New report offers strategies that employers can use to close the pay gap
Women in Australia are earning about $1.5 million less than men over their lifetime, according to a new report, which revealed the gender pay gaps at different ages in the workforce.
The report, released by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, based its findings on information reported by more than 7,400 employers in 2024, representing more than 5.1 million employees in 19 industries.
According to the findings, women between the ages of 15 and 19 entering the workforce earn slightly more, on average, than men.
However, this begins changing when they reach 20 years old, at which point the gender pay gap starts to favour men, who begin earning an average of $1,940 more than women.
The pay gap between genders continues expanding until it hits a peak at the ages between 55 and 59, where men are earning almost $53,000 annually more than women.
Adding the earnings difference for every age from 15 to 67, the report found that women on average earn about $1.5 million less than men.
"The lifetime financial impact for women from this persistent gender pay gap is substantial," the report read.
Addressing the gender pay gap
There are various drivers that accelerate the gender pay gap in Australia, according to the report. They include:
- A lack of part-time manager roles
- Assumptions not backed by evidence that full-time workers are more committed to their jobs or more productive
- Bonus and overtime systems that favour men
- Recruitment and promotion processes that perpetuate the gender pay gap.
But there are also key employer interventions at critical times that could reduce the pay gap, such as offering part-time or job share manager roles.
"Offering manager roles part-time could improve women's access to management and men's ability to connect. It could also help both women and men transition to retirement," the report read.
While this may put employees at risk of trying to do a full-time job in reduced hours, the report underscored the need for a job redesign to ensure that employees are not over-stretched.
"When done correctly, part-time work and job sharing can both be an attraction and retention tool," the report read. "Employers should consider setting targets for part-time managers to get the ball rolling; this will ensure that part-time work is being role-modelled and normalised."
The report also recommended addressing assumptions in pay negotiations, as gender stereotypes may be playing a role in the gender pay gap.
It suggested pricing job roles against the market value instead of salary history to ensure that women are not disadvantaged.
Offering parental leave equally to women and men may also help, according to the report, noting that changing the social expectations around who engages in caring can help reduce financial disadvantage that women experience by taking on unpaid caring work.
Other measures suggested in the report include:
- Setting a target for gender balance in manager roles
- Reviewing discretionary payments and overtime strategies to identify and remove bias
- Role-modelling of flexible working for both women and men
"We're asking employers to change the story and shape the future. Taking at least one of these actions this year will make your workplace fairer," said WGEA CEO Mary Wooldridge in a statement.
"Closing the gender pay gap also enhances women's capacity to invest for their retirement, provide for their family, afford housing, and have financial independence."
