Invest
Investors urged to speak out against inequality
Shareholders have been urged to push back against gender equality laggards and consider exiting business relationships where inequality is ignored.
Investors urged to speak out against inequality
Shareholders have been urged to push back against gender equality laggards and consider exiting business relationships where inequality is ignored.
With a gender pay gap of 15.3 per cent and a superannuation gap of 47 per cent, according to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, it’s time for shareholders to step up in reducing gender inequality, a new report has found.
The Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility’s (ACCR) Gender Pay Equity and Australian Listed Companies report found that while 80 per cent of listed companies have taken action as a result of gender pay gap analysis, only 24 per cent of the ASX 100-listed companies have made a public commitment to gender pay equity.
“Research suggests that companies that have gender pay equity are more likely to outperform their peers,” the report’s authors said.
“Therefore, it is in Australian companies’ interests to be at the forefront of addressing gender pay equity issues within their operations. It is also in investors’ interests to play a role in monitoring and enforcing gender pay equity.”
ACCR, in conjunction with responsible corporate analysis group CAER, called on investors to take five steps:
- Encourage companies to include gender pay equity issues into investment due diligence, screening, engagement and monitoring processes;
- Where possible, publish information about their engagement with companies on gender pay issues, like voting records on these issues;
- Think about saying goodbye to business relationships where the companies are not only failing to address gender pay issues, but are also not responding to engagement;
- For super funds, pushes to close the super gap should be backed up by shareholder advocacy; and
- Investors should push companies to adopt the recommendations made in the report for ASX-listed companies.
These targets include transparency with staff around pay, annual gender pay analyses, public commitments and tangible action during the employment process.
“The United States has taken the lead with regards to investor action to address gender pay equity issues through devices such as shareholder resolutions,” the authors said.
“Australian investors should take heed to these movements, and seek to ensure that Australian companies are adequately addressing gender pay equity issues within their own operations, as failure to do so can lead to litigation, reputational and operational risk.”
RELATED ARTICLES
Property
Twice the demand: the case study behind Melbourne’s first‑home buyer surge
Melbourne has quietly engineered one of Australia’s most consequential housing turnarounds, with first‑home buyer demand running at roughly double the national pace and four of the top five buyer ...Read more
Property
First‑home buyers now anchor Australia’s mortgage growth — but the risk maths is changing
Great Southern Bank’s revelation that nearly one in three of its new mortgages went to first‑home buyers is not an outlier. It is the leading edge of a broader market realignment powered by government ...Read more
Property
Home guarantee scheme shake-up challenges Australia’s housing market players
From 1 October 2025, the expanded Home Guarantee Scheme (HGS) materially widens what first-home buyers can purchase and where. By sharply lifting price caps and relaxing eligibility settings, the ...Read more
Property
GSB’s first‑home buyer play: turning policy tailwinds into market share
Great Southern Bank’s latest results show that nearly one in three of its new mortgages now go to first‑home buyers—evidence of a fast‑moving market reshaped by government guarantees, easing rates and ...Read more
Property
Why investors are fleeing and renters are scrambling in Australia's housing maze
Australia’s rental market is tightening even as individual landlords sell down. New data points to a multi‑year investor retreat tied to higher holding costs and regulatory uncertainty, while prices ...Read more
Property
Australia's 5% deposit guarantee: Unlocking gains while balancing risks in the market share race
Can a bigger government guarantee fix housing access without fuelling prices? Australia is about to find out. The Albanese government’s expanded 5% deposit pathway aims to help 70,000 buyers, remove ...Read more
Property
Australia's bold move the 5% deposit scheme shaking up the housing market
Can a government guarantee replace lenders mortgage insurance without inflating prices or risk? Canberra’s accelerated 5% deposit scheme is a bold demand-side nudge in a supply‑constrained marketRead more
Property
When rates drop but stress sticks: exploring Australia's mortgage arrears dilemma
Headline numbers suggest arrears ease as rates come down. The reality in Australia is messier: broad measures dipped into mid‑2025, yet severe delinquencies and non‑bank portfolios remain under ...Read more
Property
Twice the demand: the case study behind Melbourne’s first‑home buyer surge
Melbourne has quietly engineered one of Australia’s most consequential housing turnarounds, with first‑home buyer demand running at roughly double the national pace and four of the top five buyer ...Read more
Property
First‑home buyers now anchor Australia’s mortgage growth — but the risk maths is changing
Great Southern Bank’s revelation that nearly one in three of its new mortgages went to first‑home buyers is not an outlier. It is the leading edge of a broader market realignment powered by government ...Read more
Property
Home guarantee scheme shake-up challenges Australia’s housing market players
From 1 October 2025, the expanded Home Guarantee Scheme (HGS) materially widens what first-home buyers can purchase and where. By sharply lifting price caps and relaxing eligibility settings, the ...Read more
Property
GSB’s first‑home buyer play: turning policy tailwinds into market share
Great Southern Bank’s latest results show that nearly one in three of its new mortgages now go to first‑home buyers—evidence of a fast‑moving market reshaped by government guarantees, easing rates and ...Read more
Property
Why investors are fleeing and renters are scrambling in Australia's housing maze
Australia’s rental market is tightening even as individual landlords sell down. New data points to a multi‑year investor retreat tied to higher holding costs and regulatory uncertainty, while prices ...Read more
Property
Australia's 5% deposit guarantee: Unlocking gains while balancing risks in the market share race
Can a bigger government guarantee fix housing access without fuelling prices? Australia is about to find out. The Albanese government’s expanded 5% deposit pathway aims to help 70,000 buyers, remove ...Read more
Property
Australia's bold move the 5% deposit scheme shaking up the housing market
Can a government guarantee replace lenders mortgage insurance without inflating prices or risk? Canberra’s accelerated 5% deposit scheme is a bold demand-side nudge in a supply‑constrained marketRead more
Property
When rates drop but stress sticks: exploring Australia's mortgage arrears dilemma
Headline numbers suggest arrears ease as rates come down. The reality in Australia is messier: broad measures dipped into mid‑2025, yet severe delinquencies and non‑bank portfolios remain under ...Read more
