Today WGEA’s annual Gender Equality Scorecard for 2024-25 revealed that Australia’s gender pay gap has fallen to 21.1%, down from 21.8% last year.
This means that for every $1 men in the private sector earn, women earn, on average, 78.9 cents — that difference adds up to $28,356 in a year.
Interestingly, WGEA found that the public sector had an average total remuneration gender pay gap of 6.4%, which is 14.7% lower than the average pay gap between women and men employed in the private sector.
Minister for Women, Senator the Hon Katy Gallagher says “the gender pay gap affects women at every pay point from entry level to CEO and any reduction in the gap translates to more money in women’s pockets and better economic outcomes for women, their families, and the economy”.
The Good
In an official press statement provided to Missing Perspectives, WGEA CEO Mary Wooldridge says the 0.7% “reduction is larger than the trend of the previous 5 years”.
The WGEA has also found that every state and territory reduced its gender pay gap in the 2024-25 period.
Additionally, of the 8,239 employers who reported to the WGEA for their Scorecard, 55% reduced their average total remuneration gender pay gap and 26% achieved gender-balance of their workforce.
In the 2024-25 period, men accounted for 20% of parental leave taken, a 3% rise from the year prior.
Gallagher says that “the growing number of men taking paid parental leave is a testament to cultural change”.
The Bad
According to the data, men earn 60% more, on average, than women in additional payments such as performance bonuses and overtime. This difference was even more pronounced for women at the top.
The WGEA’s data on CEO salaries shows that the gender pay gap between women and men CEOs increased by 1.2% to 26.2% in the past 12 months — that’s an average difference of $83,493 in base salary every year.
This difference blows out by more than $100k to $185,335 when superannuation, bonuses, overtime and additional payments are considered.
There were also no changes in the number of CEOs in the private sector who are women (22%) during that period.
It is also worth noting that data from WGEA does not currently account for the cultural pay gap, which widens the pay gap for women of colour who typically earn less than their white female and male counterparts.
What’s happening?
Woolridge says that broad employer action is driving the drop in the gender pay gap for 2025, and “shifting the dial towards fairness”.
“Reductions to the pay gap and modest improvements towards gender-balance in leadership roles are underpinned by more employers having policies and taking action that can break down gender norms about leadership and caring responsibilities, as well as improving employee safety,” said Woolridge.
What’s next?
The WGEA Scorecard highlights three areas where employers have opportunities for accelerated change. They are improving:
- safety and respect in the workplace
- gender balance at all levels in the workplace
- breaking down stereotypes related to work, leadership and caring.
Minister Gallagher has echoed these sentiments, urging employers to “not lose sight of areas requiring improvement, and the need for gender balance on governing bodies and for gender-balanced workforces”.
“Today’s Scorecard demonstrates that meaningful change is within reach, but that we cannot take our eyes off the ball or step back from our commitments to strive for a fairer Australia.”
Top photo source: Canva