Female graduates earn up to 14.3 pc less than male peers

The EOWA has raised its concern that graduate salaries reflect a gender pay gap that may be hard to overcome.

Graduates face a number of challenges when they first enter the workplace, which may be why so many people describe their first year of full-time work as one of their hardest.

And while more experienced staff members are able to negotiate their way around the office, it can be difficult for newbies to find their feet.

Day-to-day obstacles that need to be overcome can be both relatively straight forward (remember learning how to use the work email?) and at other times nerve wracking in their complexity.

However it seems that there are other problems facing young women in the workplace that are placing them at a very real career and financial disadvantage.

A report into graduate salaries has identified a gender gap when it comes to pay and working conditions.

Helen Conway, director of the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency (EOWA), said that new figures show female graduates are paid up to 14.3 per cent less than their male peers.

"Graduate Careers Australia figures demonstrate that, from day one, female employees are behind the eight-ball across a range of industries when it comes to salaries, earning an average of $2,000 less per year than males," she asserted.

Ms Conway has called on businesses to review their recruitment practices and payroll policies in order to promote equality in the workplace, after it became clear that gender based discrimination often informs these processes.

"Businesses need to take a close look at their recruitment practices to stop this discrimination and ensure they attract and retain the best employees, regardless of gender," said Ms Conway.

In response to the findings – which Ms Conway describes as unacceptable – the EOWA is pushing for greater transparency when it comes to employee pay, as well as offering companies a range of tools that could help them improve their salary packages.

"There should be greater transparency around salaries for graduate jobs. Graduates deserve to know that what they are being paid is fair and not influenced by gender," suggested the EOWA director.

The organisation would like to see more brands support notions of equal pay for equal work, which has long been as issue for women in business.

It is hoped that by updating the processes and policies that guide staff remuneration at a graduate level, it will put women in a more competitive position when it comes to salaries and bonuses in the future.