Only one-third (35%) of women believe that men and women are paid equally within their organisation, and more than one-quarter (27%) of women believe that men are being paid more than the women in their organisation, according to new research by HR tech leader, HiBob.
In 2022, only 22% of women received a promotion and 26% had a pay increment, which is down from 26% and 38% respectively compared to 2021.
These fears around pay may be exacerbated by lack of transparency, according to the research. Less than 15% of women say their organisation publishes pay gap information regularly and less than one in five (18%) of women say their organisation publishes salary information and ranges for job descriptions.
The research comes as the government recently passed The Workplace Gender Equality Amendment Bill 2023, which now requires Australian businesses with 100 or more employees to publicly disclose their pay gap data.
HiBob vice president of Asia Pacific and Japan, Damien Andreasen said, “Despite the push by the government for more pay transparency among Australian businesses, the slow rate of progress indicates that more needs to be done to improve gender equality and equitable opportunities for growth. It’s crucial for HR and business leaders to lead the way in closing gender pay gaps and fostering a gender diverse workforce.”
As the economic outlook continues to worsen, many women are increasingly feeling insecure about their jobs. More than half (57%) are worried in some capacity about being laid off amid the current economic downturn.