Today ( September 4) is Equal Pay Day. This date is chosen as it marks the extra 65 days women in Australia must work after the end of the financial year to earn the same average pay as men. The pay gap between men and women in Australia currently sits at 17.9%.
The finance sector has the largest gender pay gap of any industry in Australia, with women earning just 69.5% of the male average. That’s despite the finance sector being one of the wealthiest and most profitable industries in Australia, with many of our employers recognised as Employers of Choice for Gender Equality.
There are many reasons why a pay gap between men and women persists in the finance industry including:
The gender pay gap has huge flow on effects for women over their lifetime. The 2015 Westpac Women and Retirement Readiness Report found that there is a $145 000 gap between the median superannuation account balance of women and men. According to Westpac’s analysis, the average 60 year old woman may need to work an extra 15 years to retire with the same superannuation balance as men!
FSU women have been working together to address the startling gender pay gap in our industry, with some recent projects including:
The finance sector has the largest gender pay gap of any industry in Australia, with women earning just 69.5% of the male average. That’s despite the finance sector being one of the wealthiest and most profitable industries in Australia, with many of our employers recognised as Employers of Choice for Gender Equality.
There are many reasons why a pay gap between men and women persists in the finance industry including:
- Discretionary pay systems deliver lower pay outcomes for women
- The types of job roles dominated by women in the industry are undervalued by employers who favour sales results over customer service
- Lack of flexibility in certain roles to enable women to balance work and caring commitments
- Outright gender discrimination
The gender pay gap has huge flow on effects for women over their lifetime. The 2015 Westpac Women and Retirement Readiness Report found that there is a $145 000 gap between the median superannuation account balance of women and men. According to Westpac’s analysis, the average 60 year old woman may need to work an extra 15 years to retire with the same superannuation balance as men!
FSU women have been working together to address the startling gender pay gap in our industry, with some recent projects including:
- Getting rid of the performance bell curve at NAB which force fitted performance and pay outcomes and negotiating a new more transparent classification and pay model
- Breaking the link between targets and pay increases at Westpac and providing 4500 employees with fixed wage increases for the first time, as well as superannuation payments to be made on up to 2 years parental leave.
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