Equal Pay Day – 28th August 2020
Today marks Equal Pay Day in Australia.
Equal Pay Day marks the 59 additional days from the end of the last financial year that women need to work to earn the same amount earned by men in the same year. Equal pay is “the concept of women and men being paid the same for performing the same role or different work of equal or comparable value” (WGEA). If only today wasn’t an actual day that we marked in the calendar ……
As taken from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) website the key facts for 2020 are:
- On average, women working full-time earned $1,558.40 while men working full-time earned $1,812.00.
- Full-time average weekly earnings difference between women and men is $253.60.
According to the Equal Pay Day website the main factors contributing to the gender pay gap are:
- discrimination and bias in hiring and pay decisions
- women and men working in different industries and different jobs, with female-dominated industries attracting lower wages
- women’s disproportionate share of unpaid caring and domestic work
- lack of workforce flexibility to accommodate caring and other responsibilities, especially in senior roles
- women’s greater time out of the workforce impacting career progression and opportunities
Unfortunately with the global pandemic we’re seeing further disadvantage against women and this will no doubt make closing the gap all the more challenging. That said, we can all make a difference no matter how small a role we play and today is the day to get started.
So this year the national theme for Equal Pay Day 2020 is “Keep Minding the Gap”.
It’s up to all of us to close the gender pay gap and support women to work as equals to their male counterparts.
So get the conversation started today at work or within your networks, and when voicing your support please don’t forget to use the hashtags #EqualPayDay and #KeepMindingTheGap.
