HESTA pressures Australias largest companies to adopt gender targets [Video]

Industry super fund HESTA will leverage its voting power to force some of Australia’s largest publicly listed companies to set gender targets across the entire organisation – not just at the board and executive level – to address the gender pay gap.

The $87 billion fund has written to the chairs and chief executives of ASX 300 companies it invests in to commit to ensuring 40 per cent of its staff are women, after the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WEGA) released data this year showing the gender pay gap was more than 20 per cent in the private sector.

While HESTA has for years pushed for gender equality at the highest echelons of businesses, chief executive Debby Blakey said the agency’s figures …