I remember walking through a shopping centre last month, watching people flock to stores that marketed themselves as champions of female empowerment – the same companies that maintain some of the highest gender pay gaps in retail, according to the latest WGEA Gender Pay Gaps report.
The irony is both painful and infuriating.
Some of the biggest brands that profit from women—selling them jewellery, clothes, and so-called empowerment slogans—are the same ones with staggering gender pay gaps. Selling women the promise of self-expression and independence, yet their pay check figures tell a different story. It’s a tale as old as time: companies love marketing to women but seem much less enthusiastic about paying them fairly.
The gender pay gap: A convenient oversight
The gender pay gap conversation in Australia has remained frustratingly one-dimensional.
We celebrate improvements in the overall numbers while ignoring the complex reality that many women face–intersectionality.
I have spent years working with organisations in the space of inclusion and leadership opportunities for women in the workplace, and what troubles me most is how our measurements consistently fail vulnerable women.
The latest WGEA Employer Gender Pay Gaps Report (March 2025) doesn’t include a single mention of ‘cultural diversity’, ‘LGBTQIA+’, or ‘disability’.
According to their website “the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 authorises WGEA to collect workforce data about women and men. For this reason, WGEA does not report on additional characteristics such as race, ability, or other gender identities”. I ask the question, why not? If we want a truly inclusive workforce, we can’t just focus on gender in isolation. By failing to account for these variables, we’re allowing companies to present a convenient but misleading picture of workplace equality.
Ethnic pay gaps: The missing piece
Australia is one of the most culturally diverse nations in the world. Nearly half of us were either born overseas or have at least one parent who was. More than 300 languages are spoken across the country. And yet, despite this rich diversity, women from diverse backgrounds remain invisible in our primary measurements of equality.
These women face compounding barriers – language challenges, qualification recognition issues, childcare access problems, and social exclusion. The result? They are funnelled into low-paid, insecure work with minimal advancement opportunities. The statistics tell the story: culturally diverse women have a workforce participation rate of just 47.3% compared to 69.5% for men from similar backgrounds.
The intersections of financial insecurity
When we ignore intersectionality, the most vulnerable groups fall through the cracks, and the consequences are devastating. The fastest-growing group experiencing homelessness in Australia? Older women – a 31% increase between 2011 and 2016. Now, over 7,300 women over 55 are homeless. This isn’t an accident – it’s the predictable outcome of lifetimes spent earning less, facing discrimination, and being undervalued.
These are lives of women who have worked, raised families, and contributed to society, only to be left financially precarious in later years.
Practical solutions: moving beyond awareness
So, what do we do about this? Here are some practical steps we need to take to bridge these gaps:
- Demand intersectional pay gap reporting – We need data that accounts for ethnicity, disability, and other intersecting identities. Without this, we can’t address the full scope of inequality.
- Hold companies accountable beyond marketing – If a company profits from women, it should be paying them fairly. Customers can demand transparency and ethical labour practices from brands that target them as consumers.
- Support businesses with proven equitable practices across all identity dimensions. Research before you shop, especially with brands that market heavily to women.
- Create industry-specific mentorship networks for culturally diverse women. Sometimes insider knowledge of industry norms can help overcome institutional barriers.
- Normalise salary transparency in your workplace. Being open about compensation can reveal patterns of discrimination that might otherwise remain hidden.
- Redefine financial wellbeing – More conversations about financial security, wealth accumulation, and retirement stability. All women need access to resources that help them build long-term financial resilience.
- Push for flexibility and access – Flexible work arrangements and accessible childcare are crucial for increasing workforce participation among women.
An equal future for women is an equal future for all
Every system can change when enough people demand it. While we do face real challenges—missing intersectional data, ethnic pay gaps, and financial insecurity for older women—there’s genuine reason for hope. The conversation is evolving, consumers are demanding better from women-focused brands, and we already have the tools to create change.
Nothing for us, without us. Our voices are increasingly unmistakable in this conversation, and that’s exactly why I remain stubbornly, pragmatically hopeful that true financial equity for all women is within reach.
Top photo source: Supplied. Pictured: Ruhee Meghani
