2 days Ago By Angela Priestley
There is a total remuneration gender pay gap in favour of men in every working age bracket except one: the 15 to 19-year-old cohort where, for a very short period, women earn an average of 0.8 per cent more than their male counterparts. That means that from the age of 20, women start accumulating the impacts of the gender pay gap, which gets wider and wider the older they get.
Women aged 20 to 24 experience a 2.6 per cent gender pay gap, worth an average $1940 a year when calculating the average total remuneration for this age group. The gap grows to 7 per cent or $6652 for women aged 25 to 29.
The gap continues to widen with age until reaching a high of 32.6 per cent for women aged 55 to 59, before decreasing slightly to 31.2 per cent for those aged 60 to 54 and dropping to 26.
7 per cent for those over 65. Employee age has been collected for the first time in the extensive new data released today by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, allowing us to see the breakdown of the total remuneration gender pay gap by age range. This is not only useful in seeing the extent of the problem and where it gets worse, but it also helps in debunking some of the most common myths about the gender pay gap — such as that it’s merely a matter of women making the ‘choice’ to step back from their careers to have children.
The average age for a first time mother in Australia was 29.8 in 2022, . By which point, she’s experienced almost a decade of earning less than men, amounting to an average of around $42,000.
Meanwhile, women who rise through the ranks to get to CEO or Head of Business (HOB) positions can expect to see a massive 27.1 per cent pay gap — the largest of all manager categories. So, like age, the higher the manager level, the larger the gender gap in total remuneration and base salary gender pay gaps.
Women CEOs are paid $74,923 less per year than their male counterparts on base salary. But if you include total remuneration, including bonuses, the gap increases to a whopping $158,632 a year. There has been an ever-so-tiny narrowing of Australia’s total remuneration gender pay gap, down 0.
6 per cent on last year, if calculated the same way as last year. But at 21.1 per cent (when calculated according to last year’s process) and officially at 21.
8 per cent (with CEO, heads of business and casual managers included for the first time), the difference in earnings between men and women is still stark and consequential on women’s economic security. Mary Wooldridge, CEO of the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, told that now including CEOs, HOBs and casual managers in its total gap reporting presents Still, there are some improvements to note in the data released today, and opportunities ahead for governments and employers to build on small progress achieved. One such improvement is the fact the recorded 0.
6 per cent narrowing of the overall gap is largely attributed to the legislated pay rise for aged care workers, showing the difference that can be made in addressing the undervalued care sector, which is overwhelmingly dominated by women. Elsewhere, 68 per cent of reporting employers now analyse their gender pay gaps, up from 75 per cent last year. And 75% of employers who analyse their gender pay gaps are taking action, up from 60 per cent last year.
WGEA notes that some of the improvements seen are likely due to anticipating the publication of employer gender pay gaps, as well as the associated media and public focus that has been placed on individual employer pay gaps. Further stats to note from the report: Also to note are some new data points collected this year, including: The Albanese Government is expected to announce proposed changes to the legislation governing the data collected by WGEA. However, it is not expected to announce an intersectional approach, , and as pushed by the recent Equal Pay Day campaign.
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