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News update

Is your board ready? Obligations for employers under the Workplace Gender Equality Act

In 2023, the Workplace Gender Equality Amendment (Closing the Gender Pay Gap) Act introduced new obligations for employers reporting to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA). These changes aimed to improve transparency and accelerate workplace gender equality.

As part of gender equality reporting in the year ahead, employers will be asked to confirm that they have met these obligations. In addition, publishing of employer gender pay gaps in late February 2025 is likely to bring increased public scrutiny of employers’ performance on workplace gender equality.

As company secretaries and governance professionals, it is critical to ensure your board is providing good governance of these new requirements and is leveraging them to drive quality board discussion and meaningful progress on gender equality.

Here’s what you need to know:

What are the obligations?

Under the amended Act, CEOs must share the following documents with their board or governing body:

  1. Executive Summary

This document summarises key results from your organisation’s annual Gender Equality Reporting. It provides insights into your gender equality performance against six gender equality indicators.

  1. Industry Benchmark Report

This report analyses your organisation’s data against a group of comparable employers, based on industry classification and number of employees, offering valuable context for your gender equality efforts.

Ideally both documents are provided to the board together as the information is complementary.  At the latest, this must occur as soon as reasonably practical after the Industry Benchmark report is available, which was early November 2024. Find out more about these obligations.

In February 2024, WGEA published employer gender pay gaps for the first time. In late February 2025, WGEA will again publish employer gender pay gaps based on 2023-2024 reporting, along with the Employer Statements of employers who elect to provide one to communicate with key stakeholders about their gender pay gap and the actions they are undertaking to address it.

What does this mean for directors?

Boards play a pivotal role in driving change on workplace gender equality and gender pay gap publishing can catalyse action. In the UK, since gender pay gap publishing, the majority of UK employers reported greater engagement on the gender pay gap within their organisations, including increased awareness by the board (70%), board discussions about the gender pay gap (63%), and board action on the gender pay gap (47%).

Here’s how directors can use WGEA reporting requirements and gender pay gap publishing to accelerate progress:

  1. Understand your gender equality position

Use the requirement to share the Executive Summary and Industry Benchmark Report with the board or governing body to have a rich discussion about gender equality priorities and plans.

Five questions to prompt meaningful Board discussion:

  • What are the key drivers of gender inequality evident in our data (reported in the Executive Summary and Industry Benchmark Report)?
  • What expectations of management is the Board setting on how quickly and ambitiously to improve workplace gender equality?
  • What actions are being undertaken and funding (capital or operating) invested to improve gender equality outcomes?
  • How are gender equality outcomes reflected in CEO, executive and manager KPIs?
  • How will the board be assured of progress on workplace gender equality?

Ensure the board is well briefed on the state of gender equality in the organisation and the key drivers of these results, strengths and areas for improvement, and meaningful comparisons with like organisations. WGEA’s Data Explorer provides access to the reported data and enables comparisons with specific organisations, as well as industry-level data. Good briefing enables the board to effectively speak to, oversight and authorise your organisation’s areas of focus and plans for action.

  1. Commit to transparency and accountability

With gender pay gap data being published annually, your board must focus on the strategic opportunities for improvement and risks of inaction. Regularly review and discuss strategies to improve workplace gender equality and track progress.

Encouraging the CEO to develop an Employer Statement, to be published alongside your gender pay gap in late February 2025, is a recommended step to demonstrate your organisation’s commitment to improving your gender pay gap and progressing gender equality in your workplace. This can usefully be provided to the Board at the same time as the WGEA reports.

  1. Lead by example

Is your Board and are your committees gender-balanced (i.e., gender split of between 40% and 60% of men and women)? If not, what action is being taken to address this? For example:

  • Setting targets (e.g., 40:40:20)
  • Seeking gender-balanced candidate pools
  • Director term limits to promote Board renewal
  • Gender-informed Board renewal, committee appointment and succession planning.
  1. Engage stakeholders

Communicate openly with employees, investors, and other stakeholders about your approach to workplace gender equality, including  through publishing an Employer Statement, to demonstrate your board’s commitment to fostering an inclusive workplace.

  1. Act on insights

Move beyond compliance by using these reports to initiate change. Set measurable organisational goals, align CEO incentives with gender equality outcomes, and send a clear message of commitment to ensuring a workplace where everyone thrives.

Resources to support you

To help you take the next step in ensuring your board is ready to meet these obligations and lead the charge on workplace gender equality and resources, WGEA offers practical tools and guidance, including: