Compliance
Comparator
A male-dominated role used to assess the value and appropriate remuneration of a female-dominated role in a pay equity claim.
Definition
In the context of pay equity claims under the Equal Pay Act 1972, a 'comparator' refers to a male-dominated occupation or role used as a benchmark to assess whether a female-dominated occupation is being undervalued due to sex-based discrimination. The process involves comparing the skills, responsibilities, effort, and working conditions of the female-dominated work with those of the comparator role. The 2025 amendments introduced a strict hierarchy for selecting comparators, prioritizing those within the same employer and requiring that the comparator work be substantially similar to the work being examined.