26 August 2019: Lion has become one of the first companies in Australia to announce it will no longer ask candidates their current salary in a bid to keep its gender pay gap closed.
In recognition of Equal Pay Day 2019, held in Australia on 28 August, the company confirmed it has formally removed the question of salary from all online applications and job interviews as it believes the question perpetuates the gender pay gap.
Lion CEO, Stuart Irvine said: “Lion closed its gender pay gap for like-for-like roles in 2016 and we’ve been working on keeping it closed since. This next change is important so that we stop the problem at the beginning of the recruitment process. For example, if there’s a female applicant and a male applicant and they’re both successful and we say we’ll pay you 10 per cent more than you’re currently on – you’re just perpetuating the gap into the organisation.”
Stuart Irvine continued: “Not only will this help us keep the gender pay gap closed at Lion, but it will also create a much fairer system for everyone with pay offers based on market data.”
Lion’s announcement forms part of the company’s journey to achieving a 50:50 gender balance by 2026. The company has been firmly focused on attracting more women to apply for roles at Lion, and as a result it saw a 6% increase in senior female hires in 2018.
-ENDS-
For more information:
Annelise Tregoning
External Relations Manager, Lion
Phone: +61 415 178 442
ABOUT LION
Lion is a leading beverage and food company with a portfolio that includes many of Australasia’s favourite brands in beer, wine and dairy. We employ more than 6,500 people across Australia and New Zealand predominantly and take great pride in our local manufacturing footprint, which spans 42 sites – including large breweries, craft breweries, wineries, dairy farms, milk, cheese, yoghurt and juice sites as well as venues.
