Explainer: what is the gender pay gap?
What are the causes of Australia's gender pay gap? Dr Elizabeth Hill, expert in work and family policy from the Department of Political Economy, explains.
In this video produced in association with Fairfax Media鈥檚 , explains the gender pay gap: what it is, how big it is and why we should fix it.
Chair of the University鈥檚 , Dr Hill has published research on gender, work and care in both developed and emerging economies. Dr Hill is co-convenor of the and a member of the University鈥檚 .
What is the gender pay gap?
鈥淭he Gender Pay Gap refers to the difference in wages earned between women and men,鈥� Dr Hill explains. 鈥淚t is calculated using Australian Bureau of Statistics鈥� average weekly full-time earnings data.鈥�
How big is the gender pay gap in Australia?
鈥淔or the past two decades the gender pay gap has been stuck between 15 and 19 percent. In early 2017 it was 16 percent,鈥� Dr Hill says.
鈥淭his means the average full-time wage earned by women was 16 percent lower than that earned by men, which is approximately $260 less each week.鈥�
鈥淭here are big differences in the gender pay gap across industry groups. The smallest is a 7 percent gap for employees in Public Administration and Safety 鈥� those working in jobs like local government or the police force. But in Financial and Insurance Services the gap widens to 31 percent.鈥�
Why does the gender pay gap matter?
"Young Australian women are now more highly educated than their male peers and this should be rewarded in employment and wages,鈥� says Dr Hill.
鈥淏ut expectations about women鈥檚 responsibilities in the home and the types of jobs that are most suitable mean they do not participate in the workforce on equal terms with men.鈥澛�
