New educational resources for small-to-medium enterprises to address equal pay at workplaces

Being paid fairly and equally for work of equal or comparable value – equal pay – is a basic human right.

Yet every year, Victorian, national and international data confirms that some workers are not paid equally for their work. On Equal Pay Day 2022 – 29 August – the Workplace Gender Equality Agency announced that women on average need to work 60 more days after the end of the financial year to earn the average salary earned by a man.

In our Equal Pay Matters report, released one year ago today, we found that small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) are often excluded from conversations on the gender pay gap, and so have a limited understanding of equal pay concepts and how to apply them in their workplaces.

SMEs make up a significant proportion of the Victorian workforce and economy. With approximately two in three employed Victorians working in an SME, they have the power to effect enormous change and transformation in workplaces.

To address this, the Commission has created a suite of resources to support business owners and decision makers in SMEs in their understanding of equal pay, with support by the Victorian Government. These materials are tailored to respond to the unique characteristics and needs of SMEs.

The resources have been codesigned with SMEs and industry experts with an intersectional lens. Unequal pay effects people differently, and the impacts can be compounded by people’s intersecting identity attributes such as sex, gender, race, care-giving status, age and/or disability.

There are three engaging videos with interactive activities, and three short e-learning modules to help SMEs gain deeper knowledge and practical guidance. All the resources are accessible, free and shareable.