Pay gap widens by $80 a week

Women who work full-time are paid 18.4 per cent less than men, according to a Victorian Government-commissioned pay equity report released yesterday.

And the gap between male and female earnings is growing, jumping from $230 a week in 1996 to more than $310 a week now.

Victorian Industrial Relations Minister Rob Hulls established a working party last year to investigate the gender pay gap in the state.

The working party's report said there had not been a substantial improvement in women's pay as a percentage of men's pay since 1986.

According to the report, women earn less because they have weaker bargaining power, are more commonly employed in part-time and casual positions and in lower-paid occupations such as child care and retail. "Systemic discrimination" had also contributed to the gap.

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