What would a $28,425 boost to your pay mean to your family in this current cost of living crunch?
That’s almost $550 extra each week.
It would be life-changing for many. A welcome reprieve from skyrocketing rents or ballooning mortgage payments, not to mention the extraordinary cost of essential groceries, medicines and fuel.
Now imagine, if you will, someone taking that same amount away from what you currently earn.
It’s hard to fathom, right?
When I think about the real impact of the gender pay gap in Australia, this is it.
Although women hold the purse strings in many households, controlling most of Australia’s consumer spending, they are generally being paid substantially less than men.
Now we know exactly by how much.
The Workplace Gender Equality Agency’s annual Australian Gender Equality Scorecard, released this week, reveals the total remuneration gender pay gap in 2024 is 21.8 per cent, meaning women earn, on average, just 78 cents for every $1 men earn.
This equates to $28,425 less each year for the household budget.
It’s a stubborn gap that limits the lifetime earnings of Australian women, hobbling their ability to save, invest and build long-term financial security for themselves and their families, and to reach their full earning potential.
This isn’t about equal pay for equal work, that’s already the law. This is about women’s roles and the jobs they work in being undervalued.
For example, the gender pay gap for CEOs is the largest of all roles and occupations, confirming that even when women reach the highest levels of an organisation they earn far less than their male counterparts.
And the fact the average income in the industry with the most women, health care and social assistance, is barely half that of mining, the industry with the most men.
The good news is, the gender pay gap declined 0.6 percentage points compared to last year.
While it’s frustratingly small, it does represent real progress.
Importantly, gender equality also benefits men. Many men want to be active, involved and equal parents. This year 17% of all primary carers’ parental leave was taken by men – more than double the amount taken 4 years ago. Norms are changing and workplaces are changing too, and this benefits everyone.
The important metric right now is the number of employers committed to taking action to improve their results.
Since WGEA’s ground-breaking publication of the gender pay gaps of almost 5,000 medium to large employers for the first time earlier this year, employers are being spurred on to do better, by their employees, investors and the community.
Executives (with 100 or more employees) are now being held to account on their organisation’s gender equality performance; to own their gap, identify what’s driving it and how it will be closed. WGEA is ready and waiting with resources to assist employers with this.
There’s been a seismic shift in the proportion of employers taking meaningful action, laying the critical first steps towards improved workplace gender equality, even amid turbulent economic times.
There’s been a 13% jump in employers conducting a gender pay gap audit, with two-thirds now identifying where the inequalities are, leading to a 15% rise in those taking action to improve (now sitting at 75%).
This is important as the evidence shows that long-term, deliberate plans for action are a vital ingredient to further reducing the gender pay gap into the future.
But not everyone is there yet.
Employees, consumers and the wider public should continue to encourage and rally the slower movers to take action and continue to ask questions.
As more employers act, we will see greater improvements in workplace gender equality – and better outcomes for women, men, and their families, into the future.
Data – and transparency – are powerful drivers of change, inspiring us all to help build a fairer society. A society where women’s and men’s contributions are equally valued and respected.
Feature image: WGEA CEO, Mary Wooldridge.