WGEA Targets: What It Takes to Stay on Track

Australia has spent the past few years making workplace gender inequality more visible. The publication of employer gender pay gaps has given employees, investors and other stakeholders a clearer view of how organisations compare. Mandatory gender equality targets now add a further layer of accountability.

Since 1 April 2026, Australian employers with 500 or more direct employees have been required to select three gender equality targets as part of their WGEA reporting. At least one must be numeric, and employers have three years to meet or demonstrate improvement against each target.

With targets now set, the more consequential task is understanding what will be required to achieve them and where intervention can have the greatest impact.

Progress Starts with Defining the Baseline

A reliable baseline provides the context needed to understand where inequality sits, what is contributing to it and what needs to change over the three-year period.

A target may appear attractive because it aligns with an existing initiative, can be measured through current systems or looks achievable within the three-year period. These are legitimate considerations, but they do not establish whether it addresses the underlying causes of an organisation’s gender equality outcomes. That requires a reliable baseline.

An organisation-wide gender pay gap is an important starting point, but it is an aggregate measure. It may show that women, on average, earn less than men across the organisation, but it does not necessarily explain why. The result may be driven by the underrepresentation of women in senior or highly paid roles, concentration in lower-paid functions or differences in hiring, promotion and retention. Starting salaries, access to incentives and progression decisions may also influence outcomes over time.

The same headline gap can therefore reflect very different organisational circumstances. A target to increase women’s representation in management may be appropriate where analysis identifies a narrowing promotion pipeline. It will be less effective if the principal issue is unexplained pay differences between employees undertaking comparable work. Similarly, an organisation-wide pay gap target may establish an important ambition without identifying which functions, levels or workforce practices need to change.

WGEA’s framework uses baseline-year information to determine eligibility, track progress and assess performance at the end of the three-year cycle. For employers, the strategic value of that baseline lies in understanding where action is most likely to improve the outcome.

Looking Beyond the Headline Gap

A more complete assessment may examine workforce composition by level, function and job family, as well as remuneration quartiles, hiring, promotion, performance, retention and employee movement.
Gender pay gap analysis can then help distinguish between structural and pay equity issues.

A structural gap reflects where women and men are represented across an organisation and its pay distribution. Pay equity analysis considers whether employees undertaking the same or comparable work are being paid fairly after accounting for relevant factors such as role, experience, performance and location. The distinction matters because improving representation and addressing unexplained pay differences require different interventions.

Job architecture and remuneration frameworks grounded in a strategic understanding of data are also critical. Inconsistent role classifications, wide salary ranges or decentralised pay decisions can make disparities more difficult to identify and address, while workforce policies and practices can shape access to promotion, flexibility and career-building opportunities.

Deeper analysis of workforce representation, remuneration structures and the factors influencing pay and progression gives decision-makers a stronger basis for setting priorities. It can reveal where the largest gaps sit, what is driving them, where progress is already occurring and which outcomes the organisation can realistically influence over the target period.

Modelling Makes the Target Operational

Once an organisation has identified an appropriate area of focus, it must determine what achieving the target will require. A target to increase women’s representation at senior levels, for example, may depend on recruitment, promotion, retention, turnover and organisational growth. Progress in one part of the business may be offset by workforce movement elsewhere.

Target modelling can test these relationships before an organisation commits to a particular outcome. Different scenarios can show how changes in hiring, progression, retention or pay decisions may affect the result over three years. They can also identify which parts of the organisation and which workforce levers will have the greatest influence.

A result that appears modest when expressed as an enterprise-wide percentage may require substantial change within a small number of functions or career levels. Conversely, an ambitious target may be achievable if focused interventions are introduced early in the cycle.

Modelling is not intended to predict workforce outcomes with certainty. Its value lies in making the assumptions behind the target explicit and giving leaders a basis for assessing the scale and pace of change required, allocating accountability and investment, and identifying delivery risks. The model can also support ongoing measurement.

Tracking Progress Against WGEA Targets

With targets now in place, the focus shifts to whether organisations are on track to deliver against them. Employers need to understand how workforce changes, pay outcomes and progression patterns are influencing performance over the three-year cycle.

Pay and workforce data can help organisations identify where progress is being made, where it is slowing and which factors are driving the outcome. Target modelling can add another layer of insight by testing whether current trends are consistent with the required trajectory and highlighting where intervention may be needed. Aon can  support organisations to track progress against their WGEA targets through gender pay gap analysis, target modelling and broader pay transparency support. By connecting actual workforce outcomes with the assumptions behind each target, Aon can help organisations identify emerging gaps, prioritise the right interventions and build confidence in how they measure, report and communicate progress.