On average, women earn 89 cents for $1 earned by men
Australia's gender pay gap hit a new record low of 11.5% in May 2024, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The record-low gender pay gap comes as full-time adult average weekly ordinary time earnings was $2,014.3 for men and $1,782.8 for women.
The Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) reported that the record-low pay gap means that, on average, women only earned 89 cents for every dollar earned by men.
"That's $231.50 less than men each week," WGEA said in a statement. "Over the course of a year, this difference adds up to $12,038.
Kate Lamb, ABS head of labour statistics, said this is the fourth six-monthly drop in the gender pay gap in a row.
"The narrowing in the gap in May 2024 was underpinned by pay increases in the female-dominated Education and training industry," Lamb said in a statement.
Record-low pay gap welcomed
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese attributed the recent development to the government's initiatives on reducing the gender pay gap since coming into office.
"It's because the government has taken action like banning pay secrecy clauses, modernising the bargaining system, enforcing transparent gender pay gap reporting, and delivering pay rises for aged care and childcare workers," Albanese said in a statement.
Minister for Women Katy Gallagher added that the development is not just good for women, but also for men, children, the economy, and 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," she said.
