McConnell Dowell and Built Environs welcome the opportunity to take stock and reiterate our commitment to gender equality in our organisation.
Findings in the WGEA Gender Pay Gap report have been consistent with our own independent assessments and align with areas that we have been actively working to improve. We firmly believe that a diverse and inclusive workforce is not only a moral imperative but also a strategic advantage. Embracing gender equality aligns with our core values, improves our organisational culture, and ultimately contributes to our overall success.
As is clear in the WGEA data, our gender pay gap results are primarily a result of workforce composition differences rather than any disparities between men and women working in like roles. Because we have more men than women working in senior roles and remote roles that attract relevant compensation, a wider gap in median earnings exists for women compared to men. Our long-term strategy to continue to close this gap starts at the ground level, targeting an even gender balance across our graduate cohort. As a result, our current workforce composition shows a higher proportion of women in entry level and administrative roles compared to senior technical and management positions. This relationship between experience, specialism and remuneration is reflected in our results, and we acknowledge the need for ongoing focus on workforce composition to address this disparity in representation at senior levels.
We are making ongoing efforts to increase the representation of women in leadership roles. In recent years, the percentage of women appointed to managerial positions (both internally promoted and externally hired) has exceeded the overall percentage of women in the management category. A number of initiatives are contributing to this, such as including more women in our key internal and external leadership programs and accelerated development initiatives than the current proportion of women leaders, and tracking and reporting against the diversity of talent in our senior leadership recruitment processes.
The results of these efforts are becoming apparent and show a positive trajectory. 40% of the roles in our Australian Leadership Team are now occupied by women, which is well above the industry average.
Our commitment to addressing the gender pay gap is also reflected in the following policies and actions:
- Gender pay equality in like for like positions, formally reviewed and addressed since 2019 in our Annual Remuneration Review processes
- Transparent and consistent performance assessment and development planning processes
- Ongoing analysis of appointment salaries by gender, with specific feedback to hiring managers
- Clear policies or strategies in place to address sources of gender inequality, including:
- Workforce composition
- Equal remuneration between women and men
- Flexible working arrangements
- Sexual harassment and inappropriate workplace behaviour
- Improved parental leave entitlements, including encouraging men to take primary carer’s leave.
With the annual release of the WGEA Gender Pay Gap report, we reaffirm our long-term commitment to gender equality, both in terms of opportunity and reward. We invite stakeholders, including employees, clients, and partners, to engage with the report and collaborate with us in fostering a workplace that champions diversity and inclusion. We look forward to continuing to see improvement in this area – not only within our organisation but the industry as a whole.