Some of the nation's best-known organisations have been named and shamed for failing to comply with the workplace equality act.
Designed to "promote and improve" gender equality, workplaces with more than 100 employees must lodge a report each year detailing the gender composition of their workforce and any salary differences, to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, in the form of a questionnaire.
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The gender equality watchdog has named 74 non-compliant organisations in its latest annual report, putting at risk their eligibility for government tenders, grants or financial assistance.
Wittners Shoes, Sportsmans Warehouse, the Gold Coast Turf Club, Kennards Self Storage, Vittoria Coffee and Palace Cinemas are among those named in a group that includes freight, plumbing, consultancy and transport services.
![Men earn almost $27,000 a year more than women, with wage disparity rising to almost $94,000 a year at the top level of ...](/web/20161204105525im_/http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/l/1/r/s/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gt0r1q.png/1480567673371.jpg)
A spokeswoman for Palace Cinemas said the organisation did not comply with the survey as it "required the provision of confidential information about our staff's individual salaries, which any business [and its employees] would be concerned to circulate to a third party agency".
"It was our omission of the detailed personal information that caused WGEA to reject our submission, not an unwillingness to be transparent in terms of a fair and gender-equal workplace, which Palace Cinemas represents. We commend the Agency for their pursuit of equality in the workplace," she said.
"Furthermore, we regret the negative connotations which this issue has brought to be associated with our brand and intend to lodge the information required by WGEA in 2017.
"...Palace Cinemas over perform on Gender Equality with a team of 300 females and 250 males. Our board is 50% female and over the years our CFO and Head of Palace Films positions have been held by females."
It's only the third time the list has been released, with the agency acknowledging "improved ease of reporting" will be a "high priority" moving forward, in an attempt to limit the number of non-compliant firms.
On the flip side, the agency has named the employers it believes have recognised "that gender equality is increasingly critical to an organisation's success", issuing "employer of choice for gender equality" citations to 90 Australian workplaces, including universities, banks, energy companies and developers.
Earlier this month, the agency released its gender equality report card, which found men earn almost $27,000 a year more than women, with wage disparity rising to almost $94,000 a year at the top level of management.
While improvements have been made in developing pathways to help increase the number of women in management roles, they are still under-represented in leadership roles, holding just 16 per cent of CEO positions and 37 per cent of management positions.