KeyPay’s Gender Pay Gap Report 2020

On Sunday 8th March we celebrate International Women’s Day. This year’s theme is all around enabling a gender-equal world, celebrating women’s achievements, increasing visibility and calling out inequality.

International Women’s Day is a chance for us all to look at the issues facing women across Australia. As Australia’s third-largest payroll platform, with a vast amount of salary and wage data, KeyPay is in a unique position to be able to analyse and understand disparities between men and women’s salaries based on part-time, full time, and casual workforces. 

KeyPay’s Gender Pay Gap Report

KeyPay selected 18 industries consisting of 48,475 employees - 23,755 of which were women, 24,720 men, comparing average hourly base rates of pay. The information was sourced using anonymised aggregated data from KeyPay’s Australian 2019 client base. We take a look at the findings in this report and explore ways in which businesses can make conscious changes to close the gap.

Key findings from the Gender Pay Gap Report

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1. The gender pay gap is still very much an issue in Australia

From the sample of data, we found that 16 out of the 18 industries analysed paid men more than women. Full-time working women earned on average $4.41 less per hour than full-time working men, which is a 6.2% gap.

2. A pay divide still exists even for female-dominant industries

The report showed that even in industries with a higher number of women employed than men, a pay divide can still exist. For example, in two industries: Healthcare and Social Assistance, and Education and Training, there were up to 75% more women employed than men, yet women were paid less. 8 of the 18 industries employed a higher percentage of women, yet only 2 industries out of the 18 favoured women in the gay gap.

3. More women are working part-time than men

Almost twice as many women than men were employed in part-time roles overall, suggesting that a big driver of these gaps is the type of employment the person falls into. 

4. Only 2 out of 18 industries paid women more than men

The two industries where women were paid more were Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services; and Arts and Recreation Services. You can see a breakdown of the industries in the full report.

How can we promote gender equality in business?

Reports like these which show the data in black and white really bring to light that gender inequality still exists, whether or not we see it or are aware of it on a daily basis. There are a number of factors that influence the gender pay gap, and ways in which employers can promote a positive and equal place to work for their employees:

1. Promote a flexible working environment

Organisations that promote flexibility to accommodate childcare and other responsibilities will enable women to take on more full-time positions and more senior roles. As a bonus, employers who trust their employees will receive much more respect, and better outcomes from staff.

2. Hire a diverse workforce

The most successful cultures are those diverse in thought, skillset and background. Consciously hiring women into traditionally more male-dominant roles is key to breaking unconscious biases that may be prevalent in the recruitment process. In turn, diversity brings innovation and new approaches to the workplace.

3. Promote gender diversity at a leadership level

Lack of flexibility in more senior positions is one factor that can restrict women from entering into leadership positions. Recruiting for women and more gender diversity at leadership levels can boost workplace performance while also acting to correct gender pay inequalities. 

For more tips on promoting gender equality at work, listen to our latest podcast with Athena Koelmeyer, Managing Director of Workplace Law.

Keeping the conversation going

We hope this report inspires employers to acknowledge that the gender pay gap does still exist, and encourages senior management to make conscious actions towards establishing gender equality in the workplace. 

Keep the conversation going by sharing this blog post on social media with #GenderPayGap

Download the Gender Pay Gap Report‍