2015-11-26
The Workplace Gender Equality Agency's annual data on the gender pay gap, out today, shows the gap is even worse when bonuses, allowances and superannuation are taken into account
"When bonuses, allowances and superannuation are taken into account, the gender pay gap for full-time work is a staggering 24 per cent," Senator Larissa Waters, Australian Greens spokesperson for women, said.
"It's seriously unacceptable that in 2015, women only earn about three quarters that of men for full-time work.
"Despite this alarming inequality, the data shows that only 20.6 per cent of employers have a strategy for achieving equal pay.
"It's good news that this is up from 18.3 per cent last year, which is testament to WGEA's good work, but still an overwhelming majority of employers aren't proactively working to achieve equal pay.
"We need to pick up the pace. Women deserve so much more than this incremental progress.
"This is incredibly slow progress from a Government that watered down the reporting rules for employers, meaning we know less about the pay gap than we would have.
"You can't fix a problem by hiding it. That's also why the Greens have introduced a bill for pay transparency to redress the gender pay gap - which is bigger when employees are prohibited from disclosing how much they get paid," Senator Waters said.