Money & Career

The Latest Gender Pay Gap Figures Are In. And They’re Not Good.

Australia’s female bosses earn nearly $100k less than their male counterparts

The Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) has released its latest gender equality scorecard and the news isn’t good.

Australian women are still earning, on average, less than $27,000 a year than men, only one in six CEOs are women and only one in three are in management positions.

Of 9,276 female graduates in 2014-15, most stuck to female-dominated industries including health care and social assistance.

“Our data shows that in the last 12 months male graduates still overwhelmingly entered male-dominated industries and female graduates entered female-dominated industries,” WGEA director Libby Lyons told news.com.au. 

“If the gender balance of graduates entering an industry closely matches the existing gender dominance, it means existing patterns of segregation are unlikely to shift in the foreseeable future.

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“There is now overwhelming research showing gender diversity encourages innovation, different thinking and new approaches to problem-solving. Some industries recognise this and we are seeing great initiatives to attract more women into scientific and technical careers, but encouraging men into female-dominated jobs is equally important.”

The report also found that while the representation of women in management positions, the number of women in CEO/head of business positions still only make up 16.3 percent and the salary difference is a whopping $93,884.

“The data confirms gender pay gaps in favour of men in every industry and the under-representation of women in management and leadership roles,” added Ms Lyons.

“There is no question that we are seeking movement in the right direction, but it’s still too slow.” 

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