Private Bunbury boarding school in top five list of worst gender pay gaps

A private boarding school in Bunbury has been revealed to have one of the biggest gender pay gaps of any school across Australia. Bunbury Cathedral Grammar School topped the list for Bunbury businesses with the highest gender pay gap, and of the 5000 business listed in the Workplace Gender Equality Agency findings this week, it had the fourth highest gap of any school in the nation. The median gender pay gap at the elite private school sat at 28.3 per cent, nearly double the national gap. The shocking statistics were revealed by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, which for the first time named 5000 Australian companies and detailed the gaps in pay for men and women. Overall, median women’s earnings each year are $18,461 less than a man’s — or 81¢ to every $1. The national gender pay gap is 14.5 per cent, which balloons to 19 per cent when allowances, bonuses and incentives are included. Private — especially girls — schools featured frequently on the list, with institutions such as Great Southern Grammar in Albany sitting in fifth place at 27.7 per cent and Mentone Girls Grammar School in Victoria sitting at 24.4 per cent. BCGS sits at fourth, only topped by Governors Of Hale School, Whitsunday Anglican School Limited and All Souls St Gabriels School. A BCGS spokesperson said the school had a 10 per cent rise in GPG because many of its higher-ranking female staff retired at the end of the 2022-2023 reporting year. “The school is aware that we have a 10 per cent increase on GPG compared to the education industry as a whole, but analysis of the reasons for this are clear that it has been a natural process of retirement of senior female leaders coupled with new recruitment and the flexibility we provide for part-time employment,” they said. “In a school of only 157 employees, these retirements significantly impact the upper reporting quarterlies, increasing the GPG.” The school also acknowledged that even though its total workforce was primarily female, there were more men on the school’s board than women. “The board of governors currently has a higher number of males than females, and in recognition of this, the board is actively positively recruiting new female members as existing members complete their terms.” Four other Bunbury companies were featured on the list, with B&J Catalano (24 per cent) and TRONOX Bunbury (23 per cent) above the national average. Alcoa featured with an 11.2 per cent GPG and South32 had a 10.6 per cent gap. These businesses operate in largely male-dominated industries such as construction, mining and freight work. The biggest gap for a WA business belonged to CFC Group — a wholesale trader — whose reported base salary gap was 61.6 per cent. Of the 5000 companies listed nationwide, the biggest gender pay gap belonged to Hunter Primary Care in Warabrook, NSW, reporting a 73.1 per cent pay gap.