How to read an employer gender pay gap
A gender pay gap compares groups across an employer. It does not, by itself, establish that two people doing the same work are paid unequally.
Start with the correct measure
WGEA publishes average and median employer pay gaps, including total remuneration measures. The average is sensitive to high salaries; the median shows the midpoint. Total remuneration includes elements beyond base salary. Read which measure and reporting period a headline uses before comparing employers.
What the latest report says
In WGEA’s 2024–25 employer gender pay gaps report, the midpoint of employer average total remuneration pay gaps was 11.2%, and the midpoint of employer median total remuneration pay gaps was 8.0%. These are midpoints across reporting employers, not the national pay gap and not a measurement of one person’s pay. WGEA reports a separate private-sector average total remuneration gender pay gap of 21.1% for 2024–25. The measures answer different questions.
How to investigate an employer
- Open WGEA’s Employer Data Explorer and search the organisation, checking whether the result is the operating entity or a corporate group.
- Record the reporting year, average and median gaps, workforce composition and the share of women in management and pay quartiles.
- Compare with the same industry and similar employers. Look for changes over more than one year.
- Ask what the organisation has changed in hiring, progression, flexible work and pay review, rather than assuming one number explains the cause.