Gender pay difference widens leading to super gap, employers need to act now
Kris Grant
The pay gap between men’s and women’s salaries remains a persistent problem and more employers need to commit to eliminating the gap which stands at 14% Australia-wide, leading to a significant difference in superannuation balances despite women having attained higher education levels, according to Kris Grant, CEO of management consultancy ASPL Group.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has released data yesterday shows that the difference in average weekly full-time earnings for men and women stood at 14.1% in May 2022, up from 13.8% in November 2021. Measured another way, women’s full-time adult average weekly ordinary time earnings were 86% of that of men. The wages gap has led to a gap in superannuation levels, with women’s median superannuation balance standing at $168,000 compared to $208,200 for men in the 2019-20 financial year, the ABS data show.
ASPL’s Kris Grant said: “Many employers are still paying lip service to eliminating the gender pay gap and the notion of paying equal pay for equal work. The gender pay gap currently stands at around 14%, despite women having achieved higher education levels than men, with the ABS data showing that 34% of women aged 15 to 74 years have a bachelor degree or above, compared to 28% of men.
“Employers generally need to be more rigorous about introducing measures to bring about wages equality. The gender pay has been around for so long that to get male and female wages on par, employers would have to pay a lot more to their female workers, and many are reluctant to do that. But that’s what needs to be done to level up male and female wages.
“Conducting a comprehensive gender pay audit should be a key priority for employers as it allows organisations to identify the extent of the problem and take action to solve it. Pay audits result in a greater understanding of recruitment and renumeration biases, which lead to the gender pay gap and solutions can then be developed.
“In the public sector, for example, salary bands exist, and this helps to mitigate the gender pay gap. It could be that in industries where the gap is widest, such as mining, it would help to have salary bands where the rates of pay are clearly defined for the work done and skill levels.
“Women too may need to lean in and demand equal pay for equal work, particularly when they are moving to a new job and they may have greater bargaining power over what they are paid, particularly in today’s tight labour market. Many women are reluctant to ask employers for more money, but they need to overcome this reluctance and gain the confidence to ask for equal pay for equal work.
“Having said that, many women may not know the wages gap exists, as salaries are confidential, which puts the onus back on employers to act, because they have the knowledge and the power to equalise pay packets. When employers pay less to women than men, they are sending the signal that women are less valuable in the workplace than men. This needs to be corrected with urgency,” Grant said.
