senior roles. We have long called for a more generous paid parental leave scheme coupled with a low cost, world class childcare system that empowers women to build careers" - Business Council chief executive Bran Black

Australian Associated Press