Women with Catholic employers are well-supported, according to the first national gender pay gap report, but some organisations said there remains scope to better uphold the equal dignity of all their employees. Source: The Catholic Weekly.
The Workplace Gender Equality Agency published gender pay gaps of nearly 5000 private companies with 100 more employees for the first time on February 27.
Catholic workplaces consistently reported less than the national median gap of 19 per cent – understood as the difference between women’s and men’s average weekly full-time equivalent earnings in an organisation where the women earn 19 per cent less overall.
Australian Catholic University reported a median pay gap of 14.5 per cent, Caritas Australia 13.1 per cent, the Archdiocese of Sydney chancery 12.2 per cent, and many Catholic schools, clubs, health and welfare agencies showed smaller or negligible gaps.
In an employer statement Caritas, which had a workforce comprising almost 70 per cent of women in the reporting period, said that factors such as parental leave options contribute to its pay gap.
“While reducing the gender pay gap can be complex, it is a critical objective for Caritas Australia,” said the charity’s people director, Alicia Benardos.
“We wholeheartedly commit to further foster an inclusive workplace where everyone has equal opportunity to thrive.”
ACU Chief People Officer Angelle Laurence said the university’s action plan to remove barriers to equity and diversity was recently awarded a national accreditation for gender equality in education called the Athena Swan Bronze Award.
Anthony Micallef, the Archdiocese of Sydney’s Director of People and Culture, said it has worked hard in recent years to improve the representation of women at senior levels, including appointing the first female member of its curia, the body that assists Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP in governance.
It has also improved parental leave access, workplace flexibility and other entitlements for all employees.
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Women do better in Catholic jobs (By Marilyn Rodrigues, The Catholic Weekly)
