This International Women’s Day, under the UN’s theme of “March Forward,” we’re calling on businesses, leaders, and employees to take bold, measurable action to close the pay gap – because this is not just a women’s issue, it’s an everyone issue.
Fair pay isn’t just a passing trend. It’s the future of work, and it’s an essential step toward creating equitable, inclusive, and thriving workplaces. Yet, in 2025, the pay gap still exists. Women continue to earn less than men in the majority of industries across Australia, with barriers like pay secrecy, bias, and lack of transparency holding progress back. With our national pay gap still sitting at 21.8% – this IWD, we’re Marching Forward to close the gap.
Pay equity isn’t just about fairness—it’s about retaining top talent, driving innovation, and strengthening economies. At equidi, we’re dedicated to making transparent, fair, and data-driven pay a reality, and for the first time, our solution is now free for a 30-day trial. So, let’s look at how companies and employees can march forward together.
For Organisations: How to Lead the March on Closing Pay Gaps
Conduct Regular Pay Equity Analysis —And Act on the Findings
A company can’t change what it can’t see. A regular pay equity analysis usually uncovers unintended pay gaps and allows organisations to take corrective action.
✅ Action Step: Try equidi for free today to analyse, identify, and adjust pay gaps proactively, not reactively.
Tip: A pay analysis isn’t just a one-time fix—every day, your workforce changes – people come, people go, and people move around. To ensure fairness and consistency across hiring, promotions, and pay increases, we recommend doing your analysis at least once a quarter.
Embrace Pay Transparency
Pay secrecy allows pay gaps to persist. As a minimum, employees should know how pay decisions are made in your organisation, and salary bands should be clear and structured.
✅ Action Step: Consider publishing transparent salary bands or levels across your organisation and communicate clear promotion and pay rise criteria.
Tip: The Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) is publishing (for the first time ever) the pay quartiles for all reporting organisations on 4 March 2025. Why not use this opportunity to start your pay transparency journey?
Address Bias in Hiring & Promotions
Unconscious bias often results in women being hired at lower salaries and overlooked for promotions. These gaps compound over time, widening pay disparities right up to the point of retirement.
✅ Action Step: Implement structured salary offers, diversify your interview panels, and standardise promotion criteria.
Tip: Use our free Salary Benchmark tool (only available in the professional version) to sense-check your offer and the overall impact to pay gaps in your organisation – before you make the offer!
Offer Flexible Work & Family-Friendly Policies
Rigid work structures are often career limiting for those with caregiving responsibilities. Policies that support work-life balance help all employees thrive, not just women.
✅ Action Step: Implement gender agnostic paid parental leave, flexible work arrangements, and on-ramp programs for returning caregivers.
Hold Leadership Accountable for Closing Gaps
True change happens when leaders take responsibility for ensuring pay fairness. Closing pay gaps should be a key business metric, just like employee welfare and safety, revenue and profit.
✅ Action Step: Make reducing pay gaps a leadership KPI, with executives accountable for resolving disparities.
Tip: Recognise and reward leaders and teams that actively support creating equitable environments and career growth for women.
For Employees: How to Advocate for Closing Pay Gaps
Know Your Worth & Negotiate with Confidence
Women negotiate less than men, leading to significant lifetime earnings gaps. Knowledge is power—research market salaries and be ready to negotiate.
✅ Action Step: Use tools like equidi’s Salary Benchmark to compare salaries before job interviews or reviews.
Tip: Check out our top tips to nail your salary negotiation in this previous article.
Advocate for Pay Transparency
If your company doesn’t disclose salary ranges, ask why. Transparency benefits everyone and reduces pay gaps over time.
✅ Action Step: Start conversations with HR about how pay decisions are made and advocate for transparent salary structures.
Tip: If your employer is resistant, gather allies—collective advocacy is harder to ignore.
Amplify Women’s Voices in the Workplace
Advocating for closing pay gaps doesn’t always mean fighting your own battle—it means ensuring all women are heard and valued.
✅ Action Step: Amplify women in meetings, credit their ideas, let them be heard! And, call out bias when you see it.
Tip: Women often face more interruptions in meetings—be the person who ensures their voices are heard.
Join Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) for Gender Equity or broader DE&I Initiatives (Yes, we said the DEI word! )
ERGs can be powerful forums for advocating for policy changes and holding leadership accountable. If your company doesn’t have one, start the conversation.
✅ Action Step: Work with your People Team or colleagues to create the right resource group that fits your organisation.
Tip: Use the ERG to understand your organisation’s gender pay gap results and what action the company is taking on it. The latest WGEA employer pay gaps come out on 4 March 2025, so there’s no time like the present!
March Forward: Closing Gaps Starts With Action
The gender pay gap won’t close on its own—it requires bold, collective action from companies, policymakers, and employees.
Companies, at a minimum, must undertake pay equity analyses, have transparent policies, and embrace equitable hiring & promotion practices.
Employees should seek to understand where their organisation is at when it comes to their published pay gaps, get a clear understanding of what their organisation is doing about it, and advocate for closing the gap.
By working together, we can march forward to a future where equal pay is the standard, not the exception.
What Will You Do Today?
Sign up to equidi. Share this blog. Start a conversation. Advocate for change. Let’s make closing the gap a reality this International Women’s Day.
How This Connects to equidi’s Mission
At equidi, we believe fair pay isn’t optional—it’s essential. Our platform helps businesses analyse, track, and close pay gaps, ensuring transparent and equitable compensation for all.
Want to take action? Sign up to equidi today for free. Together, we can help your organisation march forward not just this IWD – but every day.
