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TRANSCRIPT
Newly released data paints a stark picture of the state of pay-parity in Australia.
The Workplace Gender Equality Agency has published the median gender pay gaps of nearly 5,000 Australian private-sector employers with 100 or more workers.
Mary Wooldridge is the Chief Executive of the Agency.
"For employers, this does set a benchmark on their progress, and it's fair to say some are very focused on it and others still need to turn their minds to it. And they have more work to do to make sure they can improve their employee experience each and every day. Every employer's solution is going to be different but what it does take is analysis, planning, KPIs and it does take a team to lead the process to drive that change."
The data has found nationally, the median base salary gender pay gap is 15 per cent.
When you add bonuses, commissions and overtime, that grows to 19 per cent - a difference of $18,000 a year.
The largest pay gaps have been identified in male-dominated industries such as construction, finance, engineering and law.
It found the smallest gaps were in hospitality, the arts, education, and in companies with more women in leadership positions.
Minister for Women Katy Gallagher says it's clear change is necessary.
"We need to be honest about it - it's not about shaming, it's not about naming, it's not about saying men should be paid less. It's about driving that change that we need to see in organisations to make sure women are getting a fair crack at opportunity and that we're closing the gender pay gap over time. It's complex, there's no silver bullet but this is a part of the response."
The Agency has found the worst offenders to be airlines like Jetstar, Qantas and Virgin, while at some of Australia's big banks, it was nearly double the national average.
Australia’s largest private sector employer, Woolworths, has a near-neutral pay gap of 5.7 per cent, while Coles has 5.6 per cent.
The publication of data was made possible with bipartisan support, despite push-back from Coalition backbencher Matt Canavan.
"Yep I'm going there mate, I'm sick and tired of this bullshit. It is total bullshit. Yeah this is public. This gender pay report must be the most useless set of data a government agency has ever collected. If we want useful information about a gender pay gap we need to correct the fact that some people work part time/full time. This doesn't even do that. It doesn't distinguish between people who work a full time job and a part time job."
But Deputy Opposition leader Sussan Ley disagrees with Mr Canavan.
"Backbenchers in our parties (Nationals and Liberals) are entitled to express their views but as the most senior woman in the Liberal Party, this is really important. This is something the women of Australia understand only too well."
Even though pay disparity in comparable, or "like-for-like", jobs has been illegal for decades, the gender pay gap persists.
The Finance Minister hasn't ruled out excluding companies with large gender pay gaps from government contracts.
Many of the employers with the biggest gaps have told SBS it's a result of gender-segregated roles within their organisations.
Rae Cooper is the Director of the Australian Centre for Gender Equality and Inclusion at Work.
"How do we actually make some of these places where women aren't represented in great numbers more hospitable to women, and more reflective of the types of things they want to do with their careers. And the flip side for highly feminised sectors, to have men coming into those sectors, to make it more acceptable and more welcoming."
