Australia’s gender pay gap has dropped to its lowest level on record at 11.5 per cent, down from 12 per cent, according to new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The pay gap sees women earning 89 cents for every dollar on average men earn, accounting for a difference of $231.50 in men’s and women’s average weekly earnings.
As of May 2024, the full time average weekly earnings for men across industries and occupations was $2014.3 and for women it was $1782.8.
As highlighted by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency today, over the course of a year, this difference in weekly earnings adds up to $12,038.
Two years ago, Australia’s gender pay gap sat at 14.1 per cent.
Minister for Women Katy Gallagher said the drop in the gender pay gap is good not just for women, but for the entire economy and community.
“Whether it be by boosting the pay of early childhood educators and aged care workers by 15 per cent, backing a pay rise for minimum wage workers or banning pay secrecy clauses – Labor is doing work right across the economy to lift women’s pay,” she said on Thursday after the release of the data.
“This progress isn’t just good for women – it’s also good for men, good for children, good for the economy and good for the community.
“Closing the gender pay gap is a key ambition of Working for Women: A Strategy for Gender Equality, because we know that it is both a driver and a result of inequality. We know there is still work to do and we will keep going.”
In a statement, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the narrowing gender pay gap could be attributed to the government taking action on pay secrecy clauses, modernising the bargaining system, enforcing transparent gender pay gap reporting and delivering pay rises for workers in aged care.
“We came to Government with a commitment to help close the gender pay gap and that’s exactly what we’re seeing,” he said.
The gender pay gap is calculated in Australia as the difference in average ordinary time earnings between men and women who are working full time.
The news about the gender pay gap comes as the unemployment rate climbed to 4.2 per cent in July, the highest it’s been since November 2021.
“The unemployment rate rose to 4.2 per cent in July, with the number of unemployed growing by 24,000 people and employed by around 58,000. This combined increase lifted the participation rate to a record high of 67.1 per cent,” Kate Lamb, ABS Head of Labour Statistics said.
“While unemployment increased to 637,000 people in July, the highest it has been since November 2021, it remains around 70,000 people below its pre-pandemic level.”