What a thread...!
My 2 cents.
My years of flying has shown me:
Some female pilots are good pilots. Some are okay pilots. Some aren't good pilots.
Some male pilots are good pilots. Some are okay pilots. Some aren't good pilots.
I've seen no evidence of one gender being better at the job than the other, so I guess that a fair "target" for Qantas and others, would be to target a similar % of females/males hired to the amount of commercial licenses issued each year to females/males. This % of females will undoubtedly continue to rise, as will the numbers of females in the top jobs.
I don't think anyone, male or female, wants to get a job because of a Quota, Goal or Target, but on merit.
As for the pay gap. At least in the USA a pilot pay gap can be explained easily. It's the seniority system.
The number of females becoming pilots has risen alot over the past 10 years. As such, most of these pilots are still at a regional, or first officers in a major. As time passes, this "pay gap", will disappear.