New data shows we’ve defied Australian trends to maintain a pay gap in favour of women.
The gender pay gap measures the difference between women’s and men’s average weekly full-time equivalent earnings that is shown as a percentage of men’s earnings.
The City of Sydney’s sixth annual gender pay review found our total remuneration gender pay gap in 2020/21 was 3.4% in favour of women – up 2.5% from 0.9% in 2019/20.
The base salary gender pay gap is 9% in favour of women – an increase of 2.2% from 2019/20 when it was 6.8%.
This compares to a national pay gap of 20.1% in favour of men, according to federal Workplace Gender Equality Agency data.
Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the results are particularly encouraging given the negative impacts of Covid-19 on women in the workforce.
“We know that the pandemic has had a disproportionally negative effect on women’s employment, with women again bearing the brunt of family caring duties over the past 2 years,” the Lord Mayor said.
“It’s vital that all organisations and businesses address the gender gap in the workplace and the broader community.
“Women make up more than 40% of our workforce and almost half of our leadership roles at the City of Sydney. Addressing the pay gap has helped us attract and retain talented women, including our CEO Monica Barone, who leads an experienced executive team with a 50:50 gender split.
“While women represent less than a third of all councillors and mayors serving on the 128 councils in NSW, it’s a testament to our progressive city that every council table since 2012 has had a female majority.”
But there’s still work to be done.
“We will continue our commitment to gender equity and be held accountable by reviewing and reporting our pay gap each year. It’s one of a number of important ways we can support women in our workplaces and in the community,” the Lord Mayor said.
Following a 2015 resolution of council, the City of Sydney was one of the first local governments in Australia to monitor and publicly report on its gender pay equity.
The City of Sydney will continue to explore opportunities to close the gender pay gap where we can.
Published 21 December 2021
