Wondering which media and advertising businesses are making progress on the gender pay gap? New figures published by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) show some of the biggest employers in media, agencies and digital are narrowing gaps year-on-year, but wide disparities remain across the sector.
WGEA released employer gender pay gaps for 2024–25 on 3 March 2026 via its Data Explorer, alongside its Employer Gender Pay Gaps Report. It is also the first release to combine private sector and Commonwealth public sector results.
How to read the data
WGEA publishes both average and median gender pay gaps.
In simple terms, the average pay gap can be pulled up by very high earners, while the median compares the “middle” pay for men and women inside an organisation.
A negative figure means women are paid more than men on that measure.
Media: some improvement, but gaps persist
Across the major media employers listed in the TrinityP3 charts, several organisations sit in single digits on the average pay gap measure for 2024–25, including Fairfax Media (Nine Publishing) at 7.5 per cent, Paramount (Network Ten Pty Ltd) at 7.6 per cent, and Seven West Media at 8.5 per cent.
At the other end, Fairfax Digital Australia & New Zealand shows an average pay gap of 27.1 per cent, Val Morgan 26.2 per cent, and Ace Radio 23.5 per cent. Several organisations also show large median gaps, including Fairfax Digital Australia & New Zealand at 39.2 per cent and Spotify at 25.1 per cent.
- Lowest average gaps (media list): Ooh Media Street Furniture (2.3%), Fairfax Media (Nine Publishing) (7.5%), Paramount (7.6%).
- Highest average gaps (media list): Fairfax Digital ANZ (27.1%), Val Morgan (26.2%), Ace Radio (23.5%).
The charts also highlight how workforce composition varies sharply. Are Media shows women as 81 per cent of workforce, while some entities are far lower, including Ooh Media Street Furniture at 11 per cent and News Corp Australia (Nationwide Newspapers Pty Ltd) at 17 per cent.
Agencies: a handful near parity, others still above 20%
Among agencies, the lowest average gaps in the TrinityP3 breakdown include Initiative Media (0.1%), Dentsu (1.0%) and WPP (6.9%).
However, several agency groups remain above 20 per cent on the average measure, including Publicis Communications (22.5%), Ogilvy (21.4%) and DDB Worldwide (21.2%).
- Lowest average gaps (agencies list): Initiative Media (0.1%), Dentsu (1.0%), WPP (6.9%).
- Highest average gaps (agencies list): Publicis Communications (22.5%), Ogilvy (21.4%), DDB Worldwide (21.2%).
Digital and classifieds: mixed results across platforms
In the digital and classifieds group, Facebook (Meta) reports an average pay gap of 0.8 per cent, iSentia 1.1 per cent, and Streem 4.3 per cent.
Higher gaps in that list include Domain at 18.6 per cent and REA at 14.0 per cent. Google reports 3.8 per cent on the average measure, but a much higher median gap at 16.6 per cent, underlining the differences between average and median reporting.
Where the national benchmark sits
WGEA’s latest benchmarks show that, across all employers, the median employer gender pay gap is 8.0 per cent (midpoint), while the overall median gender pay gap is reported at 16.4 per cent. WGEA notes that half of employers have an average gender pay gap larger than 11.2 per cent.