Gender pay disparities continue to exist in the Australian advertising and media industry, with a significant gap of up to 26% between the earnings of men and women.
In anticipation of International Women’s Day on March 8, with a theme of ‘Inspire Inclusion’, the first-ever report in Australia detailing gender pay gaps at organizations with over 100 employees has revealed that male employees still earn 22% more than their female counterparts. This highlights the need for pay equity to be achieved by 2024.
The Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) suggests that employers should aim for a wage gap of 5% plus or minus. However, among the 5,000 private sector employees examined, 50% have a gender pay gap exceeding 9.1%.
The sectors with the widest gender pay gaps are construction, banking, and consulting. For example, UBS has a gap of 48%, Bank of America at 42%, and Citigroup at 29%. In contrast, the advertising industry pays men 14.6% more than women, largely due to the lack of women in high-paying roles and C-suite positions.
Katy Gallagher, Australia’s finance minister, emphasized the significant issue of pay disparity highlighted by the data from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, calling for organizational change to ensure women have equal opportunities.
Notably, WPP, the world\’s largest advertising group, has disclosed a median base pay gender pay gap of 19.2% in its Australian division.
On the other hand, Omnicom Media Group has a minimal gender pay gap of 0.3% and a median total remuneration gap of 0%. However, Omnicom’s DDB Group has a gender pay gap of 12% in median base salary and 10.9% in total remuneration.
Mediabrands Australia also reports minimal gaps at 0%. Clemenger BBDO follows closely with gaps of 1% and 0.7% in total remuneration, respectively.
Mark Coad, CEO of IPG Mediabrands Australia, highlighted the positive result for Mediabrands and the ongoing efforts to address gender pay gaps.
The out-of-home sector stands out in the media industry, with most key players showcasing pay distribution favoring female talent over men. The OOH media organization boasts a gender pay gap of “negative 2.2%.”
When it comes to agencies, despite the emphasis on DE&I, the commitment to closing the gender pay gap is lacking. Agencies, on average, have a double-digit gap of 10 to 20% for both median base salary and median total remuneration.
Howatson+Company, the only independent agency on the list with over 100 employees, has a gender pay gap of over 25% in its median base salary and 25.5% in its median total remuneration. Ogilvy Australia follows closely with a gender pay gap of 23.1%.
In the media and tech sectors, pay disparities between men and women vary. OOH companies like QMS, OOH!Media, and JCDecaux report negative gender pay gaps, while Val Morgan achieves gender pay parity with a gap of zero.
Among traditional media players, gender pay gaps typically range from five to 14%. Nine Entertainment has a 13.4% gender pay gap, Seven West Media at 10.8%, and ARN Media at 10.2%.
In the tech sector, Spotify stands out with a gender pay gap of 26.3% in total remuneration, highlighting the need for attention to achieve gender pay equality.
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