How your employer ranks on the gender pay gap

Australia's gender pay gap has narrowed, but we're still a long way off equality. Here's how to see how your employer stands on gender pay equality.

The Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) has published its latest report on the gender pay gap.

It's based on data gathered from 10,500 employers, covering the pay patterns of nearly 5.9 million Australians.

What the latest WGEA data shows

According to the report, the gender pay gap currently stands at 11.2%, just 0.9% lower than the previous year.

Put simply, for every dollar earned by a man, a woman earns 88.8 cents.

The WGEA notes that a key driver of many employer gender pay gaps is large differences in discretionary payments, like performance bonuses and overtime hours.

However, a significant factor is that men are still 1.8 times more likely to be employed in the highest earning jobs with an average salary of $221,000.

Women, on the other hand, are 1.4 times more likely than men to have jobs with the lowest earnings - those paying about $60,000 annually.

WGEA CEO Mary Wooldridge, says, "The fact that men are nearly twice as likely as women to be in the highest paid roles and that women still dominate the lowest paid roles should offer a reality check for anyone who thinks Australia has achieved equality in the workplace."

Industries with the biggest pay gaps

According to the WGEA, the biggest pay gaps are typically found in male-dominated industries such as construction, and mining, or those that are gender-balanced but highly paid, like financial services.

As a guide, women make up about half (53%) the workforce in the financial and insurance services industry. However, they account for only about one-third of the top 25% of income earners, with average pay of $323,593, while making up two-thirds of the bottom 25% of earners, averaging around $79,380 annually.

How major employers compare

The WGEA has published spreadsheets revealing the gender pay gap across thousands of employers with over 100 staff.

They make for interesting reading.

Coles Group, for instance, has a gender pay gap of just 6.2%, whereas the Commonwealth Bank has a 21.3% pay gap.

Qantas is reported to have a gender pay gap of 41.7% (ahead of Virgin Australia with a pay gap of 44.8%).

And while BHP Group has a blokey workforce (just 37% of employees are women), it has a gender pay gap of 12.8%, only slightly above the national average.

Where to check your employer's results

If you're keen to know how your employer shapes up, head to the WGEA website.

It's a trove of information that could come in handy when your next pay review rolls around.

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