As much as two thirds of the gender pay gap is driven by the under-representation of women in the upper quartile of earners, according to data from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency.

Women’s outsized share of caring responsibilities causes many to work below their skill level, Mary Wooldridge, CEO of the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) told Accounting Times.

Women make up 43 per cent of the professional, scientific and technical services workforce, but only 28 per cent of the upper income quartile. They make up 57 per cent of the lower quartile.

“We get a lot of feedback from women who say, ‘I'm working at a much lower level than I'm capable of because my organization doesn't have a culture that supports being able to work in a way that's flexible at the more senior level,” Wooldridge said.

“Sometimes women are not able to work full time, but most of the senior roles are full time roles.”

The gender gap in unpaid care work remains high in Australia compared to other OECD countries, and childcare responsibilities are a significant factor causing women to work part time.

In the professional services industry, the idea that staff should be on call for clients 24/7 is “an inhibitor to more women working at senior levels,” said Wooldridge.

“Breaking down that ‘always available’ notion for professional services firms is probably one of the biggest challenges, and some are doing it.

“Blanket statements about ‘it's the nature of the industry,’ are not really good enough, because there are some within the industry who are defying those trends, working out solutions about how it can work for women and men at all levels. And, you know, actually changing the stereotypes and the dynamics that are in place.”

Alongside rigid work schedules and client expectations, a variety of other barriers prevent women from reaching the highest income quartiles in their respective industries, according to Wooldridge.

“It's often unique to industries and unique particularly to individual employers,” she explained.

“Particularly in the professional services areas, it can be the passage of time. People argue, all our partners have worked for 20 or 30 years. They've got to the most senior levels, and they're all men. We're now trying to get more women through, but they've got to do their time.”

While men and women are recruited in a balanced manner within the professional services sector, women aren’t being retained at the senior levels, Wooldridge added.

“What's driving the decision making of women not to stay in that environment? Is it something about the structure of the work? Is it how they're valued in the workplace?” she said.

“How can jobs be redesigned to support utilizing the full range of the population, rather than just a portion of it, and allow them to also manage their competing responsibilities? [The solution] might be job share. It might be working part time at senior levels. It might be an adjustment of expectations on working hours.”

Most accounting firms have a gender pay gap outside of the WGEA’s target range, which is 5 per cent in either direction. The professional, scientific and technical services sector, to which accounting belongs, had a median gender pay gap of 17.4 per cent.

According to WGEA data, Morrows had a gender pay gap of 25.3 per cent, BDO of 17.9 per cent, Pitcher Partners of 16.6 per cent and RSM of 9.5 per cent.

Across all industries, larger firms had smaller gender pay gaps on average. In the accounting space, EY had a pay gap of 14.8 per cent and KPMG had a pay gap of 10.7 per cent.

However, it’s important to note that pay gap data does not include remuneration for partners, skewing reported pay gaps for larger firms, like the Big Four, downwards.

Grant Thornton and Moore Australia had small gender pay gaps in favour of women, at 2.4 and 2.8 per cent respectively.

In response to gender pay gap data, RSM reiterated its commitment to fostering an equitable workplace.

“As of February this year, we have an even gender composition across the business nationally and are pleased with our progress increasing the number of women in our Senior Leadership team,” said RSM’s Chief Executive Partner Jamie O’Rourk.

“We’ve also made changes to better support those with family and carer responsibilities within our firm, including introducing enhanced parental leave entitlements and becoming re-certified as a family inclusive workplace.”

According to Wooldridge, it’s important to note that the pay gap doesn’t simply take into account ‘same job, same pay’ requirements, which have been legally binding since 1969.

“It captures so much more information and reflects things like stereotypes. It reflects bias. It reflects decision making. It reflects the fact that more men tend to work in higher paying industries and women in lower paying industries. So it is much more complex than just an equal pay for equal work measure,” she explained.

“Whenever a company says, oh, but we pay people the same for the same work. I say, great, well done. You're fulfilling the requirements of the law. The gender pay gap seeks to measure something different.”

The pay gap reflects ongoing barriers to women’s achievement of high-level positions, including the difficulty of balancing outsized caregiving roles with rigid, demanding work schedules.

“Ideally men and women should have equal opportunity to work and to care for their families. The gender pay gap isn't about a woman's choice to be in the workforce or be a full-time carer. It shows women don't have the same access to opportunities, leadership and rewards when they do choose to work,” the WGEA website stated, regarding pay parity in the workforce.