Companies with more than 1000 employees will be forced to publicly reveal their gender pay gap, named and shamed if they fail to comply, and excluded from lucrative government contracts, under a Labor government.

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Fairfax Media can reveal the Opposition is preparing legislation that would also force companies to reveal the difference in pay between managerial and non-managerial staff, and would ban “secrecy clauses” that prevent employees telling colleagues how much they get paid.

While companies already report their gender pay gap to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, Labor would make that data publicly searchable, as well as the pay gap between managers and their employees.

Australia’s national gender pay gap is 15 per cent, or $244.80 per week, which the agency says is its lowest level in two decades. It means the average working woman earns about $27,000 less per year compared to the average man. This blows out to a $53,000 difference for women in managerial positions.