06 March, 2026
New data from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency [1] and findings from the 2025 CEW Senior Executive Census [2] show that employer gender pay gaps are highest in the industries where women hold the fewest executive leadership positions.
Chief Executive Women CEO Lisa Annese said the combined picture painted by the WGEA data and the CEW Census should prompt a serious conversation about the link between who leads companies and how those companies pay their workers.
“The industries where women are most absent from senior leadership are the same industries with the widest gender pay gaps. This should not be surprising,” Ms Annese said.
WGEA's 2024-25 Employer Gender Pay Gaps data, published today, shows mid-point employer pay gaps are widest in construction (23.8%), financial and insurance services (21.4%), rental, hiring and real estate services (19.5%), mining (18.9%) and utilities (18.9%).
The CEW Senior Executive Census shows that in the utilities sector, no ASX 300 company has a woman CEO and there are no women in CEO pipeline roles. In materials and resources, 4% of CEOs are women. In industrials, the figure is 7%. In real estate, no company has a woman CEO.
"When women are in leadership, they bring firsthand experience of the barriers that hold women back," Ms Annese said.
"They are more likely to recognise where bias is influencing decisions about pay, promotion and progression, and more likely to take action to address it."
WGEA data also shows the mid-point gender pay gap on discretionary payments such as bonuses and overtime sits at 29.7%.
"Discretionary pay is where bias is most likely to show up," Ms Annese said.
Lovisa Holdings illustrates this dynamic. WGEA data shows the company has a gender pay gap of 52.2%, despite a workforce that is overwhelmingly women. The CEW Census found Lovisa has no women in its executive leadership team and no gender target.
"When a company whose workforce and customers are overwhelmingly women has no women making decisions at the top, the pay gap is a predictable outcome," Ms Annese said.
Ms Annese said closing the gender pay gap is also an economic imperative, with research showing gender-diverse executive teams are 21% more likely to outperform and gender equality could add $128 billion to Australia's GDP.
Nationally, employer pay gaps are narrowing, with the mid-point falling from 12.1% to 11.2%. From 2026, large employers will be required to commit to gender equality targets for the first time.
"This is a necessary reform, and one CEW has long advocated for," Ms Annese said.
"The CEW Census has consistently shown that companies with 40:40 gender targets are 2.7 times more likely to achieve gender balance."
"But targets alone are not enough. Companies need to ensure women are in the rooms where pay, promotion and pipeline decisions are being made."
[1] Workplace Gender Equality Agency - Employer Gender Pay Gaps Report 2024-25
[2] Chief Executive Women – Senior Executive Census 2025
Media Contact: Mayank Gurnani
E: mgurnani@cew.org.au
M: +61 414 463 827
About Chief Executive Women
Since 1985, Chief Executive Women (CEW) has influenced and engaged all levels of Australian business and government to remove the barriers to women's progression and ensure equal opportunity for prosperity. CEW's 1,400 members represent Australia's most senior and distinguished leaders across the country's largest private and public organisations, collectively overseeing over 1.3 million employees and $749 billion in revenue.