The Gender Pay Gap

The gender pay gap is the difference between women’s and men’s average weekly full-time equivalent earnings, expressed as a percentage of men’s earnings.

The national gender pay gap is calculated annually by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency using the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ labour force data.

In 2020 the national gender pay gap remained steady from 2019 & 2018. This pay gap shows a greater disparity between men and women. Every industry in Australia has a full time pay gap favouring full-time working men, even female dominated industries such as health care and social assistance. Equal Pay Day is on 28th August, marking the 59 additional days from the end of the previous financial year that women must work to earn the same pay as men. 

The national theme for Equal Pay Day 2020 is ‘Keep Minding the Gap’. During this global pandemic, it is important that employers continue to focus on gender equality in their organisations. The COVID 19 pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on women and could affect women’s long-term economic security and rates of workforce participation.

Research shows the main factors contributing to the gender pay gap are:

• discrimination and bias in hiring and pay decisions
• women and men working in different industries and different jobs, with female-dominated industries attracting lower wages 
• women’s disproportionate share of unpaid caring and domestic work
• lack of workforce flexibility to accommodate caring and other responsibilities, especially in senior roles 
• women’s greater time out of the workforce impacting career progression and opportunities

2020 Key Facts

• The national gender pay gap is 14%.
• On average, women working full-time earned $1,558.40 while men working full-time earned $1,812.00.
• Full-time average weekly earnings difference between women and men is $253.60.