Helen Conway

Australia’s largest life insurer TAL has been awarded an Employer of Choice for Gender Equality Citation by the Commonwealth Workplace Gender Equality Agency.

The citation is awarded to organisations that meet rigorous standards in workplace gender equality and recognises the actions those organisations have taken to make lasting change to achieve gender equity.

TAL Group CEO Jim Minto said: “TAL is enormously proud to have been awarded the Employer of Choice for Gender Equality Citation which recognises the work we as a company have implemented to remove gender inequality from the workplace.

“This has involved closing the pay gap for all roles and a range of initiatives to promote greater diversity and inclusion for all regardless of gender, racial background or physical ability. Our work on diversity and inclusion is ongoing to ensure we maintain our positive and supportive workplace culture and to help our employees achieve their potential.”

Helen Conway, Director, Workplace Gender Equality Agency, said: “The WGEA Employer of Choice for Gender Equality Citation recognises organisations that have demonstrated an active commitment to gender equality in their workplace with a focus on removing the structural and cultural barriers that prevent the full participation of women at work.

“Employees should view this citation as a guiding light when making employment decisions. They should see it as a symbol of an organisation that is an industry leader, a facilitator of change and an employer who is committed to removing barriers that prevent all of their workforce from participating fully in the workplace.”

Key activities in TAL’s broader gender equality program include:

• Closing the pay gender gap to almost 100% equal pay across the organisation
• Maternity (and paternity) support, including introduction of popular Working Mum’s and Working Dad’s Programs
• Hiring both genders on equal pay for the same roles
• Management training on gender equity
• Monitoring, measuring and reporting of diversity and inclusion activities.

TAL was recently awarded Employer of the Year in the 2014 Money Management Women in Financial Services Awards in recognition of its commitment to gender equality, and Mr Minto was recently appointed an honorary Pay Equity Ambassador for the Workplace Gender Equality Agency in recognition of both TAL and his personal commitment to pay and gender equality in the workplace.

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Jim Minto appointed Pay Equity Ambassador for the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA).

Group CEO of Australia’s largest life insurer Jim Minto yesterday issued a challenge to corporate Australia in his new honorary role of Pay Equity Ambassador for the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA).

“TAL committed nearly two years ago to close the gender pay gap and we have achieved that. The fact is it can be fixed; it just requires measurement, planning, commitment and a disciplined program of implementation. I challenge the Australian business community to do this now as a business priority,” he said.

WGEA figures released yesterday show that nearly 74% of employers have never done a gender gap analysis.

TAL’s ratio of female to male pay rose from 82% to 98.5% following direct action over two years to redress pay inequality. This involved assessing all roles and a program involving new pay, recruitment and remuneration training, policies and guidelines along with an ongoing awareness campaign as well as developing a strong culture of diversity and inclusion right throughout the organisation.

“So my challenge is that there is no basis for gender pay inequality and that pay equity is achievable and straight forward. Every employer can fix this now. It just needs the urgent attention it deserves to ensure we get rid of, once and for all, this blight on our modern society,” Mr Minto said.

“We spend a lot of time talking about numbers of women in senior roles whereas we ignore the key issue of pay equity which apart from being right and fair for all women is one of the key building blocks to us having more women in senior roles.”

Other key activities in TAL’s broader gender equality program include:

• Flexible work arrangements
• Maternity (and paternity) support
• Hiring both genders on equal pay for the same roles
• Management training on gender equity
• Gender equity targets in Executive KPIs and performance plans
• Monitoring, measuring and reporting the results.

Mr Minto said survey results revealed that flexibility was something that employees of both genders wanted for different reasons across their lifespan and was something that especially had great resonance for working mothers.

“We also found that by encouraging more men to take up flexible work we were helping to dismantle the gender-based stigmas that previously bogged down flexibility discussions,” he said.

In 2012, 25% of diversity and inclusion survey respondents had considered leaving TAL due to work/life conflict. This has now reduced to 13%. There has been a 58% increase in the number of employees working flexibly from 31 to 49% over two years. TAL’s employee engagement survey listed diversity as the number one reason for staff wanting to stay with TAL as an employer.

“We strongly believe our gender equity and diversity and inclusion efforts will be reflected in the quality of service we’re able to deliver our customers and in our long-term sustainability as Australia’s largest life insurer.”

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TAL closes the gender pay gap.

Australia’s largest life insurer TAL has closed the pay gap between male and female employees to provide almost 100% equal pay for both genders throughout the organisation.

Closing the pay gap has been part of a coordinated initiative endorsed by the TAL Board and Executive to redress female inequality in all areas.

In terms of remuneration, women are currently paid 98% of male salaries out of almost 1500 employees. A year ago the ratio of female to male pay was 82%, which was then around the national average of pay inequality.

The Australian Government’s Workplace Gender Equality Agency released in March 2014 figures showing the current national gender pay gap for women is currently 17.1%. This means that women on average are being paid 17.1% less than men for the same job.

TAL Chief People and Culture Officer Andy Moffat said: “Addressing gender pay equity is not about simply applying a single solution but requires a multi-faceted approach.”

This includes:

• Manager education and awareness.
• Clear guidelines when reviewing remuneration.
• Hiring at the market rate for skills rather than simply offering an improvement to the existing base salary.
• Direct action where the gap for specific roles is clearly inequitable.
• Consistent reporting to Executive management and the Board.

While closing the pay gap has been important at TAL, the company has been working to ensure equity is achieved in other areas, too.

TAL requires both genders to be equally represented on the shortlist for every job opportunity, and access to job promotions across the organisation is now split 50/50 across the genders.

Mr Moffat said: “TAL is determined to ensure it makes lasting change to reflect both its own and the community’s expectations when it comes to equality. While the overall number of female employees at TAL represents 47% of all workers compared to 53% for men, a range of initiatives are underway to ensure a better balance in senior roles.

Other key activities in the broader gender equality program include:

• Flexible work arrangements
• Maternity (and paternity) support
• Hiring both genders on equal pay for the same roles
• Management training – to educate about gender equity
• Gender equity targets in Executive performance plans
• Monitoring and measuring results
• Reporting results all the way to the TAL Board.

Mr Moffat said: “Commercially, we need to make lasting change to be a sustainable and responsible business long term. This is not about taking one-off actions. Customers and society expect corporate institutions to do the right thing and our employees see this as being of high importance. Our most recent employee engagement survey listed diversity as the number one reason for staff wanting to stay with TAL as an employer.”

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