Most of the biggest players in media and advertising have narrowed the gaping holes where gender pay equity should sit.
The Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) has for the second time published the gender pay gaps for 7,800 Australian private sector employers and 1,700 corporate groups.
For the first time, businesses a part of a bigger corporate group had to report both the group and individual employer’s gender pay gap.
In the advertising service sector for 2023-24, men are paid on average 14.1% more than women. This compares to the 14.6% reported in last year's WGEA data.
WGEA’s figures show the national average gender pay gap across all industries at 21.8% and showed 56% of employers reduced their gender pay gap in the last year.
The agency says employers should aim for a gap of 5% plus or minus. But across all employers, 79% of employers still have a gender pay gap outside the target range of +/-5%.
The median base salary gender pay gap, according to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency numbers:
- WPP (including Wavemaker, GroupM, Wunderman Thompson, Ogilvy, VML, AKQA, WPP, EssenceMediacom, Hogarth, The Brand Agency) last year: not recorded. This year: 21.2% (total remuneration 19.9%).
- Dentsu Management Services last year: 18.2% (total remuneration 18.1%). This year: 17.2% (total remuneration 17.5%).
- Publicis Multi Market Services (including Publicis Media, Publicis Communications, Publicis Sapient, Citrus International) last year: not recorded. This year: 13.3% (total remuneration 16.6%).
- Enero last year: 9.6% (total remuneration 9.8%). This year: 8.4% (total remuneration 12.9%).
- Howatson+Company last year: 25.4% (total remuneration 25.5%). This year: 12.1% (total remuneration 12.6%).
- Thinkerbell last year: not recorded. This year: 14.3% (total remuneration 13%).
- Interpublic Australia (including Mediabrands, R/GA, Initiative, Mccann) last year: not recorded. This year: 20.2% (total remuneration 19.4%).
- Clemenger Group Limited (including CHEP, Clemenger BBDO, Omnicom Media Group and CGL Retail) last year: not recorded. This year: 0.1% (total remuneration 16.8%)
- Nationwide News (News Corp Australia) last year: 9.4%. This year: 5.6% (total remuneration 10.5%)
- Nine Entertainment last year: 13.4% (total remuneration 10.1%). This year: 15.3% (total remuneration 17%)
- Seven Network last year: 10.8% (total remuneration 13.8%). This year: 8.8% (total remuneration 12.5%)
- oOh!media Limited (including oOh!media Street Furniture and oOh!media Operations) last year: -9.9% (total remuneration -15.7%). This year: -1.7% (total remuneration 2%).
- Nova Entertainment last year: 9% (total remuneration 6%). This year: -13.1% (total remuneration 14%).
- TikTok Australia last year: 15.3% (total remuneration 19.9%). This year: 14.8% (total remuneration 16.9%).
- Facebook Australia last year: -1.7% (total remuneration -2.6%). This year: -10.7% (total remuneration 6.9%).
- Google Australia last year: 3.7% (total remuneration 14.9%). This year: 3.6% (total remuneration 10.3%).
Agencies' WGEA data via Trinity P3.
Marketing management and pitch consultancy TrinityP3 says the data highlights the persistent pay gap across both advertising agencies and media owners, as well as the need for management and corporate boards to do more to close the pay gap.
Lydia Feely, general manager of TrinityP3, says there remains significant work to be done in our industry.
“This is the second year where we have seen the WGEA pay gap numbers come out and clearly there are businesses who have spent the past 12 months working on addressing issues in their businesses around the gender pay gap,” said Feely.
“That being said, the numbers put the problem front and centre. What is clear is that many adland and media businesses have a significant difference in how they pay their staff, based on gender, and we need to do more to close the ongoing pay gap.”
Media companies' WGEA data via TrinityP3.
Another positive this year, Feely noted, was the growing number of companies which published their own pay gap reports— Domain, Nine and REA—which provide far greater context to the WGEA figures.
“It’s good to see some companies, such as real estate classifieds Domain and REA, as well as News Corp, Nine, IPG Mediabrands, and Howatson + Co, publishing additional statements and giving context around their pay gap results," she said.
“This helps employees and stakeholders understand what they are doing to address the pay gap and lets them highlight the progress they are making. It surprises me that, in the second year of this reporting, so many companies are still allowing these numbers to go out but not taking the opportunity, WGEA gives you, to make an employer statement.
"Making a statement and providing context all help show that you are taking this issue seriously.”
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