media release
4 March 2025
WGEA pay gap data shows now's not the time for complacency
Statement attributable to HESTA CEO Debby Blakey:
Today's release of WGEA’s pay gap data is a timely reminder of the work still ahead on gender equality amid a storm of discussion on the topic. The report shows some welcome progress, but also that now is not the time for complacency.
For many years HESTA has been a vocal advocate on key issues facing our members – around 80% of whom are women – including the importance of narrowing the gender pay gap. This pay gap is a key driver of why women currently retire with about 25% less super than men, on average. Closing the pay gap is a critical way we can help improve retirement outcomes for our members and women in Australia.
HESTA’s average gender pay gap improved last year from 14.4% to 11.8%, and pleasingly it has narrowed further since the reporting period. Some of the ways we have closed the gap include increasing the number of women in our investment team and promoting more women to leadership roles.
While there is still more work to do, it is fantastic that our pay gap has improved year on year since establishing our target in 2022.
The WGEA data is an important moment each year to take stock of the progress Australian businesses are making on gender equality. Critical to this is organisations reporting transparently and setting numerical and time-based targets to achieve change.
We will continue to champion gender equality and diversity as an important part of our commitment to support better retirement outcomes for our members.
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