In March, Lawyers Weekly reported that just under half of the 62 major law firms with comparable data to the previous reporting year had a worse gender pay gap. Firms with the biggest gender pay gap increases included Spruson & Ferguson, McInnes Wilson, Meridian Lawyers, Shine Lawyers, and Cornwalls.

Dentons added a female global CEO in July last year, before appointing partner and member of the Australian and global board of Dentons, Amber Warren, as the new chair in Australia in November – the first female to hold the role.

“In just three years, Dentons has moved from a 15 per cent median gender pay gap in 2022, 7.1 per cent in 2023, 4.1 per cent in 2024, and now 0 per cent in 2025. It’s an extraordinary achievement,” Warren said.

“We are committed to creating a workplace where every individual can thrive and is valued for their contribution.”

According to the firm, its “unwavering commitment” to gender equity and its Gender 360 strategy were key elements of closing the firm’s gender pay gap – and Elise Ivory, partner and co-executive sponsor of Dentons’ gender advocacy group, Women United, said: “This milestone is not just a number; it’s a reflection of our values and the inclusive culture we’ve cultivated.”

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Partner and co-executive sponsor of Women United, Brooke Spain, added: “This achievement is a direct result of our commitment to policies that support work/life balance, such as 26 weeks of paid family leave, bonus leave and flexible working arrangements. Achieving this ahead of other firms further validates our approach and motivates us to continue leading by example.”

This comes after the WGEA published the gender pay gaps for 120 public sector employers and two corporate groups last week, following legislative changes in 2023.

Gender pay gaps for Commonwealth public sector employers such as Australia Post, the ATO, the Reserve Bank and the CSIRO, as well as dozens of other federal government departments, agencies and businesses, can now be viewed on the WGEA website.

According to WGEA data, half of Commonwealth public sector employers have a median total remuneration gender pay gap lower than 4.8 per cent, compared to 8.9 per cent in the private sector. Forty-five per cent have a median total remuneration gender pay gap in the target range (within +/- 5 per cent), compared to 31 per cent in the private sector.

WGEA CEO, Mary Wooldridge, said that across the public sector, more than half (51 per cent) of employers had improved their gender pay gap in the past 12 months.

“The Commonwealth public sector has achieved gender-balance in the composition of the workforce, at managerial level and in the upper quartile of remuneration. This is a critical driver of the lower gender pay gaps reported today,” she said.

“Pleasingly we have also seen large rises in the number of employers conducting a gender pay gap analysis, acting on the results and consulting with employees to understand their experience at work. These actions are crucial steps to help employers gain greater understanding of the drivers of their individual gender pay gaps and to implement relevant and evidence-informed actions to address them.”

This news followed new amendments to the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012, which passed in Parliament in March and now mean that Australian employers with more than 500 employees will now be required to select gender equality targets and achieve and make progress on them.

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