The equity gap - a gender issue
It has always been thought that the job you choose defines your earnings.
However, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ latest findings, there is another aspect to factor in, one which you have no control over. Gender.
In Australia, your gender will determine your success and financial wellbeing.
Commissioner for Equal Opportunity, Linda Matthews said, ‘looking at the workforce as a whole, women earn 45 cents to the male dollar.’
The most highly paid career path for both men and women is medicine. However, while the average male doctor earns $2,795 a week, a female doctor earns just over half of that, making $1,657 a week.
Ms Matthews said, ‘doctors doing exactly the same job with the same level of skill and experience should be earning the same pay, irrespective of gender. Averages, though, take into account those working less than full time and those in more senior positions.’
The disparities are not confined to the high end of the wage scale though. Even in the lowest paid positions, on average, males still earn more.
Despite it being a traditional ‘girls job,’ male receptionists are paid $70 more than their female counterparts each week.
Kate Southam, editor of careerone.com.au, MySpace Jobs, and Ask Kate, said ‘inexplicably, female graduates in Australia earn $3000 less than men when they first start out and as the years go by, the gap increases.’
On average, men make an extra $2.70 an hour, which equates to an extra $182 a week.
That’s the price of a package holiday to Melbourne, or a pair of designer shoes.
Social researcher for the University of Melbourne, Mark Wooden said this was because men work longer hours than women.
However, Ms Southam disagreed, she attributed it to the fact that women didn’t negotiate about pay.
‘Women don’t like to ask and don’t know why they should have to ask (for a pay rise). But that’s how the business world works,’ she said.
Tags: Equity Gap , Gender , Wages , Wage , Job , Sonia Gentile
