Building a talent strategy to address the gender pay gap

With the landmark Workplace Gender Equality Agency publication of the gender pay gap for private sector employers with 100+ employees, the spotlight has been thrown on the diversity and equity strategies of Australian organisations like never before. ?The headline data paints a striking picture; the overall gender pay gap sits at 19% and over 60% of employers report a gender pay gap favouring men. The data also shows the largest pay gaps exist in traditionally male-dominated and STEM related industries such as construction, technology, utilities and mining. ?

Clearly, the time for action is now. But addressing the issue is about much more than simply looking at what people are paid. As WGEA Chief Executive Mary Woolridge stated:

?

“It’s really important that it’s known that it’s not about equal pay. ?The gender pay gap is more than that, because it looks at median remuneration … If you have a lot of men who are highly paid and a lot of women who are in the lower paid areas, then the gender pay gap will reflect that”.

?

Ultimately the chronic underrepresentation of women in senior leadership roles, and overall in particular sectors, remains a persistent challenge that continues to drive the inequities in remuneration between men and women.

?

Developing and implementing a successful strategy to address the pay gap and drive genuine change takes an organisation-wide commitment and strong leadership from CEOs, Executives, HR leaders and line managers. Building a talent strategy that not only prioritises diversity, equity and inclusion in process, but also takes a more direct and proactive route, is required to address these imbalances and increase the number of women in senior leadership and higher paying roles.

?

Universe has partnered with leading organisations across energy, utilities, higher education, finance, construction and engineering and the public sector to develop meaningful gender diversity strategies and initiatives that achieve real impact in increasing the number of females in leadership and narrow the gender pay gaps.

The following are the some of key strategies for success that are common across these organisations:

?

1)????? Understanding Your Value Proposition:

To attract and retain top female talent at levels, successful organisations seek to first understand and evaluate their value proposition. Does the organisational culture, ethos, and brand resonate positively with the talent market, and particularly with women? If not, it’s time to address cultural issues and ensure the organisation has a competitive offering. Increasingly, flexibility, work-life balance, and opportunities for professional growth are seen as a given, so attracting a diverse pool of talent requires a more refined and dedicated approach. Highlighting success stories of women in leadership roles and actively marketing the organisation as an inclusive, supportive, and progressive environment can significantly enhance its appeal to female candidates.

?

2)????? Develop a Proactive Strategy to Identify and Engage with Female Talent:

To increase female representation across all levels, in particular in senior management, the organisations we work with are taking a highly proactive approach to talent acquisition. These successful organisations actively seek to engage female candidates through targeted recruitment initiatives, networking events, and partnerships with professional organisations, even when they’re not actively recruiting for specific roles. Building a pipeline of female talent ensures they’re engaged with the talent market and ready to make the right hiring decision at the right time. Leveraging talent market research and data analytics can also help identify talent gaps, target specific areas and track progress towards diversity goals.

?

3)????? Focus on Career Development and Retention

Effective internal career management is essential for fostering the development of female talent and a serious focus on diversity should include a thorough and honest assessment of how the organisation supports women's career progression. Successful organisations are those that ensure equitable access to mentorship, sponsorship, and leadership development programs and establish clear pathways for advancement for women to navigate their career trajectories.

The organisations we work with typically create proactive strategies to identify high-potential female talent early in their careers, and provide targeted training, mentorship, and leadership development opportunities to prepare top talent for future leadership roles. Addressing unconscious biases in performance evaluations and promotion decisions, which is crucial for creating a level playing field for all employees.

?

4)????? Changing the hiring mindset

A strong diversity hiring strategy shouldn’t just focus on numbers and ratios; meaningful change requires a company-wide mindset shift around hiring. Following traditional hiring processes and recruiting to restrictive role descriptions merely maintains the status quo, particularly for organisations in STEM related industries where female representation has lagged for decades.

Successful organisations focus on diversity in skills and experience, in addition to gender, and on creating an environment which considers a wider range of candidates with potentially transferable skills. This leads to increased diversity in hiring pools and shortlists, which in turn creates more opportunities to hire female talent.

?

Whilst today’s results show there is still a lot of work to be done, we hope that the resulting media coverage will encourage more organisations to consider their diversity strategies and take a more proactive approach to addressing their gender imbalances.

See more on the WGEA data explorer here -> https://lnkd.in/guUR6sSC