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Gender pay gap hits record high

The wages of female workers have hit a record low compared to men, new data has shown.

On Thursday, the Bureau of Statistics revealed that the national gender pay gap widened to 18.8 per cent, the highest ever.

On average, a woman working full-time earned $1289.30 per week, almost $300 less per week than a man.

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“It’s clear that women aren’t getting the same earning opportunities as men,” Workplace Gender Equality Agency executive research manager Dr Carla Harris said.

“This has implications for women’s financial security, particularly in old age,” Dr Harris said.

But this did not mean that women are being underpaid in the same roles, she noted. The pay gap reflected, in part, that women were often employed in lower-paid industries.

University of Sydney Associate Professor Rae Cooper said the new data confirms Australia is failing to address wage inequity.

“This data reveals Australia is going backwards. This is the largest gap in women’s and men’s wages in more than 20 years,” Associate Professor Cooper said.

“Employers need to take a critical look at their pay systems, undertake like-for-like pay gap analysis and invest in solutions to address this significant inequality.

“Gender-based pay gaps compound across a woman’s working life and lead to a lifetime pay gap.”

The financial services industry had the highest gender pay gap (29.6 per cent), followed by health care (29.1) and real estate (28.7).

Women in the public service (7.2 per cent), other services (8.2 per cent) and accommodation and food industries (9 per cent) were the best paid compared to men.

Women saw improvement in the construction, utilities and health care sectors, but inequity in these areas persist.

The new figures are based on data collected in November last year, which showed a 1.4 per cent increase in the pay gap.

The average male full-time wage is now $1,587.40.

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