Gender Equity
At the University of Tasmania we have a clear goal to eliminate the gender pay gap entirely. We are making progress, but we won’t rest until we get there.
We are continuing to narrow the gap – it has come down from 8.4% in 2020-21 to 6.9% in 2022-23. Our efforts to see more women in senior roles, and to ensure salary equivalence, has made a real difference. The latest results see us as having one of the smallest gaps in the sector (6.9%), and a much smaller gap than the sector average (10.1%) and the national average (21.7%).
While this demonstrates progress is possible, we have more to do. Our analysis has identified that the composition of our workforce is the primary driver of our gender pay gap. There are several elements to this:
- Women and men are represented relatively evenly in our academic workforce. However, women are more represented in our professional workforce. As academic positions are on average higher paying than professional support roles, this is a significant contributor to the difference between women’s and men’s average earnings at the University.
- There remains lower representation of women at senior leadership roles relative to our overall workforce. Whereas women comprise around 60% of the University’s workforce, women occupy 53% of senior leadership roles, and 40% of senior academic roles.
- Across all levels of our academic and professional workforce, more women are participating in part-time work.
Although these are the primary drivers of difference, given that our objective is the complete elimination of the gender pay gap, we will be putting together our next suite of initiatives to tackle each of the contributing causes.
The University of Tasmania’s progress towards eliminating gender pay gap
| Year | WGEA Calculated Gender Pay Gap at the University of Tasmania |
|---|---|
| 2020 - 2021 | 8.4% |
| 2021 - 2022 | 7.1% |
| 2022 - 2023 | 6.9% |
Employees at the University of Tasmania have access to the University’s 2023 report via the Staff Intranet.
For any comment, question or concerns regarding gender equity at the University, please contact our Workplace Inclusion, Diversity & Equity team.
Why is gender equity important for the University of Tasmania?
Our professional and academic leaders all agree: advancing gender equality demands commitment and action from all levels of the organisation, and in particular active leadership from those in senior roles.
Advancing gender equity will enable the University to position itself to capitalise on its diverse workforce and student base to drive a more engaged and inclusive work environment, higher levels of innovation, smarter decision making and operational efficiencies which will allow the University to achieve its research, learning and community engagement ambitions locally, nationally and internationally.
