Pay Equity Award — Assessment Questionnaire

Does your organisation conduct a formal, documented gender pay audit at least annually — covering both the unadjusted (raw) gap and the adjusted (like-for-like) gap across all employee levels?

Answer yes only if this is a structured, repeatable process with documented methodology — not an ad hoc review.

Does your organisation publish or disclose gender pay gap data — either internally to employees and works councils, or publicly — on at least an annual basis?

Disclosure may be internal, to a regulator, or publicly available. Answer no if results are only shared with senior leadership.

Do senior leaders or executives have formal performance objectives or KPIs directly linked to pay equity outcomes — such as gap reduction targets or audit completion?

These must appear in performance reviews or executive scorecards, not only in aspirational statements or DEI strategies.

Does your organisation have a formal, documented process for reviewing and justifying pay differences between employees in equivalent roles — including a structured method for determining what is objectively justified versus what requires remediation?

This goes beyond pay banding. Answer yes only if your organisation has a defined decision framework for pay justification.

Has your organisation taken active remediation steps — such as targeted pay adjustments, promotion equity reviews or recruitment band corrections — as a direct result of pay audit findings in the past 24 months?

Remediation means action taken, not action planned. Answer yes only if changes have been implemented and their impact tracked.

What is your current unadjusted (raw) gender pay gap — and how has this changed over three years? State the figure and baseline year.

What is your current adjusted (like-for-like) gender pay gap — and what methodology was used?

How many roles, pay bands or job families were reviewed in your most recent pay audit — and what percentage of your total workforce did this cover?

How many employees received pay adjustments as a direct result of your most recent pay equity audit — and what was the total investment in remediation?

What percentage of women are represented at each level — entry, mid, senior management, executive and board — and how does this explain your overall pay gap?

What pay equity challenge did your organisation identify — and what was the evidence that made the case for formal action?

Be specific about what you found, who was affected and why the status quo was unacceptable. Describe the actual situation, not a general belief in fairness.

Describe the specific steps, systems and governance structures put in place — including how pay differences are justified, how decisions are documented, and how leaders are held accountable.

Explain the decision-making process, not just the headline outcome. How do you determine what is justified versus what requires correction? Who is responsible?

What have you learned — about where bias enters the pay system, what is hardest to change, and what your organisation commits to next?

Judges give significant weight to honest reflection and credible forward commitment. Organisations that acknowledge complexity score higher than those who claim perfection.