2025 reporting period
For the 2025 WGEA reporting period, Austrade had a gender pay gap for its Australian employees of 10.2%.
Austrade’s gender pay gap is primarily driven by the higher representation of women in lower-paid, non-management roles. This is consistent with broader APS workforce patterns, where women are over-represented in lower pay bands and quartiles. While Austrade has equal or greater female representation at Senior Executive and Executive levels, the concentration of women in lower-classified roles continues to affect overall remuneration outcomes. Employees are engaged under common conditions, with transparent pay scales and bands, and roles are filled through open, merit-based APS recruitment processes.
Effective strategies
Austrade is taking a practical and sustained approach to improving gender equality outcomes. The following strategies are focused on addressing the factors that contribute to the gender pay gap, while supporting women’s representation, progression and participation across the workforce.
- Increasing women’s representation in senior and leadership roles to 50%, while also working towards an overall workforce gender balance target of 50:50.
- Supporting women’s development and progression through targeted leadership initiatives, including the Women in Leadership Program, which helps build a strong pipeline of women progressing from APS to Executive Level and Senior Executive Service roles.
- Strengthening retention through the Austrade Gender Equality Network (AGEN), an employee-led group that promotes gender equality through education, awareness and targeted support. AGEN’s current initiatives include the Women in Diplomacy Circle, access to menstrual products in offices and consideration of new talent development offerings.
- Continuing to implement recommendations from Austrade’s 2023 WORK180 endorsement as an employer of choice for women. The endorsement assesses workplace practices such as pay equity, flexible work, paid parental leave, equal opportunity and other factors that support women’s participation and progression.
- Regularly reviewing policies and procedures to ensure they remain consistent, equitable and supportive of employee engagement. This includes recognising menopause and menstruation symptoms as a reasonable basis for accessing sick leave entitlements.
- Providing a range of employee supports, including flexible working arrangements such as remote work, adjustable start and finish times, compressed hours, part-time work and job sharing, as well as equitable leave and non-leave-based supports.
- Working to remove the distinction between primary and secondary carers for Australia-based employees from March 2027, enabling all eligible employees to access 18 weeks of paid parental leave.
- Maintaining a safe, respectful and inclusive workplace, with a zero-tolerance approach to discrimination, bullying and harassment.
More information
Contact us
Email: diversity@austrade.gov.au