SunRice knows that our people are key to our success. This was recognised by our stakeholders and is one of our 12 priority sustainability issues and is key to our Sustainability Strategy.
As an Australian-owned global food company we recognise the importance of continuous improvement in all aspects of our business, especially through our culture. We aim to attract and retain high-performing staff through an active environment of diversity and inclusion, and preventing discrimination.
A ‘no gender pay gap’ principle is a key part of our Diversity and Inclusion strategy; it is reflected in our remuneration philosophy and forms the basis for all our decision making.
SunRice Head of Rewards Janice Hiskett-Jones says fairness and consistency underpin the approach to each employee’s journey with SunRice, from recruitment through to the annual remuneration review process.
“When someone is moving into a new role, we look at what people in similar roles are being paid both internally and externally to benchmark salaries, ensuring we’re not basing pay on gender. When it comes to pay reviews, salary ranges guide increases, along with performance ratings. We have tailored reports based on the performance rating outcomes and proposed increase to track recommendations for men or women, highlighting any unjustified bias towards men or women.”
Each leader has access to these reports as part of the annual remuneration review and can see how their team is performing on pay equity outcomes.
According to the Australian Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA), gender pay equity is about ensuring women and men performing the same role are paid the same amount, and women and men performing different work of equal or comparable value are paid equitably. We are proud of how we compare against all other companies who report to the WGEA. Our gender pay gap at the total remuneration level is just 4.1%, compared to all other organisations of 11.6%.
The SunRice corporate People & Culture team centrally reviews internal pay equity and includes recommendations to leaders to align any pay gaps before making recommendations for promotions and appointments. Through its partnerships, programs and guidelines, we seek to ensure women across our global operations and surrounding communities are afforded the same opportunities as men.
"We use the same Australian legislated standards across our sites in all the countries we operate in to ensure men and women are paid equally,” said Janice.
“It is a rigorous process that ensures there is no bias in how we remunerate our people, no matter whether they’re located in Australia or at one of our overseas operations. SunRice prides itself on the fairness of remuneration between men and women.
“Our employee engagement survey shows that up to 80% of employees believe they are compensated fairly compared to other companies.
“The ‘No Bias’ approach to employee remuneration is helping SunRice to achieve its vision of a positive, inclusive and accountable culture and securing our long-term sustainability.”
Our SolRice business in the Solomon Islands won the 2019 Australian Government Gender Equality Good Practice Award, in partnership with the Australian High Commission, Solomon Islands Ministry of Women, Youth, Children and Family Affairs, and the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force. We continue to focus on improving diversity at every level of our business.
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