Levelling the playing field - Equal Pay Day 2024

Fifty days: that’s how many extra workdays a woman in Australia would need to earn, on average, the same amount as a man each year. Nothing about this statement is ok. While equal pay for equal work is a legal requirement, pervasive barriers mean in reality, women’s’ work remains undervalued. We expect a higher standard, and now is the time to do something for ourselves, our daughters and our future.

The average national weekly base salary for men working full time is $1,982.80, while women earn on average $1,744.80. That’s a difference $238 per week, or $12,376 per year. That’s why we mark Equal Pay Day on 19 August, 50 days into the new financial year.

The gender pay gap is not just a statistic; it represents real-world consequences for women. For instance, 90 per cent of women will have inadequate savings to fund their retirement by the time they exit the labor force. This is compounded by the fact that women, on average, retire with around half as much superannuation as men. The difference in men’s and women’s earnings impacts women’s economic security throughout their lives.

At Dress for Success Tasmania , we see women living this reality every single week. We’re striving for a Tasmania where women are on a level playing field when it comes to workforce participation and remuneration.

This is not just the right thing to do morally but would have a huge impact economically: Last year the Women’s Economic Equality Taskforce, headed up by the now-Governor General Sam Mostyn, estimated women’s unequal economic participation was costing the Australian economy a staggering $128 billion. That is not a small amount of money in anyone’s books.

To close the gender pay gap, there are some entrenched barriers that we must address affecting women’s career progression and earning potential. Barriers like gender discrimination and bias in hiring and pay decisions, or occupational segregation where men and women are working in different industries and jobs, with female-dominated professions often having lower wages than male-dominated industries.

There’s also the disproportionate unpaid care and domestic responsibilities that women are more likely to take on, and the lack of workplace flexibility to accommodate this, especially in senior roles.

These entrenched barriers affect so many women in the workface. They affect me, my friends and my colleagues. On a personal level, every day I face the world as a CEO in the for-purpose sector, but I am also a 37-year-old mother of two. Firstly, it is more likely that a male counterpart with the same education and work experience is working in a higher paid corporate or government role. He is also more likely to earn significantly more, because men typically don’t take the same amount of time out of the workforce to focus on caring responsibilities, or have to make the career choices women are faced with to balance family life and career.

While I wouldn’t change the time I’ve dedicated to my young family in a heartbeat, the reality is my career has been, and will continue to be, impacted. On the flipside, I know men who would have loved to spend more time with family, but in this sense the gender imbalance is stacked against them too: in many industries sufficient paternity leave doesn’t exist, or the stigma around taking on a caring role is just too strong.

So what can we as individuals, do to make a difference? One really easy thing is to champion a woman around you. Put a colleague forward for an award, mentorship, or a promotion. Make a connection that would benefit her. Tell her boss if she’s doing great work and call out her good ideas and contributions in a room full of people.

Workplaces must actively understand and be transparent about their own gender pay gaps and support more women into leadership roles. As tech executive Sheryl Sandberg put it, “we promote men based on potential, and women have to have already proven it to you.” Managers must recognise unconscious bias and strive for greater flexibility and diversity. This extends to encouraging men to also access flexible work arrangements and leave entitlements.

We also need action at the governmental level, committing funding to more services like Dress for Success and responsive policy that makes workplaces more flexible for everyone.

For us, the dream outcome is a workforce where both women and men enjoy more equality and flexibility. Gender should not be a factor when everyone is empowered to achieve their potential, and we can all be our multifaceted selves where our careers are just one aspect of our lives and responsibilities.

Levelling this playing field will see everyone more fulfilled professionally and personally, and society would benefit both economically and through greater empathy and understanding. Equal Pay Day is a great reminder that we all can – and should – play a part.