Australian women are effectively working without pay for the rest of the year, according to a new report into the .
The report from the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) found women are "working for free" for 42 days this year due to the gender pay gap.
While equal pay between men and women still hasn't been achieved in Australia, there has been strong recent progress with the latest report indicating the gap is at its lowest ever at 11.5 per cent.
It's a big improvement from previous years, but there's still one sector holding Australian women back.
How much less are women earning than men?
According to the new report, an Australian woman working full-time earns on average $231 less per week than a man — or 11.5 per cent.
But while the gap is still large, it's a huge improvement from previous years.
Since 2022, the gender pay gap has been shrinking by 1.3 per cent each year, three times faster than the previous Coalition government's average of 0.4 per cent.
If it keeps up this pace, it could mean the gap could close completely within nine years. Previous slow closure rates meant women could wait another estimated 35 years to get pay equality.
"More needs to be done to completely close the gender pay gap and nobody can ignore the fact that women work an extra 42 days a year to earn the same as men," ACTU president Michele O'Neil said.
"Government policies have a direct effect on the underpayment of women workers and the gender pay gap."
Female-dominated industries see pay increases
The report found one of the key drivers to narrowing the gap was wage increases in such as aged care.
Under a landmark Fair Work Commission decision in March this year, of up to 28 per cent.
Other factors included the government's decision to back higher wages for award workers — 60 per cent of whom are women — as well as strong growth in full-time employment for women due to improved rights to flexible work and improved paid parental leave.
It's expected an anticipated nationwide 15 per cent pay increase for early childhood education and care workers from December will further shrink the gender pay gap.
The report found industries such as media and telecommunications, accommodation and food services as well as administrative and support services had an increase in the gender pay gap.
The gap widened by 9.1 percentage points in the arts and recreation industries, making it the largest increase. This was followed by the utilities sector, with the gap widening by 5.3 per cent.
O'Neil said increased transparency about wages in industries were helping to bring about pay equity.
"With the improved laws now, it could be the case that we have more opportunities to have better work arrangements, we could go further with that as well," she said.
Some sectors stalling progress
"This should be a wake-up call for the private sector to look at their responsibility and put in place measures so that women are no longer disadvantaged," O'Neil said.
"It is unacceptable that in 2024 we have an 11.5 per cent gap, and even though it is closing at a faster rate, it shouldn't exist at all."
A February 2024 report from the government's Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) found the gender pay gap for private companies soared at 21.7 per cent.
Airline companies Jetstar, Qantas, and Virgin, as well as banks ING, Commonwealth and Westpac had a gender pay gap almost double the national average.
Supermarket giants Woolworths and Coles had a near-neutral gender pay gap at 5.7 per cent and 5.6 per cent respectfully.
The removal of caps on public sector wages was a key factor in the improved pay conditions.
In February 2025, WGEA will publish the gender pay gaps for private sector employers for the second time.
It will become clear then how much progress, if any, big institutions have made in closing the gender pay gap.
Additional reporting by the Australian Associated Press
