Calculating gender pay gaps (GPG)

The gender pay gaps (GPGs) calculated by WGEA from your submission can be viewed in the Executive Summary document(s).

WGEA calculates the gender pay gap for base salary and total remuneration in two ways:

• Average: the average gender pay gap is the difference between women’s and men’s average earnings, expressed as a percentage of men’s average earnings.
• Median: the median gender pay gap is the difference between the median woman's and median man's average earnings, expressed as a percentage of the average man's earnings.

Both sets of gender pay gap figures in your Executive Summary are derived from the data in your Workplace Profile section of your submission.

Gender pay gaps are calculated for “corporate groups”, as well as subsidiary companies (i.e. companies within a group with individual ABNs) with more than 80 employees. 

Terms

• Base salary: is the ordinary wages or salary payments an employee earns.
• Total remuneration: is the sum total of all payments made to an employee - including payments made in cash or kind or other means.
• Average: the average figure is the sum total of all employees divided by the number of employees in the cohort.
• Median: if all employees in the cohort were ordered from lowest earning to highest, the median would be the middle employee. If the cohort is even, the median figure will be the average of the two employees in the middle (incomes combined and divided by two).

Average gender pay gap formula

GPG = 100% x (Average male total remuneration - Average female total remuneration) / Average male total remuneration

Median gender pay gap formula

GPG = 100% x (Median male total remuneration - Median female total remuneration) / Median male total remuneration 

The calculation includes all employees and employee types (part time and casuals included) except for the:

• overseas reporting managers (OSM)
• non-binary employees, and
• any employee given ‘0’ for their income on the profile.

From the 2023-24 reporting period, the following employee types are included in the calculation:

• CEO/equivalent
• Heads of Business (HOB)
• Casually employed managers

All salary/remuneration data for each employee is provided as their annualised and full-time equivalent earnings. This means:

• Any part year employee has earnings provided as if they worked the full year
• Any part time employee has earnings provided as if they worked full time hours

This standard enables a comparison of the remuneration paid for  the roles being performed by employees in your organisation by controlling for working less than full-time hours and part year tenure.  Your organisation’s gender pay gap  is the difference between the average total remuneration for men and women, expressed as a percentage of men's average total remuneration.

• A pay gap which is positive (e.g. 10%) indicates an inequality in earnings that favours male employees on average.
• A pay gap which is negative (e.g. -10%) indicates an inequality in earnings that favours female employees on average.

Total remuneration is comprised of an employee’s base salary amount plus any additional benefits whether payable directly or indirectly, whether in cash or in a form other than cash. As a general principle it is any payment or benefit an employee receives because of their employment with your organisation.

Total remuneration includes:

• Wages or salary payments
• Superannuation
• Bonuses (or performance pay)
• Higher duties allowances and temporary performance loadings
• Allowances
• Back pay or workers compensation payments
• Commissions, penalty rates or shift loadings
• Other payments whether in cash or in a form other than cash. 

The gender pay gap is a calculated indicator measuring the difference of average earnings of men and women.

• This calculation is more relevant and accurate when all payments made to employees are included as this represents the full earnings of each employee.