The Latest Gender Equality Scorecard from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency

Manda Milling • December 5, 2016

The third year of data collected by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency covered 12000 employers and 4 million employees during the period from April 2015 to March 2016. The results were released on 16 November 2016.

Women make up half of Australia’s workforce, but only earn 77% of men’s average full time income. In dollar terms, full time female employees had $26853 less to spend than the average male employee, with this difference increasing to $93884 for the top level of management. Women are also under represented in leadership roles, holding 16.3% of CEO positions and 37.4% of all manager roles. Employers are embracing proactive gender equality policies in greater numbers and for the first time, over 70% of employers reported they have gender equality policies in place.

To summarise the results:

Gender pay gap (full-time total remuneration): 23.1% (down 1.6 pp) ’ Largest industry gender pay gap: Financial and Insurance Services: 33.5% (down 2.6 pp) ’ Key Management Personnel who are women: 28.5% (up 2.4 pp) ’ Employers with policies to support gender equality: 70.7% (up 4.5 pp) ’ Employers who have conducted a gender pay gap analysis: 27.0% (up 3.0 pp) ’ Appointments of women to manager roles: 42.6% (new data point) As I have mentioned previously , gender equality in the workplace makes good business sense. To learn more about workplace gender equality and workplace flexibility, I encourage you to visit the Workplace Gender Equality Agency’s website .

Find the job you love I Find the right talent
Get in touch with people2people

Australia
   I    United Kingdom

In business since 2002 in Australia, NZ, and the United Kingdom, people2people is an award-winning recruitment agency with people at our heart. With over 12 offices, we specialise in accounting and finance, business support, education, executive, government, HR, legal, marketing and digital, property, sales, supply chain, and technology sectors. As the proud recipients of the 2024 Outstanding Large Agency and Excellence in Candidate Care Awards, we are dedicated to helping businesses achieve success through a people-first approach.

Recent articles

By people2people UK November 18, 2025
A clear guide for UK employers on conducting fair, transparent and legally compliant redundancies during rising unemployment and economic uncertainty.
By people2people UK November 9, 2025
UK employers face mounting challenges in 2026—from recruitment and retention to rising costs, AI adoption, and new employment laws. Discover how HR leaders can stay resilient and build workplaces that attract, engage, and retain top talent.
By Leanne Lazarus November 2, 2025
Discover how leadership development is evolving in 2025. Learn what organisations can do to build interdependent, future-ready leaders who drive performance, collaboration, and culture.
By people2people UK October 26, 2025
Rising sick leave is costing UK employers thousands per employee each year. Discover how proactive absence management and early intervention can reduce costs, support wellbeing, and boost workplace resilience.
By people2people UK October 19, 2025
New survey data reveals that nearly half of UK job seekers are seeing fewer opportunities in their field, with confidence declining and long searches becoming the norm. Explore what’s driving the change—and how workers are adapting through upskilling and resilience.

Latest Media Features


Get in touch

Find out more by contacting one of our specialisat recruitment consultants across Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.

Contact us