Gender disparity
Australian Gender Pay Gap
Introduction
“...across companies with more than 100 employees, women can earn 20% less than men…”
WGEA as quoted by Sally Patten, 2024a
However, the importance of having female leaders is shown by the fact that
“…female-led organisations have smaller gender pay gap than those run by men…”
Cosima Marriner, 2024
Some ways to close the gender pay gap:
- Renumeration (equal pay for equal work)
- Recruitment (use gender-neutral criteria for selection)
- Gender targets (at all levels of the organization have gender balance)
- Showcase female talent (highlight women performing traditional male roles or working flexibly in innovative ways, etc)
- Promotion (encourage females to move away from traditionally female-dominated functions such as marketing and human resources and give them operational experience)
- Flexibility (encourage flexibility in where work occurs, in hours worked, etc)
- Review (continually monitor and evaluate what works and doesn't work for the organization and staff)
Gender Bias
It can even occur anyway, despite these measures such as in the use of technology and medical conditions. Some examples:
- Vehicles crash test dummies that were traditionally modelled on men’s bodies which means that women are more likely to suffer serious injuries in vehicle accidents
- Females experience some different symptoms in heart attacks than males do; medical data hasn't always reflected this because it has been either male-centric or not labelled by gender.
(main source: Larissa Ham, 2024)
“‘...It's clear that many more women are required if technology is to reflect the society it serves, rather than replicating existing biases…”
Stela Solar As quoted by Larissa Ham, 2024
A role model
An example of women in Australian leadership is Amanda McKenzie (Chief Executive, Climate Change Council)
“...I try to plan every facet of my life in a short window of a few days in January……I book every dentist appointment, haircut, birthday party and holiday. My well-being through the year comes down to having effective planning and efficiency gains within my personal and professional life. Removing the pressure to be perfect helps keep my head above water, to do daily walks, Pilates and a support group that includes her husband, a tight- knit group of school friends and my beloved book club. I am very deliberate about the fact that in this period of my life, kids and work are my priorities, as is maintaining my friendships, even if that's mainly on WhatsApp……Kids are 2 and 5… “
Amanda McKenzie has quoted by Elissa Doherty, 2024
An armoury of strategies has helped build Amanda McKenzie’s self-belief In a male-dominated field, including regular pep talks and training in assertive body language techniques. But despite winning a string of awards, she says self-belief is not static. She still has to push herself in handling confronting situations.