'The Balancing Act' Jigsaw Game Makes Gender Pay Gap Frustration Tangible

This Equal Pay Day, advertising industry gender equality movement Mavens has launched a puzzling new game to raise awareness about the gender pay gap.

‘The Balancing Act’ is created by Leah Morris, an agency associate creative director and Mavens’ founder; Feryx Lim, creative copywriter; and Evelyn Tran, creative designer, and illustrator.

Designed to be championed by an individual within each organisation, the host removes 22 pieces of the 500-piece jigsaw (to symbolise the 21.8% private sector pay gap) before sharing with players in a shared area such as a break room.

As participants begin to realise the pieces aren’t adding up, they’ll experience the frustration women feel as a result of the gender pay gap. The host then ‘reveals’ the concept and shares the additional educational communications included with each puzzle.

Leah said, “According to Ipsos Market Research, around one in five (21%) Australians believe concerns about the gender pay gap are an example of political correctness gone too far, and there’s even a cohort who sees it as fake news. But a 21.8% pay gap is a significant disadvantage to women, and pay gaps are an important benchmark of progress. It shows there are still many barriers to equal participation for women in the workforce.”

Feryx and Evelyn agreed, adding, "The Balancing Act puts puzzlers in the shoes of those on the losing side of the gender pay gap. The puzzle shows the issue is not about a lack of effort; it’s about playing a rigged game that feels impossible to win.

“By engaging with The Balancing Act, users experience firsthand the imbalance, frustration and confusion that persists in gender pay inequity. We hope this creative approach will spark conversations, drive advocacy, and push for meaningful change.”

The puzzle comes with supporting information to explain the difference between the gender pay gap and equal pay, which are often misunderstood or mistaken as being the same. Equal pay is when men and women receive the same pay for the same or equivalent work, and is a legal requirement. Major strides have been made in this area in recent years, leading many people to mistakenly think the gender pay gap no longer requires work.

By contrast, the gender pay gap itself measures the difference in average earnings between women and men across an entire workforce or sector, regardless of job type, seniority, or hours worked. This often reveals vast inequity as a result of fewer women in leadership positions, and more women in part-time, junior roles and lower-paying roles. The reality is, women are still miles behind men when we look through this revealing lens.

‘The Balancing Act’ also shares practical ways businesses can reduce their internal pay gaps, sourced from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA). For example, the implementation of audits and reporting, increasing the number of women in leadership positions, and encouraging men to access flexible work arrangements and entitlements such as parental or carer leave.

‘The Balancing Act’ is more than a game. It’s a thought-provoking workplace training tool, and a call to action. It highlights the daily imbalance many face, as equality shouldn’t be so hard to achieve.