Wealth firms’ gender pay gaps exposed

On Tuesday, it was revealed that financial and insurance services were among the worst gender pay gap offenders, with data from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) pointing to a gap of 26.1 per cent in the sector compared to the national average of 19 per cent - based on an employee’s total remuneration including base salary, superannuation, overtime, and bonuses.

The data was compiled based on a survey of some 5,000 businesses with 100 or more employees, which was the result of amendments to the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 passed by Parliament in March 2023.

Namely, Australian workplaces with 100 or more employees are now mandated, for the first time, to disclose both the base salary and total remuneration median gender pay gap to WGEA.

While WGEA’s data revealed that every industry had a median gender pay gap in favour of men, some firms performed better than others.

Among the wealth managers with the worst gender pay gap were Morgan Stanley with a total gap of 48.2 per cent, followed by Platinum with 40 per cent, and Betashares with 37.4 per cent.

ifa has aggregated the data reported by WGEA, showcasing the performance metrics of the largest asset managers, banks, and wealth management firms below.

WGEA’s analysis further revealed that out of the 62 firms operating in the finance sector alone, the upper pay quartile is predominantly composed of men, accounting for 66 per cent, whereas the lower quartile is predominantly occupied by women, constituting 62 per cent.