According to the latest data from the agency, women earned over $26,000 less on average than men between April 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021, based on more than four million employees across Australia.
That’s what some claim when the Workplace Gender Equality Agency publishes data on the nation’s gender pay gap and the poor progress made by businesses to close it year after year.
While the salary gap figure should scare many, others who discount the data’s importance prefer to focus on what it doesn’t disclose.
For starters, they say that the salary disparity between men and women does not compare like-for-like roles. The salary disparity between men and women is a reflection of women’s general status in the workforce.
That is correct. It isn’t the case. This is mentioned in the WGEA’s data. While there may be occasions where equal pay is not provided, the agency makes it plain in all of its reports that the wage disparity between men and women is different.
Equal pay is a legal obligation in Australia, where women and men are paid equally for doing the same function or different work of equal or equivalent worth.