The latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has found that the gender pay gap is at 13.3% – the lowest level on record. The ABS measured the gender pay gap by evaluating the difference in average weekly full-time earnings as of November last year. It found that the average women’s full-time earnings are about $1,654 per week, while the men’s average is $1,907. The new figure is 0.8 percentage points below the last gender pay gap figure from the ABS, which was published in August last year.
What is the Gender Pay Gap?
The gender pay gap shows the difference between the average full-time earnings of women and men across the workforce. It’s not referring to men and women being paid differently when they do the same job. The ABS releases updates on the national gender pay gap in February and August every year and uses average weekly earnings data from a survey sample of Australian businesses to calculate the figure. It only includes normal payments and excludes wages earned through overtime or for superannuation.
Wasn’t the Pay Gap Stalling?
While the ABS releases data on the gender pay gap twice a year, it’s also separately calculated by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA). The WGEA releases its findings every November and includes payments such as overtime and superannuation in its calculations. It undertakes an annual employer census to gather its findings. In its most recent report, the WGEA found that the 2022 national gender pay gap was at 22.8% – the first time in nine years that it had stalled.
