Despite decades of government policy, women earn 15.3% less than men, with discrimination, childcare and industrial segregation driving the disparity

On Monday, breakfast TV personality Lisa Wilkinson abruptly departed her position as host of Channel Nine’s Today show after almost a decade in the job, reportedly because the network would not meet her pay demands.

Sources said Wilkinson was offered $1.8m for the breakfast show gig next year but was asking for $2m – closer to what is paid to her co-host, Karl Stefanovic, who is said to be on a $6m three-year deal.



The shock announcement has once again illuminated Australia’s gender pay gap, which persists despite decades of government policy aimed at eliminating it. And while earning the large sums of money being fought over in Wilkinson’s case may be a pipe dream for most women and men alike, the disparity Wilkinson faces reflects broad trends in gender pay that see women earning less than men in many industries and most levels of professional achievement.

Dispelling the myths: why the gender pay gap does not reflect the 'choices' women make Read more

What does the gender pay gap look like in Australia?

The Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) estimates Australian women earn, on average, 15.3% less than men – $1,387 per week compared with $1,638 – and that this gap has remained largely unchanged for 20 years.

First of all, it’s worth defining what we’re talking about here. The gender pay gap is a general, overall measure looking at the comparative position of women in the workforce. It does not necessarily look at like-for-like pay gaps between men and women in the same roles, or adjust for differences in employment hours or industry types.

There are studies that have looked at adjusting for these factors, and still found significant, unexplained gaps between men and women’s pay.



The latest report by the WGEA found that gender pay disparities are not confined to any type of female worker or industry.

Top-tier female managers earn, on average, 26.5% less than their male counterparts, with nearly $40,000 of that difference coming from additional remuneration, including bonuses.

Even sectors that have a predominantly female workforce such as preschool and early childhood education have a significant pay gap. According to the WGEA, women in the preschool sector are paid on average 31.9% less than men, compared with a national gender pay gap of 15.3%.

In Wilkinson’s industry, television broadcasting, which is 47% female overall but 100% male at the CEO level, the full-time gender pay gap is 21.6%.

And while increasing representation of women at the executive leadership level improves gender pay equality overall, women still only make up a small percentage of those in leadership positions.

Why do women earn less than men?

There are a number of reasons why women consistently earn less than men, but the two key ones are that women are more likely to work part-time – around 75% of part-time workers are female – and are also more heavily employed in lower-paying occupations.

The WGEA report found that female-dominated organisations in Australia tend to be lower paid, particularly in industries where workforce roles are “gendered” such as healthcare and social assistance. This is known as “industrial segregation”.

It also found that while overall, gender pay gaps are lower in organisations with more female managers, the pay gap at the managerial level rises sharply in favour of men. This suggests that where men are few, they are more highly valued.

The driving force behind part-time work is childcare. Last year’s ABS Gender Indicator data shows that 62% of employed women with a child under five work part-time, while only 8.7% of men do. Women are also far more likely to take parental leave as the primary carer; 95% of primary parental leave used by non-public sector employees is taken by women. Primary parental leave is the type of leave most likely to affect people’s career trajectories.

There is also the issue of discrimination.

A 2009 report from the National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling examined data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey and looked at the influence of a large number of factors that might be contributing to the pay gap, including the number of hours worked, education, parental status and many other things.

The Natsem analysis found that the overall wage gap of 17% was less due to industrial segregation (25%) and more due to unobserved factors or simply being a woman (60%).

The superannuation system doesn't work for women. It's time to do better | David Hetherington Read more

What does this mean for women?

Lower lifetime earnings means less independence, less security and less power for women. For the economy it means lost human capital potential and investment, which can impair economic growth, and increase the burden on current and future governments as diminished earnings mean more reliance on welfare.

Lower lifetime earnings are reflected in the balance of women’s superannuation accounts, which are lower than men’s at every stage of their working lives.

According to a study by Per Capita, the median superannuation balance of women is just over half that of men: $80,000 compared with $150,000, and nearly 25% of men have balances over $500,000 while only 4% of women do. Conversely, almost a quarter of women have balances less than $50,000 – for a nest egg that is expected to last 30 years or more, given rising longevity. Mothers in particular fare poorly. Their super balances are consistently lower than fathers and adults without children.