The gender pay gap is narrowing in Australia, but men are still totally dominating leadership roles, five years of data collected from millions of employees and released today shows.
The Australian government's Workplace Gender Equality Agency has tracked more than 40% of the nation's employees (4.1 million people) to measure the gender composition of the workforce, the remuneration received by men and women, the flexibility of employment terms (especially regarding family or caring responsibilities) and the frequency of sex-based harassment and discrimination.
So what is the good news?
"The pay gap this year has seen the biggest single percentage drop ever, by 1.1%," the agency's engagement executive manager Kate Lee told BuzzFeed News.
Over the five years to March 21 the gender pay gap continued to narrow but men still out-earn women, on average by 21.3%, in every industry, occupation and manager category.
"So men are still taking home, on average, 21% more than women, which includes things like bonuses and shift allowances," Lee said.
"The pay gap starts for new graduates, so it isn't just women who are starting their families, but it starts as soon as you hit the workforce out of uni."
The number of organisations with targeted policies or strategies to support gender equality has also gone up, including an increase in the number of employers who have a formal policy or strategy to support employees who are experiencing family or domestic violence.
"The number of employers offering flexible work has gone up, which is an important thing for gender equality for both men and women," Lee said.
What is the bad news?
Although the proportion of women in management has increased, most senior roles, especially at the CEO level, are still dominated by men.
There is almost no improvement this year in the number of women around Australia’s boardroom tables.
Just over 35% of the board and governing bodies the agency looked at had no female members. None.
The pay gap has also actually increased in some industries, notably construction and health.
"The finance sector still has the highest pay gap, but it has gone down every year and in fact down 6% over the past five years, whereas construction has gone up and has almost overtaken finance now," Lee said.
"Construction is a male-dominated industry, but the the pay gap is double that of mining which is equally as male-dominated."
The widening gender pay gap in healthcare was "concerning", she said.
"You have an industry in which it is 80% women but men are taking home more money."
What is stagnating?
“Access to parental leave has ground to a halt,” the agency’s director Libby Lyons wrote in the report.
In fact, more than 50% of employers provide no access to paid parental leave for the primary carer, in addition to the government scheme.
The number of employers offering primary carer’s parental leave dropped from 48.5% in 2013-14 to 47.8% in 2017-18.
How do I know how well my current or future employer is doing on gender equity?
"On our website you can search the employers that prioritise workplace gender equality, which is helpful if you're starting out in the workforce," Lee said.