The City of Sydney is continuing to drive gender equity across its workforce, with its latest review showing an overall gender pay gap in favour of women.
The City’s fourth gender pay equity review found an overall gender pay gap of 7.8% in favour of women, with more women employed in higher paying jobs across the organisation.
When the City compared men and women in equitable salaried roles, there was a small gender pay gap of 1.1 per cent in favour of men, but this was an improvement on last year’s results of 1.7%.
By comparison, Australia’s national gender pay gap is 14% in favour of men, and in public sector organisations it is 10.7%.
The City was one of the first local governments in Australia to monitor and publicly report on its gender pay equity, with results well above national averages.
To further support gender equity, the City is also building on its parental leave provisions by doubling the amount of paid partner leave employees can receive at the time of birth or adoption of a child.
Non-primary carers employed by the City will now be entitled to four weeks paid leave, or eight weeks at half pay.
Lord Mayor Clover Moore said by offering workplace incentives for non-primary carers to take a more active parenting role with newborn children, the City is signalling a revaluing of care and helping to create more care-focused communities.
“Unpaid care is still highly gendered. We know that career interruption for women who are pregnant or caring for children is one of the main contributors to the gender pay gap,” the Lord Mayor said.
“Non-primary carers generally have less access to family-friendly policies, such as parental leave or flexible working arrangements.
“That’s why we’re extending our paid partner leave to support all parents and carers in the crucial early days of a child’s life.
“Our hope is that through these new measures, we can support families to find a more balanced approach to work and care responsibilities, which benefits all parents and their children.”
At the City of Sydney, women make up 43% of the total workforce and occupy over 49% of leadership positions, including in traditionally male-dominated sectors.
In 2018, the City began paying superannuation for up to 52 weeks for staff on parental leave, helping close the long-term wealth gap between men and women.
Employees also have access to generous maternity leave and adoption leave provisions – 18 weeks on full pay including superannuation (or 36 weeks at half pay) and an additional 34 weeks of unpaid leave.
In recognition of its efforts, this year the City was recognised as an inclusive workplace and employer of choice for women, receiving the 2019 Australian HR Award for Best Workplace Diversity and Inclusion Program.
