Women underpaid, pay parity elusive

Women are vastly underpaid over their lifetimes and missing out on top management roles while pay parity with men remains elusive, according to research released today.

More than 50 per cent of women are working full time and earning less than men in every age bracket, according to the data from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency WGEA.

The research shows that the gender pay gap between women aged 45 to 65 is about $40,000 a year and women who earn chief executive positions earn an average of $93,000 less than their male counterparts.

If the trend continues, millennial women in the workforce will earn only 70 per cent of male take-home pay by the time they turn 45.

WGEA director Mary Wooldridge told the ABC that the report shows that the blokes club is alive and well.

It is absolutely fine. Ms Wooldridge said that it happens in many different shapes and forms.

It has an impact for women, but it also has an impact on employers who are losing access to this amazing talent pool of capable meritorious women.

We work hard to make the case for equity day in and day out. Some companies still prioritize other issues and other work and aren't committed to this. The gap widens when women turn 35 and earn $7.78 for every $10 earned by their male counterparts, according to a report by the WGEA.

The pay gap is worsening over the next 20 years before there is a slight improvement once women hit 65.

The Minister for Women Katy Gallagher said that the WGEA report paints a worrying picture and there is significant work to do. It finds, yet again, that the gender pay gaps favours men across every industry and occupation in Australia. It also continues at every age and life stage, Ms Gallagher said.

Ms Gallagher said the Albanese government is committed to closing the gender gap and will strengthen the Fair Work Act's ability to order pay rises for underpaid women workers.

It was disappointing that some company boards, chief executives and senior management did not take gender pay equity seriously enough, according to Ms Wooldridge.

She told the ABC she occasionally encountered resistance from senior women and said some companies might have used the pandemic as cover.

We have sceptics across the board. She said that there's always a spectrum in any issue.

There are some amazing leading organisations that are taking very proactive steps.

While employers may have been challenged and prioritising other issues due to the Pandemic, they won't be able to remove gender equality as a core part of their strategic discussions. She said that the Fair Work Commission's decision to increase minimum wage by 5.2 per cent and help women in low-paid jobs highlights inequities in the system that discriminates against women.

Ms Wooldridge said that there is no doubt that industrial segregation is a significant contributor to the gender pay gap.

Nearly 39 per cent of the gender pay gap is due to the industrial and occupational structures we have in our workforce.