For every 100 women attending university in Australia, there are just 72 men. But despite outnumbering their male counterparts in higher education, female graduates can expect to earn 27% less than men throughout their career.
Australia has one of the highest gender pay gaps in the world. The full-time gap is 13.9%, with women earning a weekly average of $242.90 less than men.
What Does the Gender Pay Gap Look Like Across the Country?
Australia’s gender pay gap varies across industries, territories and age groups.
Western Australia has the most significant gap, while the Australian Capital Territory currently has the smallest. In November 2019, the gender pay gaps by state from highest to lowest were:
Gender Pay Gap by Territory / State
- Western Australia – 22.1%
- Queensland – 15.8%
- New South Wales – 14.2%
- Northern Territory – 13.0%
- South Australia – 10.3%
- Victoria – 9.6%
- Tasmania – 9.0%
- Australian Capital Territory – 8.9%
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Across all industries, Australia’s Health Care & Social Assistance industry has the highest gender pay gap (22.3%), while Public Administration & Safety has the lowest (just 5.7%).
The Pay Gap is Widest for +55-Year-Olds
The average full-time gender pay gap increases for Australian workers up to their mid-30s, before dropping slightly in their late 40s and peaking for those aged 55 and older.
Gender Pay Gap by Age
- 21-34 years – 14.2%
- 35-44 years – 17.3%
- 45-54 years – 15.6%
- 55+ years – 17.7%
This sharp pay gap increase in the +55 working age group is largely because women in this group will have spent time out of the workforce while raising children. This unpaid care work means fewer opportunities for career advancement and higher pay.
Research reflects this, with 37% of women in part-time employment due to parenting responsibilities, compared to just 7.5% of men.
The rise of flexible working, which supports “Gig Mums” and allows people to balance workplace and family responsibilities more effectively, could help to close this significant gap for future generations.
The Rise of Women-Owned Businesses in Australia
In 2019, 35% of all businesses in Australia were women-owned, a 2% rise on the year before. Research in the 2019 MasterCard Index of Women Entrepreneurs ranks Australia 8th in the world for its total percentage of female-owned businesses, placing it below the United States and New Zealand, but above other large entrepreneurial hubs like the UK and Germany.
Despite ranking well, the gap in Australia is still significant. One of the main ways to start closing it is to support Australian women driving entrepreneurship.
Companies like One Roof are proof there is a real need for it. When One Roof opened as a coworking space in Melbourne, the goal was to support female entrepreneurs by providing all the services needed to run a business, with nearly 500 people walking through the doors in the first week to sign up.
Also championing the movement is Libby Lyons, Director of the Australian Government’s Workplace Gender Equality Agency. Libby encourages Australian business leaders to focus on closing the gender pay gap in their workplace.
“I want to see far more action and accountability from employers and business leaders,” says Lyons; “The pay gap shapes the lives of Australian women from the moment they enter the workforce… that this is happening to half the population of Australia in 2020 is, quite simply, unacceptable.”
Lyons says that while policies and strategies are useful, businesses cannot close the gender pay gap without taking action to back up those policies. Practically, this means employers should put attainable, sustainable targets in place and hold their teams accountable for meeting the goals.
Tips for Closing the Gender Pay Gap in Your Business
Here are some useful strategies employers can start putting in place to reduce the gender pay gap:
- Embrace flexibility. The majority of women still take on more domestic responsibilities than men, despite working the same hours. By creating more flexible work schedules and remote working opportunities, you can make it easier for employees like working mothers to balance work and home life.
- Offer better parental leave for mothers and fathers. This means fewer women will have to choose between their career and family responsibilities.
- Consider offering childcare. Last year, 1 in 4 Australian parents considered leaving their job due to difficulty combining parenting with work. To retain talent and provide more support to parents, employers can consider offering on-site childcare or flexible working hours.
- Create a culture of learning and mentorship. Mentor programmes can help women to improve their leadership and negotiation skills. Learning opportunities give all employees a chance to build their skill sets.
- Be transparent. Transparency around salaries will make everyone in the company aware of where the gaps are, and push the business towards equal treatment.
- Support female entrepreneurship. Find ways to support and promote women-led businesses in your industry.
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