The gender pay gap has narrowed by 0.7 percentage points to 21.1% over the past 12 months, driven by a larger increase in women's average base salary (up $3,419 or 4%) than achieved by men ($2,895 or 2.8%), the annual WGEA Gender Equality Scorecard reveals.
More women are being appointed to managerial roles but their high resignation rates are undermining gender equality gains, while occupational segregation remains a key driver of inequality, according to a new WGEA report.
The first public policy changes to boost workers' power in more than 30 years - under the Albanese Government - have coincided with an increase in nominal and real wages and a rise in workers' share of the fruits of the economy, according to the Centre for Future Work's David Peetz.
Less than a quarter of private sector employers have an average gender pay gap within the target range, but 56% have reduced their gap, according to expanded, searchable WGEA data from the second year of public pay gap reporting.
Growth in private sector rates of pay is continuing to ease, falling from 3.6% a year in trend terms to 3.3%, while public sector growth has also dropped, according to the ABS.
Private sector bargained pay rises have fallen below 4%, while the public sector has recorded the slowest growth in 18 months, according to new DEWR data.
