Mercy Health is a Catholic organisation grounded in a 2,000-year tradition of caring for others. Established by the Sisters of Mercy, Mercy Health is comprised of more than 10,000 people who provide acute and subacute hospital care, aged care, mental health programs, maternity and specialist women’s health services, early parenting services, home care services and health worker training and development.
Mercy Health is built on the values of our founder, Catherine McAuley. Mercy Health continues her legacy of empowering women and advocating for those marginalised by social inequality. Catherine established the House of Mercy in Dublin and supported women and children who were at risk of homelessness due to poverty and exploitation.
Our Commitment to Gender Equality
At Mercy Health, we are committed to advancing gender equality and fostering a workplace culture where all employees are valued, respected, and given equal opportunities to succeed. Gender equality is integral to our values of respect and underpins our approach to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace where everyone belongs.
Actions taken in the last year
Mercy Health was again a successful recipient of the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) Employer of Choice for Gender Equality (EOCGE) citation renewed until 2025. Mercy Health has been recognised as an EOCGE (or its equivalent) each consecutive year since 2008 and this is the result of an ongoing and sustained effort to drive positive change.
Central too is our proactive implementation of the Respect at Work Act’s recommendations, which stress the significance of a preventative approach to sex-based harassment and discrimination.
Our Group Chief Executive Officer also participated in the Diversity Council of Australia CEO Roundtable where her key message was about the importance of leaders in cultivating a culture that fosters respectful, open dialogue. In such an environment, we learn from one another and appreciate differing opinions as valuable contributions to decision-making.
Operationally, we have focused on participation and governance in 2024, creating a new Parents & Carers employee network; refreshing the Equity & Inclusion Committee; updating our Equity & Inclusion Policy to strengthen Mercy Health’s commitment to an inclusive and diverse workplace with new sections to provide clarity on the processes for reporting issues and breaches; promoting career development opportunities to all staff, including part-time and casual staff; and beginning to conduct more detailed pay analysis.
Insights from our gender pay gap analysis
At Mercy Aged and Community Care Ltd (MACCL), our (average total remuneration) gender pay gap slightly favours men. However, we have made significant progress in closing the gap, with a gender pay gap (average total remuneration) decrease of 3.1 percentage points between the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 reporting period and a decrease of an additional 1.3 percentage points from 2022-23 to 2023-2024. At MHVL, we have an average total remuneration gender pay gap of 34.4% and a median total remuneration gender pay gap of 13.1%, decreasing by 1.4 percentage points since 2021-2022.
We have identified that the biggest contributors and influences on the Gender Pay Gap at Mercy Hospitals Victoria Ltd (MHVL) are:
- Roles in management (other than medical staff)
- The ability to work overtime, be on call and receive additional shifts, and
- Equal access to eligible EBA allowances and benefits such as overtime, higher qualifications and study leave.
Key Areas of Focus
We recognise that we have more work to do to create a gender equal environment. We will continue to deliver our commitments in our Gender Equity Plan 2023-2026 and as a WGEA Employer of Choice for Gender Equality, we will continue to make progress towards achieving our gender pay gap targets.
Here are a few ways Mercy Health is working to remove barriers that may impede gender equity:
- Driving towards pay equity and addressing any gender pay gaps within our workforce through remuneration reviews across the organisation and identification of any pay anomalies
- Fostering flexibility and support, including promoting flexible working arrangements across the organisation
- Increasing representative leadership and equitable career progression opportunities by promoting career development opportunities to all staff
- Ensuring our workforce reflects the diversity of the communities we serve through improving recruitment practices to minimise potential (unconscious) bias in attracting and retaining staff
- Being an advocate for gender equity and change by challenging gender stereotypes in communications.
Next Steps
Mercy Health is committed to continuous improvement in gender equality practices. We will use the insights gained from our reporting process to inform strategic initiatives and further embed gender equality across our organisation.
