In the lead-up to Equal Pay Day on Monday 19 August, a powerful new campaign titled “Out of Sight, Out of Pocket” has been launched to confront a critical gap in Australia’s gender equity efforts: the need for intersectional gender pay gap reporting. The campaign was led by Ladies Talk Money, and supported by a coalition of like-minded individuals, organisations, and advocates, including Young Folks, Victorian Women’s Trust, MindTribes, and Missing Perspectives.
It calls on individuals, businesses, and the government to take urgent action in addressing the compounded pay disparities faced by women and gender-diverse people with intersecting marginalised identities. The campaign is launching at a pivotal moment, with mandatory gender pay gap reporting under increased scrutiny following recent Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) data releases. However, without intersectional data, the full extent of pay disparities remains hidden.
“An intersectional lens reveals systemic barriers unique to different identities, allowing for targeted, nuanced strategies that address root causes of economic disparities among women,” said Jarowair, Wakka Wakka & Wulli Wulli woman and economic justice advocate, Larisha Jerome.
The campaign’s open letter addresses key leaders, including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese MP, Minister for Women Katy Gallagher, WGEA CEO Mary Wooldridge, and Australian Statistician David Gruen. It urges the government to implement intersectional data collection and reporting under the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012, incorporating factors such as age, ethnicity, disability, First Nations status, and sexual orientation.
“We know people’s experiences of gender-based discrimination are compounded by their intersecting identities such as race, socio-economic status, sexuality, neurodiversity, and disability. A lack of intersectional data and analysis means we can only really understand the tip of this iceberg,” said Min-Shi Michelle Lim, organisational culture specialist and DE&I Advocate.
The campaign emphasises the need for robust privacy protections and training for organisations to ensure ethical and accurate data collection.
“Each year, we’re told which date Equal Pay Day will fall on, but – Equal Pay Day for who exactly? While the ABS and WGEA do a great job, and their work is important, we mustn’t take our foot off the gas when it comes to social and gender equity in this country. As it stands, there are still too many people being left out of the conversation. And in this instance, out of sight also means out of pocket,” said campaign lead and Ladies Talk Money co-founder, Chandel Rose.
The “Out of Sight, Out of Pocket” campaign calls for coordinated action across three levels:
Individual action: raising public awareness of the limitations of current gender pay gap reporting and advocating for intersectional data to better understand and address pay disparities.
Business action: encouraging businesses to adopt and support intersectional pay gap reporting, contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of inequity within their organisations. And to implement quick wins such as salary bands to provide pay transparency across the organisation.
Systemic action: pushing for regulatory changes that mandate intersectional pay gap reporting, ensuring data privacy, and respecting cultural safety and First Nations’ data sovereignty.
“Creating a workplace where pay equity is the norm shouldn’t be up for debate. It’s our responsibility as leaders to ensure all women — across all intersections of race, socio-economic status, sexuality, and ability — are paid fairly and have the same chance to progress,” said Erin Morris, founder and managing director, Young Folks. “Access to intersectional pay gap data will help leaders fully understand the nuances of the current gender pay gap – and once they know better, they can do better”.
