Newly released data from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) confirms that the gender pay disparity in fashion is higher than in the broader retail sector.
This year, WGEA has published the results for 7,800 individual employers and 1,700 corporate groups across various industries for the 2023-2024 season. This expansion means that Australians working for a company that’s part of a bigger corporate group can access both the group and individual employer’s gender pay gap for the first time.
Within fashion, the industry’s mid-point gender pay gap was 13.2 per cent, which means that, at the median, women in fashion earn 13.2 per cent less in total remuneration – including bonuses, overtime and other benefits – compared to men. This does not include textiles or manufacturing.
For the retail industry overall, this number is 10.6 per cent.
The data also shows that the total median remuneration is 11.4 per cent for fashion, which means that women earn 11.4 per cent less than men in their fixed salaries, before additional benefits like bonuses, overtime, and commissions are included.
This comes despite the fashion retail industry employing more women than men, with WGEA data showing that 83 per cent of the total fashion workforce is women, with an average total remuneration of $73,000.
In the upper quartile, the discrepancy between men and women shifts, with women making up 76 per cent of those in senior and c-suite roles.
But the industry is tackling gender pay gaps, with 88 per cent of the 103 clothing, footwear and accessories businesses that WGEA analysed having conducted gender pay gap reviews in the last 12 months, compared to just 10 per cent over the last two years.
Across the key players
The data also shows analysis on companies across all industries.
Across the top players in fashion, Country Road Group had a gender pay gap of 38.5 per cent based on average total remuneration, with a median total remuneration GPG of 24.3 per cent. This is despite 88 per cent of its workforce being women, with women in the upper quartile making up 76 per cent.
Cotton On Group had a gender pay gap of 20.2 per cent based on average total remuneration, with its median total remuneration GPG being zero per cent. Cotton On group also has a large proportion of women in its workforce.
Meanwhile, the Just Group which is soon to be under Myer management reported a 40.4 per cent gender pay gap based on average total remuneration, with the median total remuneration GPG at 17.1 per cent.
Accent Group – the Australian-based managing company of brands and retailers such as Hoka, Hype DC, The Athlete’s Foot and Nude Lucy – had a gender pay gap of 29.7 per cent based on average total remuneration, with the median total remuneration at 31.5 per cent.
Accent Group’s total workforce is predominately women at 98 per cent, with the upper quartile at 93 per cent women.
On the other side of the coin, Dissh scored a gender pay gap of minus 17.5 per cent based on average total remuneration, which means women are getting paid more than men. Sass & Bide has reported similar numbers.
Those close to the centre include the likes of Connor, Incu, Just Jeans Group, Suzanne Grae Corporation and Universal Store.
The national level
Across all industries, 21 per cent of Australian employers have an average gender pay gap in the target range of plus or minus 5 per cent. The mid-point gender pay gap nationally is 12.1 per cent based on the average total remuneration, with the median total remuneration at 8.9 per cent.
WGEA CEO Mary Wooldridge said each employer has a unique set of circumstances that can impact the size of their gender pay gap.
“Where an employer’s gender pay gap is beyond the target range of +/-5%, it indicates one gender is more likely to be over-represented in higher paying roles compared to the other,” Wooldridge said. “This can be a sign of structural or cultural differences for one gender within an occupation, organisation, or broader industry.
“For employers that haven’t made progress, it’s time to ask why – dig into the data to find out what’s causing any gender differences and use evidence-based solutions to address them.”
WGEA’s analysis shows 56 per cent of employers reduced their gender pay gap in the last year.
There was also a significant increase in employers conducting a gender pay gap analysis on their pay and composition to find out what’s driving their gaps and consultation with employees rose significantly.
“It’s promising to see the big increase in the number of employers working to understand what is driving their gender pay gap, beyond unequal pay,” Wooldridge said.
“Over the past year, employers have told us that publication of employer gender pay gaps is a catalyst to assess gender-based differences in all areas of their workplace.
“For men, a more equal experience could mean their employer is providing access to paid parental leave, paying superannuation on that leave and actively supporting a flexible return to work from parental leave.
“For women, it could mean their employer is redesigning manager roles that will enable those roles to be undertaken on a part-time basis or as a job share. This action can create new pathways to career progression for employees with caring or other responsibilities outside of work, or by actively broadening the pipeline of talent across occupations and job roles.
“What is common to each is purposeful action that breaks down traditional notions of what it means to be a worker and carer in the contemporary workplace.”
The gender pay gap is different to equal pay for equal or comparable work – which has been a legal requirement for employers since 1969.