Gender equality and women’s empowerment across Australia and the Asia-Pacific region are a firm commitment of our organisation. As part of this commitment, this year we have begun a targeted internal evaluation of gender equality within our organisation. The focus for this has been identifying our own areas of improvement. So far, this process – which is still ongoing – has included the calculation of the organisation’s Gender Pay Gap, consultation with all members of staff, and the provision of recommendations (identified through engagements within the team) for improvements across different facets of the organisation.
This year, Sustineo is joining the 54% of employers who conducted Gender Pay Gap analysis in 2022. Using the calculator provided by the Australian government’s Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA), we have calculated our Gender Pay Gap. Originally, the calculation of Sustineo’s Gender Pay Gap was for the purpose of stimulating discussion internally about gender equality within the organisation. However, emerging from the process was a feeling from the team that publishing our Gender Pay Gap was appropriate, particularly in terms of living our values, being transparent, and always striving to improve our organisation.
As of 1 January 2023, Sustineo’s Gender Pay Gap is 26%. This is above the national gender pay gap of 13.3%, and above the WGEA Employer Census Gender Pay Gap of 22.8%. Given Sustineo’s small size, this gap is predominantly generated by the gender composition of manager and non-manager roles. When comparing at the same level, the average salary for women is higher than for men.
Our CEO, Mr Tom Sloan, reflected on these results:
“In all honesty, I was surprised and disappointed about where we are currently sitting at the overall level. While our organisational size means that small changes in team composition can have a significant impact on this calculation, it serves as a point in time reflection of where we currently are, and will continue to be an ongoing measure for how we develop as an organisation.”
While pay equity is a key aspect of ensuring gender equality in the workplace, our consultations with staff have focused on broader experiences of working in Sustineo. In particular, female members of staff have had the opportunity to provide feedback and voice any desired changes. The feedback provided was overwhelmingly positive and reflected the organisation-wide efforts to cultivate a positive and respectful environment.
“I am grateful for the team’s participation through the internal process that we have run. While broadly re-affirming many of the good things about our culture, I feel it has opened an important space for discussion and given further shape for a suite of strategies and changes we were planning. This has been a really positive experience and I am glad that we took the step we have” Tom Sloan said.
The recommendations that have been developed through the consultation with staff cover topics including strengthening our internal processes, expanding our learning activities, and providing more support for campaigns we care about. Some of these recommendations have already been implemented and taken together, the recommendations form the basis of our ongoing efforts to ensure gender equality within Sustineo.