Women working 50 days for free and another 21.5 years for financial equality

Equal Pay Day, marked on 19 August, serves as a national reminder that we are yet to achieve financial equality between women and men in the workforce and that progress, while evident, remains frustratingly slow.

The date represents the 50 extra days into the new financial year that women must work, on average, to earn the same annual salary as men. While the timeline to close the gender pay gap in Australia has shortened by 43% since 2017 – now at 21.5 years compared to 37.5 years – sector leaders say this is no time for complacency.

WGEA CEO Mary Wooldridge said this year’s campaign is designed to make the gender pay gap highly visible at the organisational level and spark constructive conversations.

“Equal Pay Day is an important day to start a conversation about the gender pay gap at your workplace and the plans to reduce it,” Wooldridge said.

Research continues to show the gap is largely driven by three entrenched issues: gender segregation across occupations and sectors, unequal family and caring responsibilities and persistent workplace discrimination.

Bianca Hartge-Hazelman, author and founder of the Financy Women’s Index, highlighted the continuing economic penalty paid by women.

“Equal Pay Day is a stark reminder of the economic reality for women, and our 21.5-year timeframe quantifies the long road ahead,” she said.

“While it’s positive to see the number come down over the long term, it represents the median point in a much more complex journey. The fact that women have to work an extra 50 days into the new financial year just to catch up to men’s earnings is unacceptable, and our full report in September will explore the structural barriers holding us back despite record female workforce participation.”

For the first time, WGEA has launched a new Equal Pay Day calculator that allows employees to work out the specific Equal Pay Day for their organisation by using its own reported gender pay gap. Thousands of employees have already used the tool.

Employees and leaders are being urged to engage with their organisation’s data via the tool and the WGEA Data Explorer.

“Employees can now find out what your employer is doing to address the issues that drive your workplace’s gender pay gap, why it exists and what can be done about it. For workplace leaders, Equal Pay Day is a chance to consult with your employees, let them know you are serious and discuss how to take meaningful action on gender equality,” she said.

She also called on staff to scrutinise their own employer’s gender equality data noting that the majority of Australian organisations still fall well outside equity targets. WGEA’s latest report found that 84.7% of employers still have gender pay gaps outside the target range of +/-5%.

“Every industry in Australia, including those that are women-dominated or that are gender-balanced, has a gender pay gap in favour of men,” Wooldridge said.

“Recent legislative changes, including publishing individual employer gender pay gaps and to require large employers to select Gender Equality Targets, aim to motivate employers to understand their gender pay gap and take meaningful action to address it. Equal Pay Day reminds us that there is still significant work to do to achieve equal and fair workplaces for all people.”

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