Cisco has published the 2024-25 Australia Gender Pay Gap Report, detailing key data and insights on the factors that influence an equitable talent environment. Understanding the many factors influencing differences in pay, and the fairness and inclusivity of an organisation's compensation system is a complex issue. This report serves as a brief summary of our longstanding commitment to compensation fairness and an overview of our progress in accelerating inclusion and equitable access to opportunity in Australia.
The Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 requires employers in Australia with 100 or more employees to publish their gender pay gap between employees who identify as men and women.
The Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) collected gender pay data for nearly a decade but published only anonymised industry data until 2024. From 2024, WGEA began releasing employer-level median gender pay gaps for base salary and total remuneration, along with gender composition by pay quartile. In March 2025, it also published mean gender pay gaps and average remuneration by pay quartile, including CEO remuneration, for the first time.
The gender pay gap is a basic calculation of the percentage difference average earnings between employees who identify as women and men in the workforce, regardless of the work they do.
Earnings include base pay, superannuation, allowances and any other bonus and incentive pay, paid during the reporting period, using a snapshot date in March 2025 and data from the preceding 12 months (reporting period 1 April 2024 – 31 March 2025). For Cisco Australia reporting, the snapshot was 31 March 2025.
The pay gap should not be confused with women and men being paid the same for the same, or comparable, job. This is equal pay and has been a legal requirement since 1969.
The pay gap is not a measurement of equal pay. It's one basic measure across all jobs, not a measure of the differences in pay between men and women doing similar work. As a result, this report will show a gender pay gap even if those who identify as men and women are paid fairly in comparable roles. The unequal gender representation in more senior technical roles, which offer higher compensation and rewards, is reflected in the gender pay gap.
At Cisco, we’ve built an innovative framework to test our complex compensation system and its overall health. Our regular reviews look at key factors that influence an equitable talent environment, with the goal of designing and delivering fair and equitable pay throughout the entire employment life cycle.