• The gender pay gap is getting worse in Australia: WGEA estimates it will take 26 years to reach gender pay parity
• US CEO pay and shareholder opposition to 'say on pay' proposals is at record highs according to ISS analysis
• In Brief | Undermining diversity? A University of South Australia study has found that 80% of ASX 500 firms pay female executives 30-35% less than their male counterparts despite the female executives in question being equally well qualified. The study also found that failure to pay women equally for their work has negative implications in terms of reaping the benefits (financial and otherwise) of increased diversity
• In Brief | The Australian Public Service Commission has released principles governing the use of performance bonuses in Commonwealth entities and companies. The principles make clear that bonuses should 'only be used in limited circumstances' and be 'carefully designed to clearly align with delivering a public benefit over and above expected outcomes'

• Shareholder climate resolutions filed at Origin
• Shareholder climate lobbying resolution filed at South32

• Beyond net-zero: IGCC report finds investors are increasingly embracing interim targets

• Electronic meetings: ASIC's no-action position (mostly) no longer in effect

• Top Story | Changes to continuous disclosure laws are now permanent: Is this the end of speculative class actions?
• New report finds ASX 200 companies have embraced TCFD-aligned reporting and scenario analysis and are increasingly disclosing net zero commitments
• New report tracks emerging trends in SDG reporting by ASX 150 companies
• Switzerland has outlined parameters for the planned introduction of mandatory TCFD-aligned reporting requirements

• Top Story | FFSP reform: MinterEllison's submission on the foreign financial services regime
• Consultation launched on draft Bill proposing to extend and strengthen UCT protections
• Hayne implementation: FSC launches a second round of consultation on a revised draft Life Insurance Code of Practice
• APRA has released final prudential practice guide APG 220: Credit Risk Management
• ASIC has banned a former broker and insurance salesman from financial services and credit for 10 years
• APRA has published further information ahead of the commencement of APRA Connect
• In Brief | ABA Code of Conduct Review: A coalition of 15 consumer groups has recommended 103 changes to the ABA Code of Practice, including substantially increasing the enforceability of the Code; improving the treatment of vulnerable customers/customers experiencing financial hardship;  retaining all existing commitments in the Code relating to responsible lending to individuals; and amending the Code's definition of small business

ESG Risk

• US Treasury has issued guidance urging multilateral development banks to oppose fossil fuel projects
• Falling short: European Central Bank finds two in three European banks' climate/environmental risk plans fail to measure up to expectations 
• Bluescope announces net zero by 2050 ambition
• In Brief | The Customers Amendment (banning goods produced by forced labour) Bill 2021, which seeks to 'absolutely' ban the importation of goods produced in whole or in part by forced labour, has passed the Senate without amendment and progressed to first reading stage in the House

Cyber risk

• Human error still causing 30% of reported breaches according to OAIC's latest NDB report
• ASX Outage: Independent report into the 2020 ASX outage concludes the upgrade project (that triggered the outage) was not ready to go live
• In Brief | ACCC Chair Rod Sims has flagged that new rules and regulations may be needed in addition to enforcement action by competition regulators globally to address concerns about the dominance of Apple and Google in app marketplaces

• Appointments to Safe Harbour Review Panel announced