Gender equality at Allens
We aim to foster an inclusive, supportive and collaborative culture.
Continuing to progress gender equality and having an equitable and inclusive workplace delivers better outcomes for our people, clients and communities.
We are committed to equitable opportunities and outcomes for all genders, removal of unfair barriers to workforce participation, and the elimination of harassment and discrimination on the basis of gender.
We understand that a lot of elements work together to support gender equality. Our career model, policies and initiatives have been developed with an emphasis on gender equity. Read more about our parental leave package and our approach to flexible working, underpinned by inclusive practices to help normalise flexibility and caring for all genders, and support for all families, including LGBTIQA+ families. Learn more about inclusion and diversity at Allens.
Our approach to gender equality is outlined below.
Representation: our 40:40:20 aim
We are committed to 40% women, 40% men, 20% any gender at all role levels.
We have achieved and aim to maintain 40:40:20 across our partnership, legal employee base and Board.
Women represent more than 50% at all legal levels outside of partnership, and across our Corporate Services team.
Our commitments
We are signatory to a number of standards which we work to uphold:
- The UN women's empowerment principles (we were one of the first organisations in Australia to become a signatory)
- Law Council of Australia's National Equitable Briefing Policy
- Law Council of Australia's Diversity and Equality Charter
- NSW Law Society's Charter for the Advancement of Women in the Legal Profession
- Law Institute of Victoria's Charter for the Advancement of Women in the Legal Profession
Allens was recognised by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) as an Employer of Choice for Gender Equality for 21 years, participating in the citation program until 2025.
Women@Allens
Our long-standing Women@Allens network is run by our people with support from senior partners in each office and focuses on supporting and accelerating our gender equality progress.
Our gender pay gap
The Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) uses a definition of the gender pay gap that focuses on average and median earnings. Using WGEA's definitions and methodology, in the year to 31 March 2025, Allens' organisation-wide employee pay gaps as reported to WGEA were:
- Average: 12.3% for total remuneration and 11.1% for base salary; and
- Median: 13.2% for total remuneration and 12.7% for base salary.^
This shows a slight increase since last year, largely due to changes in senior roles. Variations in the gender pay gap can occur in line with normal business fluctuations and employee movements. We perform a gender pay gap analysis annually to measure our progress. Over this period, proportionately more men moved into senior positions, increasing the average pay for men, and more women left senior roles, reducing the average pay for women overall.
We have taken and will continue to take steps to improve gender equality within the firm. There is more we can do and are committed to continued action for our firm, our profession and to contribute to a more gender equal society. Read more about how we support gender equality at Allens below.
National and industry pay gaps
Our firm-wide gender pay gaps compare to:
- Australia's national average gender pay gaps of 21.1% for total remuneration and 15.7% for base salary, and median pay gaps of 16.4% for total remuneration and 11.9% for base salary based on WGEA's data-set encompassing over 5.44 million Australian employees across more than 8,000 organisations in 19 industries.
- The 'professional, scientific and technical services' industry average gender pay gap for total remuneration and base salary of 16.4% and 15.3%, respectively, and median pay gaps for total remuneration and base salary of 14.6% and 13.5%, respectively.
WGEA explains that the 'gender pay gap' and 'equal pay' (like-for-like) are different concepts and that 'gender pay gaps are not a comparison of like roles'. Visit the WGEA website for further information on the gender pay gap.
^Gender pay gaps are currently reported from a binary perspective; ie, comparing the average or median earnings of men and women. There is insufficient data for remuneration insights about non-binary and gender diverse communities, however this is something WGEA is working to address: https://www.wgea.gov.au/pay-and-gender/how-to-calculate-gender-pay-gap#what-about-non-binary-employees.