Gender pay gap employer statement

Our purpose at Grant Thornton Australia is to shape better futures. We aim to ignite the potential within our people and clients to create enduring success and positively shape the communities around us. This includes our commitment to an inclusive environment, where diverse, talented people can thrive and create a remarkable experience for our clients and broader communities. 

Our focus on gender equality, guided by our Gender Equity Action Plan (GEAP), ensures we are providing equal access to opportunities and outcomes, regardless of gender. We support the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) in their commitment to transparency and equality through the publication of gender pay gap data. This initiative is a crucial step towards addressing and ultimately closing the gender pay gap within our firm, fostering a more equitable and inclusive workplace for all. 

Grant Thornton Australia’s Gender Pay Gap (GPG)

In the recently released annual (2024-2025) company reported gender pay gaps by WGEA, Grant Thornton Australia Limited showed an average total remuneration gender pay gap of -4.2 per cent, and a median of -8.6 per cent¹. Meaning, in the last reporting period, average total pay for women was higher than average total pay for men, at a firm level². This small average difference is driven by a larger proportion of manager roles (61%) being held by women. 

The professional services industry benchmark group GPG average for 2024-2025 was 15.1 per cent, and the median was 16.7 per cent³. Our results clearly indicate we remain ahead of our peers for the majority of our organisation. 

Last year was the first time we met the threshold to complete a WGEA submission for our Grant Thornton National Partnership group. While our Partners do not fall under pay gap reporting requirements, we submitted and received industry benchmarking for our Principals and Directors. This report showed an average total remuneration gender pay gap of 8.2 per cent, and a median of 5.1 per cent¹. Meaning, in the last reporting period, average total pay for men was higher than average total pay for women (across Director and Principal roles)1. This difference is mainly driven by a small number of specialist senior roles, all held by long-serving male team members. These overall results are on par with the accounting services industry group GPG average of 8.2 per cent. 

We recognise the importance of ongoing vigilance to ensure that any gender pay gaps across different career levels within our firm are identified and addressed. We are therefore passionate about looking at the detail every year in our own reviews internally, in addition to understanding external benchmarking.

** WGEA considers gender pay gaps within and including –5% and +5% as an optimal target range as this range allows for normal fluctuations in the workforce. 

Our commitment to action

We have a strong commitment in supporting gender equality in the workplace and have been taking positive action through numerous initiatives and policies for many years. Our Gender Equity Action Plan (GEAP), along with our broader Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Strategy ensure we remain focused on creating an inclusive workplace, free of bias and barriers in our systems, structures and behaviours. Regular tracking and reporting against our action plan and strategic goals keeps us accountable. 

Increasing representation of women at senior levels in the firm

A key area of focus is increasing the representation of women at Partner level in the firm.  Women currently represent 33 per cent of our Board Directors, 33 per cent of our National Executive team and 30 per cent of our Partner group, the latter increasing by 9 per cent over the past four years.  

Through our GEAP we have developed a national Gender Equity Network (GEN) supporting greater visibility of female leaders, building a highly skilled active ally group, and fostering greater connections for GEN members with key leaders across the firm to better support sponsorship and mentorship opportunities. 

In addition, we continue to review and enhance our policies and initiatives that are designed to increase the participation of women in the workplace and retain talented females throughout their career journey. As a certified Family Friendly workplace, we offer a well-above industry average 26 weeks paid parental leave. Our hybrid/flexible working policy includes access to a 9-day fortnight with no reduction in remuneration, allowing greater access to recharge, supporting our people to balance their work and life priorities. 

Leadership as a critical factor in achieving gender equality 

Our leaders play a key role in identifying and addressing any bias or barriers in our systems, structures and everyday behaviours. We expect our leaders to role model inclusive behaviours and therefore support their ongoing development in this area through different leadership development activities and programs. Our focus for future initiatives includes seeking to better understand additional challenges that may be faced by those with intersecting experiences, including LGBTQIA+ women, culturally and racially diverse women, and women with disability. 

Our DE&I strategy, GEAP and broader inclusion policies are actively supported by not only our Board, CEO and leadership team, but also our Partners and people throughout the firm. Our 2025 National Engagement Survey results reported 86 per cent of people at the firm agreed that Grant Thornton Leaders proactively support diversity and inclusion initiatives. 

We’re proud of the work we have done here at Grant Thornton to advance gender equity, but we also acknowledge there’s still work to be done in our own firm, our industry, and across Australia to ensure there is no gender pay gap and that all genders are able to contribute and thrive at all levels in an organisation.

Footnotes:

1. Our WGEA data is based on submissions for two entities – one for Grant Thornton Australia Limited and one for Grant Thornton National Partnership. Grant Thornton Australia encompasses the majority of our workforce but excludes Directors, Principals and Partners. 

2. WGEA considers gender pay gaps within and including –5% and +5% as an optimal target range. This range allows for normal fluctuations in the workforce. 

3. Industry benchmark figures are based on those provided by WGEA in November 2025.  Each ABN received a different comparison group in the Industry Benchmark Report due to the different number of employees and availability of suitable comparison ABNs within the benchmark group.