MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire Council reduced the gender pay gap for staff by 12% over the last financial year, from 24.3% to 12.4%. They also achieved an equal gender balance in their management team with a 50/50 female to male ratio at the end of the 2024 financial year compared to a 38/62 female to male ratio in 2021. Overall, women made up approximately two-thirds of the shire’s “full time equivalent” workforce of 765 staff.
The results were highlighted in the shire’s annual report and are in line with their “Gender Equality Action Plan 2021-2025” which established, as one of its fundamental priorities, the provision of “equal opportunities for pay and progression across all levels of the organisation to minimise the gender pay gap”. The plan also aimed to create a greater level of gender diversity across all levels of the shire staffing.
The shire’s plan was initiated after the adoption of the Victorian government’s Gender Equality Act 2020 (Vic), which established a statutory duty for public entities to, when developing policies and programs and in delivering services “consider and promote gender equality” and “take necessary and proportionate action towards achieving gender equality”. The legislation also requires the establishment of the “Gender Equality Action Plan” that must be published and submitted to the Public Sector Gender Equality Commissioner.
Further improvements listed in the report include an increase in people working part-time at the top three structural levels of the shire, an increase in flexible work arrangements, and the continued rollout of mandatory training to “educate staff on inappropriate conduct and gender equality”. “A fifty percent cut in the gap in a single year is a fantastic achievement,” said councillor for Nepean Ward, Sarah Race. “But there is still more to do. There shouldn’t be a pay gap. It should be zero.”
“The shire’s work originated from the Royal Commission into Family Violence in 2016 that found a link between family violence and the gender pay gap. That Royal Commission led to the adoption of the Gender Equality Act in Victoria.”
“Of course, the shire is just one employer on the peninsula, but we must lead by example and understand what we do is part of a broader picture.”
Beyond dealing with the gender pay gap, the shire has also been accepted into the ‘Free from Violence Local Government Program’ which provides three years of funding to help develop family violence prevention systems and processes. “It is important to get out own house in order and be an example for the wider community. And the shire is on the right trajectory,” said Race.
On the reduction of the shire’s gender pay gap, the shire CEO, John Baker, told The News “Our shire employees are our greatest asset, and we work hard to create a positive, supportive work environment”. “We are committed to equality and to giving everybody a fair go, so it’s great to see this reflected in a narrowing of the gender pay gap. There is still more work to be done but it’s an encouraging result.”
The annual report showed an increase in employee costs across the shire of nearly $10m between 2022/23 and 2023/24, lifting from $79.4m to $89.2m. Remuneration for the top paid “key management personnel” jumped dramatically. In the 2022/23 year, only one member of staff was on over $360,000 a year; the shire CEO John Baker at between $420,000 and $429,999. That has now jumped to five staff being paid over $360,000 a year; one in the range of $360k-$370k, two in the range of $390k-$400k, one in the range of $410k-$420k and one, presumably Baker, in the range of $470k-$480k. “Key management personnel” include the CEO John Baker, the shire’s four directors, and the shire’s chief financial officer.
First published in the Mornington News – 15 October 2024
