SA WATER has achieved the business critical step of pay equity, registering a zero percent gender pay gap this year after successfully implementing its diversity and inclusion strategy.
Australia’s gender pay gap currently sits at 15.3pc, while SA Water’s zero percent gap is more remarkable given the water industry is male-dominated and often considered non-traditional for female workers.
SA Water chief executive Roch Cheroux said gender equity was an important social justice issue.
“The gender pay gap hurts us all – men, women and their families who depend on them – and its socio-economic impacts are long-term and significant,” he said.
“I’m so proud of our achievement – we pay fairly and gender doesn’t enter the equation.
“We’re accountable to our 1.6 million customers across the state and it is important we reflect the diversity of the community we serve.”
Two thirds of SA Water’s board of directors is female and three of its seven general managers are women, who are leading operational teams.
Female staff have spearheaded programs that have seen the utility harness new technologies, such as its smart water network, and introduce a raft of initiatives to improve the customer experience.
South Australian Commissioner for Equal Opportunity and SA Chiefs for Gender Equity group convenor Dr Niki Vincent congratulated SA Water.
“Eliminating pay gaps and achieving better gender balance in workplaces will help boost South Australia’s economic performance,” she said.
“We need more South Australian organisations to examine their own conscious and unconscious discrimination resulting from outdated gender stereotypes that may be preventing women from making the progression to senior levels of management or higher salary levels.
“Having more gender-balanced management should be a no-brainer because it is a sure way to help improve operational performance, including recruiting and retaining the best employees, increasing engagement and promoting more diversity of thought in decision-making at a senior level.”
SA Water’s zero pay gap success is a welcome milestone and forms part of South Australia’s leadership role in this area.
The state is the first in Australia to complete a pay audit of government departments and organisations as part of its wider policy launched in 2015 to achieve equality for women.
