Long-awaited data on the pay differences between men and women in large Australian companies was finally released today, as part of a promise by the Labour government to shine a light on the problem of the gender pay gap. But wait, didn’t we already know there was a gender pay gap? And what exactly does this mean for you? If you’ve found yourself with these burning questions, here’s an explainer of everything you need to know.
What did Tuesday’s gender pay gap data reveal?
It’s long been known that there has been a gender pay gap in Australia, but now we can finally see the true extent of the problem.
The highly anticipated data, published by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA), took the salary information from every Australian company with 100 or more employees, and broke it down by industry into base salaries and total pay, including overtime, bonuses and superannuation.
It found that the national median pay gap was 21.7%, meaning women earn $26,393 less than their male counterparts each year.
Why does Australia have a gender pay gap?
Speaking to PEDESTRIAN.TV, General Manager of diversity, equity and inclusion consultancy TDC Global Sommer Nisbet said the main reasons for the gender pay gap are “widely recognised”.
“Women are typically expected to make greater career sacrifices to have children and frequently find themselves in industries that society tends to undervalue monetarily compared to those predominantly occupied by men,” she said.
Nisbet also said that a social belief that it was rude to talk about money played a role.
“As the conversation has been avoided for so long in workplaces, people often don’t grasp that there is a pay gap issue at their work or how large the issue still is in society,” she said.
“It’s hard to take action when you don’t fully understand the problem. That’s what the new WGEA rules seek to do, shine a light on the extent of the issue and start pushing people to discuss pay in their workplaces and industries.”
What does the gender pay gap mean in the real world?
Gender equality is an important topic in the workplace. Findings from the latest Women in the Workplace report found that over half of Australian women would consider leaving their job if they find out that their organisation had a gender pay gap — regardless of how big that gap was.
The annual report surveyed 1,000 men and 1,000 women across Australia and asked them about issues women face in the workplace. Such issues included pay, job progression, leadership, job security and more.
It found that equal pay was a significant factor for women staying in or moving to new jobs. It also found that a healthy company culture, flexible work models and a clear path to promotion were key factors, but were all areas women felt men were favoured.
Employees quitting their jobs isn’t the only real-world impact. The data released on Tuesday also found that women are not as commonly employed in more senior positions, and that they often take more responsibility caring for children or older family members.
All this has real-world effects on everything from people’s happiness to financial strains on the economy. Equal pay would have a range of benefits, which is why it is being so actively sought by the government.
What does WGEA hope will happen now?
Ultimately, it wants to close the gender pay gap. A difference of no more than 5% is considered equal pay, and it was previously estimated this target could take almost 30 years to hit.
However, it is hoped that by publicly sharing the data of every Australian company, private or public, employers will feel pressured to pay fairly and this target can be more rapidly achieved.
If successful, it is believed that workplace satisfaction and equality will be higher, women can more easily achieve more senior positions and household labour such as caring for children is shared. All this, the federal government says, could go on to save the Australian economy almost $52 billion each year.
