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Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ) has launched a new playbook providing detailed resources and guidance to address the profession’s gender pay gap.
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Accounting profession rallies to address gender pay gap: CA ANZ
16 February 2022
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10 minute read
Aimed at business owners, executives, managers, and employees alike, Narrowing Your Gender Pay Gap aims to deliver the tools needed to address gender pay gaps, including best-practice case studies, guidance on implementing gender pay gap reporting and solutions, and myth-busting facts and data.
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The playbook follows Workplace Gender Equality Agency data released on Friday (11 February) that found more than 85 per cent of employers still had pay gaps in favour of men.
The 2021 CA ANZ Remuneration Survey also found that while more women than men are entering the profession, a significant gender pay gap remains, on average $50,000 and $60,000 in Australia and New Zealand respectively.
“We are still in the early stages of our work on this issue, but we are determined to be vocal, to track and to fix this issue as part of our broader strategy for accounting to be a more diverse and inclusive profession,” CA ANZ chief executive Ainslie van Onselen said.
“There is a war for talent in both Australia and New Zealand and firms that address gender pay gaps and develop inclusive career pathways will be in a much better position to secure the talent they need to thrive.”
CA ANZ general manager, member engagement, Joe Consedine, said that the robust discussions following the 2021 Remuneration Survey are reflected in the playbook.
“There were some really frank conversations after we published the results of our last Remuneration Survey, which are reflected in the playbook answering the hard questions, rebutting myths and providing an action plan,” Mr Consedine said.
“The power of this playbook is that it’s practical, concise, and contains guidance that can be used every day. It draws on the challenges our members have faced, and the changes they’ve made to address them.”
Case studies in the playbook feature Deloitte, Xero, Sharesies and the Australia Securities Exchange (ASX).
“As a society we’ve seen a lot of innovation in product development, manufacturing, and marketing, but not so much in people strategies. Travel restrictions are only aggravating labour shortages, so now is the time to innovate in how we retain and attract talent,” Mr Consedine added.
“It’s going to take new thinking to create new career pathways that reward the skills and experience of women, but as shared in the playbook, every workplace can do it and they will be better off for it.”
Ninety-five per cent of Remuneration Survey respondents also said it was important for CA ANZ to address the gender pay gap.
“What we’re hearing from our members is that closing the gender pay gap is not only the right thing to do, but there’s a strong business case for it,” Mr Consedine added.
“By creating inclusive career pathways, you attract a much wider talent base, who bring a variety of skills and perspectives to give businesses the competitive edge. It’s just plain good business sense.”
This comes as recent research has revealed a polarising gap across the gender perception divide in the accounting profession with almost half of male accountants believing there is no gender pay gap.
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