Workplace Gender Equality Agency Gender Pay Gap Employer Statement 2024

We welcome the Workplace Gender Equality Agency’s (WGEA) gender pay gap reporting as an important contributor to transparency, and we are committed to continuing to take steps to reduce our gender pay gap. 

The WGEA report analysed the gender pay gap of all employees across the firm. While the report provides a high-level overview of our gender pay gap (the difference in average earnings between male and female employees across the firm regardless of their role or seniority), we place equal importance on any pay equity gap (which considers whether men and women are paid equally for doing equivalent roles). 

Our remuneration processes and governance include specific checks and balances to guard against bias throughout the employee lifecycle. Any gender pay gaps within specific cohorts are analysed as part of our annual remuneration approval process.  

Currently, our pay equity gap is 0.6% in favour of women, while our average total remuneration gender pay gap is 12.7%, and the median is 15.6%. Our gender pay gap is lower than the legal services industry average.

While we recognise that there are several factors that contribute to the current pay gap, we are not shying away from the fact that we have more work to do to address gender balance in some roles across the firm.

The analysis indicates that, as is the case for many other firms in Australia, our gender pay gap is driven by the type of roles within our organisation and the distribution of men and women performing those roles. This is represented by more women in the lower pay quartile than men, as there is a higher proportion of women in junior legal and business services administration roles. Differences in casual or part-time work (predominantly affecting women) also affect our pay gap. 

In terms of gender pay equity, our analysis confirms that men and women are paid equally for doing equivalent jobs across our firm.

Our 8 Drivers for Gender Equity

Improving gender balance in the firm is a key priority. Since we first set gender targets in 2014, we've more than doubled the number of women in the global partnership (from 18% to 31%). By 1 May 2030, our goal is that women will comprise 40% of partners and partner leadership roles. And in Australia, we are on track to reach parity – 50% – by 2030.

Our 8 Drivers for Gender Equity create greater transparency and consistency about the steps we're taking to achieve gender equity.

Underpinning this work are actions to improve gender balance – for example, analysing the talent pipeline for partnership (including the leadership pipeline); and ensuring that junior partners have the right support from their team, as well as from the broader network.

We’re also focused on ensuring we’re representative of all women in our firm – for example, understanding the experiences of LGBT+ women in the workplace. We offer generous parental policies to support all working parents, regardless of family structure, gender identity or sexual orientation.

In addition, we remain committed to better supporting people returning from parental leave – as this can be a challenging time of adjusting to new routines, rebuilding client relationships and maintaining career progression. We run sessions to bring together people who are on parental leave – or are preparing to go or returning from parental leave – to encourage people to share experiences and insights with colleagues at a similar life stage. We are committed to continuing and building on these activities. And we are confident the efforts we’re making will not only help us reduce our pay gaps, but, importantly, will help build an environment that feels inclusive and supportive for all our people to grow their careers.