Westpac awarded Gender Tick

Westpac NZ has been awarded The Gender Tick for its many initiatives including a gender inclusive culture, parental leave, safe workplace, flexible work, equal pay and leadership representation. 

“We were particularly impressed by Westpac’s transparency around their equal pay analysis” said Gender Tick Director Dr Kaisa Wilson.  

“They recognise they still had some work to do, and show commitment to make the necessary changes to get there.” 

Some initiatives that contributed to Westpac receiving the tick include flexible working policies, our 2019 Gender Pay report, increasing parental leave to 22 weeks at full pay, and receiving the DV (domestic violence) Free Tick. 

Dr Wilson said the Gender Tick was important for businesses because it makes visible that a workplace is doing the right thing by its people. 

“Employees, potential employees, investors, and customers all have a choice, and the Gender Tick can help influence their decisions.” 

Commitment to close gender pay gap 

In Westpac NZ’s September 2019 Gender Pay Report, the company voluntarily disclosed its gender pay gap and announced commitments towards closing it. 

“While we are paying men and women equally for the work they do, and across each layer of the organisation,” Westpac NZ Chief Executive David McLean said, “women and men are unevenly spread across our company, with more men working in higher paid areas and women dominating lower paid parts of the bank.” 

“We have done a huge amount of work in this area… but we clearly have much more work to do.” 

Dr Wilson said she was excited to see how Westpac addressed these findings, saying “We recognise it’s an ongoing process and are looking forward to working with Westpac on their journey.” 

Prior to being awarded the Gender Tick, Westpac also received the Rainbow Tick for embracing the diversity of sexual and gender identities, the Accessibility Tick which for being inclusive of people with disabilities, and the DV Free Tick which shows a workplace that is safe and supportive for staff experiencing domestic violence.