Statement on gender pay gap 2026

“As Australia’s leading telecommunications company, we know gender pay transparency is critical to accountability and building a diverse, inclusive digital future for our customers, our people and the community. We recognise that leadership diversity is critical to our ambition to lead Australia’s connected future. 

The Workplace Gender Equality Agency’s (WGEA) 2024-25 reporting shows Telstra’s gender pay gap to be 18.6 per cent for median total remuneration and 12.4 per cent for mean total remuneration. Both figures have improved since the previous reporting period, reflecting the progress we’ve made while also reinforcing that there is still more to do. 

Our reviews continue to show that gender is not a factor when determining how we pay our people. Instead, our focus has been – and will continue to be – on increasing representation of women in senior technical, specialist and leadership roles where market remuneration is higher.

While meaningful change takes time, we remain confident that the strategies we have in place will continue to drive progress. We are committed to transparency, sustained action and ensuring gender pay equity continues to move in the right direction.” 

– Statement from Kathryn van der Merwe, Group Executive, People, Culture and Communications.

Our data-driven approach to closing the representation gap

To reduce our gender representation gap, we’re taking a data-driven approach to develop, retain and recruit diverse talent by: 

  • Taking targeted action in the areas we know we can do better to improve pathways into senior technical, specialist and leadership roles.
  • Introducing additional learning for leaders to strengthen support for safe, respectful and inclusive workplaces, including cultural awareness, racial literacy and neuro‑inclusive training.
  • Expanding our work with external partners and industry leaders, including working with Champions of Change to build diverse and inclusive CEO pipelines and our ongoing partnership with Tech-Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (TEDI) Standards to strengthen and support sector-wide progress.

Our ongoing commitment to diversity

Meaningful change takes time, which is why we remain focused on sustained, organisation-wide action, including:

  • Our aspiration to achieve a 40:40:20 gender balance by 2030 across our global workforce and in senior leadership comprising 40 per cent women, 40 per cent men and 20 per cent any gender (meaning a combination of men, women and gender-diverse individuals). 
  • Holding ourselves accountable through measures in our Group Executive scorecards (aligned to our 40:40:20 aspiration), supported by data-driven action plans targeted to each of our functions.  
  • Continuing policies that support career continuity and progression, including gender-neutral parental leave, superannuation on unpaid parental leave and flexible working so new parents can re-enter the workforce sooner (or remain in it for longer).
  • Ensuring cultural and psychological safety is at the core of how we work and treat each other by considering a range of lived experience in our approach to Respect at Work, Safety and Wellbeing, and our annual Discrimination, Bullying, Harassment and Victimisation training.
  • Regularly reviewing what we pay men and women across all our roles to proactively identify and remove any bias.

These are in addition to our ongoing commitments to Career Start and the RISE Project, which aim to build in-demand technical skills and create equitable pathways to leadership roles once they enter the workforce.