Gender pay gap narrows only slightly

The Workplace Gender Equality Agency calculates that the widest gap in the average weekly earnings of women and men is in Western Australia, with a difference of $434 per week, while South Australia has the smallest pay gap of $121 per week.

The results were based on the latest half-year Australian Bureau of Statistics average weekly earnings data for November released on Thursday.

The Australian government statutory agency, in charge of promoting and improving gender equality in workplaces, said the gender price gap now stands at 13.8 per cent, a drop of 0.4 percentage points over the past six months.

Agency director Mary Wooldridge said while she welcomed the narrower result, the pay gap in favour of men continues in every industry and every state and territory.

"Throughout the pandemic, we know women stepped back from the workforce as they took on more of the caring load," Ms Wooldridge said.

Even so, at 13.8 per cent, this is the second lowest national pay gap in the last 20 years, with November 2020 being the lowest at 13.4 per cent.

She said in the lead up to International Women's Day on March 8, these latest figures provide an important benchmark at a time when many workplaces will turn the spotlight on their female employees.

"Australian employers must do more than pay lip service to gender equality on one day of the year," she said.

"This is something that needs dedicated focus, sustained commitment, and, most importantly, action to continue improving the policies that we know make a difference."

The agency's own research - the WGEA Scorecard - found while 42 per cent of organisations were able to make some reductions on their pay gaps in the last 12 months, 37 per cent actually saw their pay gaps widen over the same period.

Australian Associated Press