WGEA has announced that 31st August is Equal Pay Day for 2021. This is the date on which the average wage for women In Australia reaches the level attained by men at the end of the past financial year. Put differently, Australian women need to work, on average for 14 months to accrue the same average income as men do in 12 months. The gender wage gap has remained fairly static in Australia for some years and has actually widened in the last 12 months.
WGEA describes this as a matter of concern. Of perhaps even greater concern is Australia’s decline to rank 50th on the WEF Global Gender Gap Index, 2021. Australia has been steadily falling in the rankings and we now stand in very unfavorable contrast to our near-neighbor, New Zealand which ranks 4th. While Australia has made some progress on gender equity such as female representation on boards, the drive for equity and equality in many other areas has stalled. Both the public and private sectors should not become complacent. If they do, we will continue to go backward.