Female dominated industry is the largest contributor to National Gender Pay Gap increase

The National Gender Pay Gap has widened in the past year to a record high of 18.8%. While some male dominated industries have made in-roads towards narrowing the gap, others, such as manufacturing, have contributed to the increase. However, it is a female dominated industry that is contributing the most to the gender pay gap in Australia. Administrative and support services have contributed a whopping 7.8% to the national gender pay gap in the past year.

New data¹ released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics last week shows the national gender pay gap has increased to a record high of 18.8%. The new figures are based on data collected in November 2014. The national gender pay gap has increased 1.4% since November 2013 when the gap was 17.4%.

On average, a man working full-time earns $1,587.40 per week whereas a woman working full-time earns $1289.30 per week. That equates to difference of $298.10 per week².

The Financial and Insurance Services industry had the highest gender pay gap (29.6%), followed by Health Care and Social Assistance (29.1%) and Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services (28.7%). The lowest gender pay gaps were in the Public Administration and Safety (7.2%), Other Services (8.2%), and Accommodation and Food Services (9.0%) industries.

The 2014 results also show that, compared to 2013 the gender pay gap increased markedly in three industries: Administrative and Support Services (+7.8 percentage points), Wholesale Trade (+6.5 pp) and Manufacturing (+3.9 pp). The gender pay gap reduced substantially in three industries: Construction (-3.6 pp), Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services (-3.3 pp) and Health Care and Social Assistance (-2.6 pp).

The Workplace Gender Equality Agency’s Research Executive Manager, Dr Carla Harris said: “It is very concerning to see the national gender pay gap at a record high of 18.8%. The silver lining is that some of the industries with the biggest gender pay gaps, for example Financial and Insurance Services and Health Care and Social Assistance, have reduced their gender pay gaps in the past year.”

“It’s clear that women aren’t getting the same earning opportunities as men, and this has implications for women’s financial security, particularly in old age. However, it is important to remember that the national gender pay gap is a high-level figure that shows general differences in earnings between women and men across the board. It is not a like-for-like analysis of women and men doing the same job and therefore, it doesn’t mean that women are earning 18.8% less than men in the same role,” Dr Harris said.

What it does mean is that men are being promoted more often than women, particularly in the female dominated occupations.

Gender Pay Gap in Australia by Industry

Industry	Nov-13	Nov-14	Annual change    (percentage points)
Financial and Insurance Services	31.9	29.6	-2.3
Health Care and Social Assistance	31.7	29.1	-2.6
Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services	24.9	28.7	+3.8
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services	26.6	28.0	+1.4
Mining	21.7	21.7	0
Manufacturing	16.8	20.7	+3.9
Information Media and Telecommunications	18.6	18.1	-0.5
Construction	20.1	16.5	-3.6
Administrative and Support Services	8.3	16.1	+7.8
Transport, Postal and Warehousing	12.7	16.1	+3.4
Arts and Recreation Services	14.2	15.3	+1.1
Wholesale Trade	7.2	13.7	+6.5
Education and Training	11.5	12.8	+1.3
Retail Trade	12.9	12.1	-0.8
Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services	12.4	9.1	-3.3
Accommodation and Food Services	8.2	9.0	+0.8
Other Services	8.0	8.2	+0.2
Public Administration and Safety	7.3	7.2	-0.1
All Industries	17.4	18.8	+1.4

References:
1. Australian Bureau of Statistics
2. Workplace Gender Equality Agency