How women earn $12,600 a year LESS than men – and one group’s radical solution to fix the gap
- Women earn $78,442 a year on average compared with $91,073 for men at work
- Workplace Gender Equality Agency said 13.9 per cent gap was ‘disappointing’
- Government agency’s director Libby Lyons wants ‘genuine targets’ in workplace
Workplaces would be forced to hire more senior women to close the $12,600 gender pay gap if a government agency had its way. Women (stock image of nurse) working full-time earn an average of $78,442 compared with $91,073 for men, the Workplace Gender Equality Agency has revealed
Workplaces would be forced to hire more senior women to close the $12,600 gender pay gap if a government agency had its way.
Women working full-time earn an average salary of $78,442 compared with $91,073 for men, the Workplace Gender Equality Agency has revealed.
Libby Lyons, the government agency’s director, said ‘policies and strategies’ had failed to narrow this $12,631 difference.
‘There must be action. Employers need to put genuine targets in place and make people accountable for meeting these targets,’ she said.
‘We know that when employers take action to close their gender pay gaps and regularly monitor the results, the pay gap declines.’
Men continue to earn more on average because male-dominated industries offer higher salaries, not necessarily because males are paid more for doing the same job.
The mining industry offered Australia’s highest full-time salaries of $136,079 in November 2019, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday.
Men continue to earn more on average because male-dominated industries (construction stock image) offer higher salaries, not necessarily because males are paid more for doing the same job. The mining industry offered Australia’s highest full-time salaries of $136,079 in November 2019, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday
By comparison, the health care and social assistance sector, which employs predominately female nurses, offered mean equivalent pay levels of $82,680.
The WGEA used this ABS average weekly ordinary times earnings data to argue there was still a 13.9 per cent, or $242.90 a week, gender pay gap across all occupations.
Workplace Gender Equality Agency director Libby Lyons said ‘policies and strategies’ had failed to narrow this $12,631 difference
In six months, the disparity between male and female salaries had shrunk by just 0.1 percentage points.
‘The latest gender pay gap result is actually quite disappointing,’ Ms Lyons said.
‘It is yet another indication that progress towards gender equality in our workplaces may be slowing.
‘I am concerned that a degree of complacency is creeping back into the Australian business community. The danger signs are clear.’
Nonetheless, a woman is Australia’s highest-paid chief executive with Macquarie Group’s Shemara Wikramanayake earning $18million during the 2018/19 financial year.
The 57-year-old daughter of Sri Lankan immigrants earned $346,000 a week or 208 times more a year than an average, full-time Australian worker’s $86,237 salary.
Nonetheless, a woman is Australia’s highest-paid chief executive with Macquarie Group’s Shemara Wikramanayake (pictured) earning $18million during the 2018/19 financial year. The 57-year-old daughter of Sri Lankan immigrants earned $346,000 a week or 208 times more a year than an average, full-time Australian worker’s $86,237 salary