Sydney, March 3: Women in Australian workplaces are frustrated that the government’s gender pay gap law, introduced a year ago, has not had a significant impact on closing wage disparities, according to new research from HR tech firm HiBob.
The latest data from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) shows a slight increase in the gender pay gap from 21.7 per cent to 21.8 per cent nine months after the law took effect, with women calling on their employers to take more action.
HiBob’s fourth annual Women in the Workplace report found that only 51 per cent of women believe their organisation is actively addressing the gender pay gap, while 37 per cent think their employer will never prioritise closing it—up from 31 per cent last year.
Amid ongoing concerns, confidence among women to discuss pay disparities is growing. Over half (53 per cent) now feel comfortable bringing up a company’s gender pay gap in a job interview, up from 40 per cent last year. Additionally, 69 per cent of women would reject a job offer if the company had a significant pay gap, up from 60 per cent.
Sabrina Scherm, HiBob’s customer advocacy manager, said the gender pay gap remains a “deep-rooted issue that will take years to fix,” citing inadequate payroll and remuneration tracking by businesses.
“Part of the problem is that many organisations—especially those that run payroll and remuneration reviews in spreadsheets—aren’t keeping their finger on the pulse regularly enough on what their gender pay gap is and how it changes over time,” she said.
Scherm suggested that extending the reporting mandate beyond large corporations to include Australia’s 2.5 million small businesses could make a difference. Currently, only organisations with more than 100 employees are required to report their gender pay gap data publicly.
Meanwhile, new analysis from Money.com.au projects that Australia could close the gender pay gap by 2036 if current wage growth trends persist. Over the past decade, women’s wages have risen by an average of 4.1 per cent per year, compared to 3.1 per cent for men. If this continues, women’s wages will have increased by 69 per cent by 2036, compared to 48 per cent for men, effectively closing the gap.
Money.com.au’s finance expert, Fi Ahlstrom, emphasised the real-life consequences of the wage gap:
“The gender pay gap isn’t just a statistic—it has real and long-lasting impacts. It means women are earning less over their careers, which directly affects their ability to save, buy a home, invest, and retire comfortably,” she said.
“While progress is being made, closing the gender pay gap is still more than a decade away based on current trends, and possibly longer if wage growth slows. To drive meaningful and measurable change across all industries and workplaces, it’s crucial to keep the conversation going among businesses, leaders, and both women and men.”
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reports that the national gender pay gap, adjusted for industry size, has reached a record low of 12.5 per cent, down from 17.6 per cent a decade ago and 18.7 per cent thirty years ago.
However, the gap has widened in ten industries over the past year, including wholesale trade (+1.9 per cent), transport (+1.6 per cent), and media and telecommunications (+1.3 per cent).
“In the industries where the wage gap widened most in the last year, women’s wage growth lagged behind the average. For example, in wholesale trade—the sector with the largest gap increase—women’s wages grew by just 2.2 per cent, not even keeping up with inflation,” said Peter Drennan, Money.com.au’s research and data expert.
“The gender pay gap also widens in sectors where men dominate higher-paying roles or where wage growth is uneven, like in industries with commissions and bonuses.”
As International Women’s Day approaches on March 8, the conversation around pay equality remains pressing. Advocates argue that stronger policies and broader employer accountability are needed to accelerate change.
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