The good news is that while the pay gap is starting to close, the bad news is that men are still taking home 21.3% more in total remuneration than a woman.
That figure is down 1.1 per cent down from last year, but still equates to a difference of about $25,700 per annum.
The Workplace Gender Equality Agency’s (WGEA) annual report collected data from 4.1 million employees, with results showing that men continue to out-earn women across every industry and occupation, including managers and non-managers.
But there is a glimmer of hope in what the future may hold – the 1.1 % narrowing of the pay gap is its largest single-year drop since the report began five years ago.
There has also been a marginal increase in the number of female CEOs in the past five years, up 1.4 % to 17.1%.
“The strong pipeline of women into management has strengthened and over seven in 10 employers now have either a policy or strategy in place to support gender equality or promote flexible work,” WGEA director Libby Lyons said.
“I think progress towards gender equality is heading in the right direction but it is slow. We’ve had a group of employers taking action and that’s why we’ve seen great results, but we need far more employers recognizing that equality is good for business.”
The greatest discrepancy was in the financial and insurance industry, where a woman could expect to make 30.3% less than a man, while women working in the accommodation and food services industry could expect to bring home 12.4% less.
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