Women workers in Australia earn on average A$18,461 less than their male counterparts, new company-level pay statistics reveal.
Pay comparison data for all employers with 100 or more employees released by the Office for Workplace Gender Equality on Tuesday revealed that workers’ pay packets are sharply divided between men and women.
Nationally, the median income for male workers is AU$96,945, while the median income for female workers is 19% lower at AU$78,484.
The revelations follow tough new rules introduced by the Albanon government last year that require companies to report remuneration data.
Among companies with more than 5,000 employees, airline Virgin Australia reported the largest pay gap at 41.7%, while rival Qantas reported a 37% pay gap.
When comparing the four major banks, CBA reported the most significant gender pay gap at 29.9%, while Westpac Bank revealed a gap of 28.5%, ANZ 23.1% and NAB 18.8%. I made it.
Australia’s big supermarkets fared much better when it came to the pay gap between men and women, which was below the national average, but still not on par.
Woolworths reported that the median salary for male employees was 5.7% higher than the median salary for female employees, while Coles recorded a difference of 5.6%.
Fast food retailer McDonald’s reported no difference in the median wages of its male and female employees.
Meanwhile, Ritchie’s supermarkets and liquor stores reported that female employees’ median wages were 25% higher than their male colleagues.
The pay gap reported by WGEA is calculated by comparing the median total compensation of female and male employees, taking into account base salary, retirement benefits, overtime, bonuses, sales commissions, and other non-monetary benefits. ing.
Part-time and temporary pay will be converted into full-time equivalent annual pay.
According to WGEA’s analysis, less than a third (30%) of employers have a gender pay gap that WGEA considers neutral, meaning that it does not significantly favor women or men.
Among the remaining companies captured by reporting requirements, 62 percent of the median employer disparities were “favoring men,” with men’s median wages more than 5 percent higher than women’s median wages.
Only 8% of companies gave preferential treatment to women, and the median salary for women was more than 5% higher than for men.
WGEA’s data does not include salaries of chief executive officers, business directors, temporary managers and staff who were laid off during the reporting period.
The pay data figures for some companies were in stark contrast to companies that publicly advocated for women’s empowerment.
Despite the beauty products giant’s “social change movement” that “advocates for equality and opportunity for women and girls,” its male employees earn 10.3 points less than its female employees. It was reported that the percentage was higher.
Lorna Jane, a sports apparel retailer whose vision is to “empower women and change the world,” pays its median male employees one-third more than its median female employees.
WGEA’s analysis shows wide variation in the gender pay gap across industries, from the construction sector, where the median employer gender pay gap is 31.8 percent, to the lodging and food service industry, where the median gender pay gap for employers is 1.9 percent. It was also shown that
WGEA CEO Mary Wooldridge said the time for conversations and excuses about the gender pay gap is over.
“The publication of today’s results is a catalyst for action and change, especially for employers who have a high gender pay gap compared to their industry peers,” Ms Wooldridge said.
“Change requires action and employers must commit to ensuring all employees are fairly represented, valued and rewarded equally in the workplace.”
Separate data showing the percentage of male and female employees at each company by income quartile is expected to be released by WGEA later Tuesday.
