There is growing pay parity between men and women, and media agencies are experiencing strong job growth, according to the 2019 MFA (Media Federation of Australia) Industry Census.

Released today, the annual census reveals that staff numbers in media agencies are up 7.3 per cent year-on-year, with MFA members employing 3,684 people.

Vacancy rates are down to 6.8 per cent , from 9.2 per cent in 2017.

The census revealed pay parity within the media agency industry is growing, with the average female full-time salary one per cent higher than that of their male colleagues – versus the national pay gap of 16.2 per cent in favour of men.

Flexible working for everyone is also high on the agenda for MFA members, with the opportunity to work from home available to 94 per cent of media agency employees, and 7 per cent of the workforce employed part time.

Significantly, women constitute 60 per cent of media agency personnel and hold 37 per cent of all management roles.

The representation of women in leadership positions within the industry is higher than the average in the Australian workplace as compared to figures by the Federal Government’s Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA), which shows that women hold 30.5 per cent of key management positions.

Peter Horgan, MFA chair  & CEO of Omnicom MediaGroup, said: “The MFA’s annual Census provides an important snapshot of the health of media agencies, and we’re happy to see the industry tracking so well, particularly at a time of rapid change and increased business pressures.

“The census also shows that a talent shortage remains in key positions such as implementation, client services, digital and programmatic roles, but I am confident we can work together to address this issue through the continued implementation of training and development programs – in addition to the recent introduction of the Advertising Industry Labour Agreement.”

MFA CEO Sophie Madden added: “It’s pleasing to report the continued growth of our industry population, and to see member agencies surpassing the national average in the critical areas of flexible working, balanced leadership and pay parity.

“As an industry, we have been benchmarking and focusing on this for a while so it’s great to see the hard work delivering results.”